Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers: Diego Luna needs help scoring goals

Real Salt Lake hosts Portland on Wednesday night.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna (26), celebrates with Real Salt Lake defender Justen Glad (15) and defender Bryan Oviedo (3) after kicking the winning goal during a shoot-out, in MLS soccer action between Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake, at America First Field, in Sandy, on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.

By Aaron Falk

| May 14, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

Diego Luna found himself in a familiar position over the weekend.

Real Salt Lake’s star was celebrating after yet another goal.

And then he was explaining RSL’s offensive woes.

Luna has found the back of the net seven times so far this season. After that, he has five teammates with just one goal apiece.

So as Salt Lake returns home for a midweek match against the Portland Timbers, the team’s search for offensive firepower continues.

“I think we just need one,” Luna said. “I really do. I think one guy needs to put the ball in the back of the net to give them confidence. I think we just need confidence as a group in the attacking third.

“Playing out, we’re building the confidence. Defensively, we’re building the confidence. But that final pass, that final shot, we just need to connect, and we just need to put one in the goal.”

Salt Lake’s goal scorers

Diego Luna — 7

Diogo Gonçalves — 1

Samuel Junqua — 1

Ariath Piol — 1

Dominik Marczuk — 1

Forster Ajago — 1

“I’m shooting. That’s something that I didn’t do often last year,” Luna said of his approach. “I’m being more — I wouldn’t even say selfish — I’m just taking more shots, getting myself in higher positions and taking more risks."

RSL’s 13 goals this season rank 21st in Major League Soccer.

To make matters more frustrating for RSL fans, Chicho Arango, Salt Lake’s star striker a season ago, has contributed a league-leading eight goals to his new club, helping the Earthquakes become MLS’s top offensive team to this point.

RSL will be without newly acquired striker William Agada, who picked up two yellow cards in the team’s 1-1 road draw at Dallas over the weekend. But RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said he is hopeful that attacker Johnny Russell will be able to make his debut.

“I think both of those guys have goals, and that’s obviously not going to happen overnight,” Mastroeni said.

“I think we all have the quality here,” Luna added. “Whoever is coming off the bench, whether it’s Tyler [Wolff], whether it’s Ari [Piol], whether it’s Willie [Agada], whether it’s Johnny [Russell], all these guys have the quality to do this, and it’s just about getting the confidence and getting one so they could feel the belief and then it’ll take off.”