- Real Salt Lake beat Portland 1-0, marking their first win there since 2017.
- Diogo Goncalves scored the decisive goal for his second in three matches.
- RSL secured back-to-back clean sheets and a three-game winning streak.
SALT LAKE CITY — There was a feast of milestone stats for Real Salt Lake faithful to enjoy after a 1-0 win in Portland on Wednesday.
- First MLS win in Portland since 2017? Check
- First back-to-back clean sheets of the season? Check
- First three-game win streak in over a year? Check
The Claret and Cobalt are officially rolling with a five-game unbeaten streak since the calendar turned to June. The team now sits just a point outside of the playoffs heading into the All-Star break next week.
The team's most expensive player, Diogo Goncalves, has turned things around, as well, scoring the game-winner in the 83rd minute on Wednesday for his second goal in three games after an 11-match drought in front of goal.
. @RealSaltLake get the break through 👊
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 17, 2025
Diogo Gonçalves puts RSL late in Portland 💥
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/YfcdlQTAr0pic.twitter.com/jIGi4aE3Lj
"I think Diogo really flipped the switch," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "His demeanor, the belief that he had in his teammates, the belief that he had himself and the way he trained — he's been top."
The 28-year-old Portuguese attacker got the ball in the midfield, made the pass to forward Ari Piol in the attacking third and made his run into the box. Piol found the cutting Goncalves and the designated player picked out the near post with a clinical strike past Timbers keeper Maxime Crepeau.
RSL was, once again, forced to make some defensive subs late in the game due to an elbow to Justen Glad just below the eye, resulting in a "pretty big gash" that Mastroeni described as "one of the worst" he's seen in his career.
Philip Quinton, Alex Katranis and Emeka Eneli entered the game — Eneli making his gradual return over the last two matches from a long-term foot injury — and defended another late-game barrage to come away with the team's second consecutive shutout and 1-0 win.
"I think it's a collective mindset," Mastroeni said. "I think when you start getting a couple of results, you start believing that you're capable of things greater than what you initially thought."
The win broke a 10-game home unbeaten streak for the Timbers and got RSL its first regular-season win in Portland in eight years.
RSL finishes a two-match week with the Eastern Conference's second-place team, FC Cincinnati, coming to America First Field on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
