Stijn Spierings scored a long-range goal in the 88th minute, just six minutes after making his MLS debut, leading Real Salt Lake to a 2-1 victory against Austin FC on Saturday night in Sandy, Utah.
The 30-year-old Dutch player was signed in January from Denmark’s Brondby IF. He is the first player over 23 to score for Salt Lake (3-1-0, 9 points) this season and the only scorer in Saturday’s match, marking RSL’s third consecutive win.
Salt Lake’s first goal came from an own goal due to pressure from Noel Caliskan down the left side in the first half.
Jon Bell put Austin (1-2-1, 4 points) ahead early in the game, as they faced their third consecutive loss in Salt Lake and their fifth defeat in six matches since joining MLS in 2021.
Goalkeeper Brad Stuver made seven saves, but could not stop Spierings’ shot from curving into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Diego Luna, RSL’s leading scorer, made his season debut as a substitute in the 70th minute after recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of the first three games.
Just before Spierings’ goal, Luna almost scored in the 87th minute during a strong attack, but his shot was cleared off the line by defender Brendan Hines-Ike.
Moments later, Spierings received a pass from center back Justen Glad, turned his body, and fired a shot from outside the box, finding the back of the net.
Austin took the lead in the 18th minute with a goal from Bell, who scored with a header from a free kick taken by Facundo Torres from the left side.
Bell leaped over Sergi Solans at the far post and directed the ball back across the goal, where it bounced off the ground and went inside the left post.
However, the lead lasted only six minutes as Caliskan’s efforts led to an equalizer.
After a quick exchange with Juan Manuel Sanabria, Caliskan sent in a dangerous left-footed cross. Defender Oleksandr Svatok attempted to clear it but accidentally kicked it into his own net from close range.