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SANDY — Real Salt Lake's own "Chosen One" gave fans "A New Hope" — I promise that's all the references I've got — with a late game-winner in Saturday's "May the Fourth be with You" Star Wars night at America First Field against rival Sporting Kansas City.
Brayan Vera's free kick in the 81st minute found the rising head of Chicho Arango for the difference in a 1-0 win that also maintained Arango's spot atop the MLS goal rankings with nine — tied with Miami's Lionel Messi.
"You know if you keep zeros that you're gonna get a great chance," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said of Arango's goalscoring ability. "It's Chicho. It's what he does. He's a killer in front of goal."
He is one with the force and the force is with him ✌️😜 pic.twitter.com/kLGi8bOg03
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) May 5, 2024
RSL looked like the better team for most of the night but struggled to find the final touch in front of goal. A 0-0 draw in the team's last home game led to over 170 minutes of scoreless football at AFF until the icebreaker from Arango with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match.
The win puts RSL in sole possession of first place in the Western Conference with 21 points on six wins, two losses and three ties through almost a third of the regular season. The clean sheet marked the third shutout in the last four matches, with the team allowing just one goal over those four matches.
"I think we've got a lot of dedicated guys on the field at all times," goalkeeper Zac MacMath said. "And that's showing up with all the shutouts that we're having."
The Claret and Cobalt begin U.S. Open Cup play on Wednesday in Albuquerque before traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy on Saturday, May 11 in MLS play.
