Real Salt Lake Claims West’s Final Playoff Spot

Real Salt Lake booked a postseason place with a 2-1 home win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on November 7. The result gave Salt Lake the Western Conference’s ninth and final playoff spot and knocked Los Angeles out of contention for a second straight season.

Sergi Solans opened the scoring in the 10th minute, finishing a move set up by Noel Caliskan and defender Philip Quinton. Three minutes later, rookie midfielder Zach Booth added Salt Lake’s second goal, his first in 18 league appearances. The hosts led 2-0.

Los Angeles pulled one back in the 40th minute when Salt Lake defender Luc de Fougerolles put the ball into his own net. Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made six saves, while Rafael Cabral recorded one for Salt Lake. The teams had traded 2-1 wins in their earlier meeting, with Los Angeles taking the April match at home.

Salt Lake will travel to face Seattle in a wild-card game. The winner advances to a best-of-three first-round series against top-seeded Vancouver. The Galaxy, who won the World Cup in 2024, have now missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.