Young players Aiden Hezarkhani and Ariath Piol scored, with veteran goalkeeper Rafael Cabral making eight saves, helping Real Salt Lake claim a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders in their home opener on Saturday night in Sandy, Utah.
Cabral’s crucial save came late in the match when he stopped Snyder Brunell’s volley from about 8 yards out during the ninth of ten minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Real Salt Lake now boasts a 14-1-4 record at home against Seattle, with their only loss occurring in 2011.
Cristian Roldan scored for the Sounders (1-1-0, 3 points) as they began a five-game road trip.
After a few near misses early in the game, RSL (1-1-0, 3 points) took the lead in the 23rd minute.
Zavier Gozo maneuvered between three Seattle defenders and attempted a pass into the 18-yard box. The ball was intercepted by Hassani Dotson but fell to Luca Moisa, who then passed it to Juan Manuel Sanabria, making his MLS debut. Sanabria crossed it back to Hezarkhani on the right wing, whose left-footed half-volley found the upper corner of the net, giving goalkeeper Andrew Thomas no chance.
RSL increased their lead in the 47th minute when Philip Quinton sent a long pass down the right for Gozo, who entered the penalty area and delivered a low pass to Piol for an easy tap-in from 5 yards out.
The Sounders narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the 62nd minute following a corner kick from Rusnak, which found Roldan at the near post for a glancing header into the net.
Seattle seemed to have equalized in the 77th minute when substitute Danny Musovski scored from a cross by Paul Rothrock, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside on Rothrock.
Cabral made a key save in the 8th minute, punching a header from Yeimar Gomez Andrade off the goal line after a Seattle free kick.
In the 14th minute, Cabral leapt to tip a 35-yard free kick from Rusnak that was aimed for the upper left corner over the bar. He collided with the post and required medical attention but continued to play.
In the 20th minute, Cabral also dealt with a Rusnak header from a deflected cross, getting a hand to it.
Cabral denied Rusnak again in the 61st minute, this time tipping a free kick over the crossbar.