Real Salt Lake x Charlotte FC

At America First Field, Real Salt Lake defeated Charlotte FC 3-1 to snap a three-game losing streak. Pablo Ruiz, Anderson Julio, and Jefferson Savarino scored three goals in six minutes to lead the squad to a come-from-behind victory in front of their home fans.

Charlotte FC took the lead in the 27th minute when Karol Swiderski scored off a pass from Ben Bender. The goal went into the upper left corner to put the visitors ahead early on. However, minutes after the start of the second half, Real Salt Lake was once again harassing Charlotte's backline, producing three opportunities, including a close-range header from Savarino that forced the goalie to make a diving save. In the 50th minute, Julio had two great opportunities to score, but the forward could not find a way to beat the goalkeeper. In the 54th minute, Real Salt Lake's Colombian attacker Andrés Gómez almost scored his first, but his shot hit the crossbar and the rebound was cleared by Charlotte's defense.

In the 56th minute, after Real Salt Lake had gone 304 minutes without scoring, Ruiz pounced on a badly cleared pass and slammed a shot from beyond the 18-yard box off the crossbar and down into the back of the goal. Three minutes later, Julio gave his side the lead for the first time by heading in a cross from Gómez to make it 2-1.

Savarino would also add another for the squad in the 62nd minute, knocking in a well-placed cross from Gomez. After then, Real Salt Lake never let up, stifling Charlotte's chances and eventually winning 3-1 and breaking their losing streak in dramatic fashion.

[Photography by Abram Iman]