Mauricio Gonzalez Scores Late Equalizer to Secure Draw for Minnesota United Against Real Salt Lake
Mauricio Gonzalez notched his first career MLS goal in the 93rd minute, enabling Minnesota United to earn a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake on Saturday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minn.
The 21-year-old forward from Colombia, who substituted in for Anthony Markanich in the 77th minute, scored with a header from a long curling free kick by Joaquin Pereyra, inside the far right post and past goaltender Rafael, ensuring a point for the Loons (6-5-4, 22 points).
Zach Booth found the net for Real Salt Lake (8-4-2, 26 points), ending their two-match winning streak and leaving them with a 1-3-2 record on the road.
Minnesota United played without top scorer Kelvin Yeboah, who has accumulated eight goals this season and was benched due to an “internal matter” after missing practice on Friday. The hosts initially thought they took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when Mamadou Dieng scored with a right-footed shot from the middle of the box, but the goal was ruled offside.
Just three minutes later, Zavier Gozo assisted Booth with a crossing pass at the right edge of the box. Booth nailed a right-footed shot into the top right corner, marking his first goal, while the 19-year-old Gozo earned his fifth assist of the season.
Once again, Dieng seemed poised to score in first-half stoppage time with a header in the middle of the box, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review confirmed he was offside.
Minnesota defender Morris Duggan nearly equalized in the 80th minute, but his header from the middle of the box off a Pereyra cross sailed over the top of the crossbar.
Minnesota outperformed Real Salt Lake with 11 shot attempts to 8 and maintained a possession advantage of 56.1% to 43.9%.
Rafael made one save during the match, while Minnesota goalie Drake Callender did not register any saves. The draw halted Minnesota’s two-game winning streak but extended their unbeaten run against Real Salt Lake to 2-0-4 in the last six match-ups.