Union are no longer unbeaten in MLS regular season following home loss to Real Salt Lake

The Union lost for the first time in the regular season of Major League Soccer, following a 2-1 final against Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Subaru Park.

RSL would open and close the scoring. André Gomez started things off in the 34th minute, and left back Alexandros Katranis won it with a stunning shot in the 89th, Dániel Gazdag scored the Union’s goal in the 50th.

The buildup was quick and precise. Just like what the Union (3-1-4, 13 points) try to do. But the play ended strangely.

As Union manager Jim Curtin warned might happen, Salt Lake (5-2-3, 18 points) striker Cristian “Chicho” Arango dropped back far into midfield, drove past high-pressing Union defender Jack Elliott, and kept on going. Arango then fed André Gomez on the right side, and there was plenty of space because the rest of the Union’s defense was compacted in the center.

Gomez smashed a shot at Andre Blake, who was able to punch it, but the angle he came at sent the ball up instead of away. When the ball came back down, it landed behind Blake and nestled into the net before he could get there.

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Blake doesn’t give up goals like that often, and there weren’t any signs of effects from his groin injury a few weeks ago. It was just bad luck.

The Union had a bunch of half-chances in the first half, but far too many blown passes in the final third and other mistakes — including being offside on two free-kick opportunities.

It took until the 50th minute for the Union to really trouble RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath. (Remarkably, this was the former Union stalwart’s first game as a visitor to Subaru Park, 10 years after he left town.)

But once the Union did put a serious shot on target, it went in the net. After a broken buildup, Quinn Sullivan pounced on a loose ball and passed it by MacMath to Gazdag, who backheeled it into the net.

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It was Gazdag’s 56th Union goal in all competitions, tying him with Sébastien Le Toux for the club’s scoring record. Though some fans might point out how many of Gazdag’s goals have come from penalty kicks, they might also notice that Le Toux scored his last Union goal eight years ago.

That’s how long it’s taken for this team to have a scorer anywhere nearly as prolific as Le Toux was. Kacper Przybylko and C.J. Sapong, leading strikers of the past, tallied 40 and 38, respectively – and they’re Nos. 4 and 5 on the all-time chart. Julián Carranza is third with 41.

The Union have a quick turnaround to their next game, as the postponed March 9 contest vs. Seattle resumes Tuesday at Subaru Park. The teams will be restricted in who can play because they have to put out the same squads that started the game except for injuries and trades.

That meant Union manager Jim Curtin knew who would play Tuesday when he set out Saturday’s lineup. But it was still odd that he didn’t call for a substitution until the 70th minute, summoning Mikael Uhre to enter in the 72nd. Uhre didn’t start because he’d spent a few days away from the field during the week attending to his wife, who gave birth to their second child.

Uhre got right into the action, just missing a crisp Nathan Harriel pass and slamming into MacMath instead. (Yes, Uhre was as frustrated as the crowd was.) But there was little doubt that the game had opened up enough by then that Uhre could help the Union win it.

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Curtin didn’t make his second sub until the 88th when Jesús Bueno replaced José Andrés Martínez after he’d taken a few too many kicks from opponents. (He also dished out quite a few, and was lucky to not get a yellow card that would have earned him a suspension for accumulation.)

RSL’s winner came a minute later, and from just about out of nowhere. Jakob Glesnes headed an innocuous free kick clear, but straight to Katranis. He decided to launch it from some 30 yards, and it flew past a full-stretch-diving Blake.

There were seven minutes of stoppage time, and Curtin went for broke by sending in Chris Donovan for Harriel. The Union mounted a few surges forward, but none produced a shot on target.

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