CONCACAF Cup Shocker! | OneFootball

Real Salt Lake was hosting the reverse fixture of the CONCACAF Champions Cup fixture against Costa Rica’s Herediano. One week before, RSL had traveled south to take on the three-time Costa Rican Super Cup champs, but only managed a nil-nil draw. Fans gathered in the frigid stands hoping for a better showing than their embarrassing 4 – 0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS Opening Weekend.

A Strong Start

Herediano were languid in the opening 45 minutes. They managed only one shot, one corner and seemed content to sit back and defend their area. RSL was in complete control, taking eight shots before Dominik Marczuk broke down the right and found Forster Ajago on his ensuing cross to score. It was RSL’s first goal of the 2025 campaign. Five more attempts would follow, and walking into the locker room RSL had to feel confident in their play, even if their finishing was somewhat profligate.

A Reversal

But Herediano emerged from the dressing room fired up. After four minutes they produced two decent efforts on goal: one shot blocked and the other barely pulled wide. This was a warning shot fired across RSL’s bow; would they respond?

The answer is: not really. The team got lucky when Emerson Bravo’s 55th minute goal was overturned by VAR for a foul in the buildup, but even after this reprieve RSL’s shots weren’t clinical enough. Credit must be given to Herediano’s goalkeeper Dany Carvajal, who made many excellent saves to deny the hosts. As the minutes ticked down, Herediano gained confidence and began to apply a high press. Their 70th minute goal came from a defensive turnover; Eliás Aguilar tapping it past Rafael. With the away-goal rule in effect, all Herediano needed was a draw and RSL was forced to escalate their attack. This left them exposed, and Rafael Cabral was forced into taking down Randy Vega in the box after a breakaway. The ensuing PK (and yellow for RSL’s keeper) merely put the game to bed.

Herediano advance 2 – 1 on aggregate, and will face LA Galaxy in the next round.

A Silver Lining?

If there’s any upside to this early elimination, it’s that their fixture calendar just became a whole lot lighter. Now coach Pablo Mastroeni can concentrate on finding the best fit up front to address the team’s attacking issues. They won’t have too much downtime, however, as they host Seattle Sounders on Saturday and will look for a better result.