Diego Luna, Zavier Gozo Lift Real Salt Lake Past Timbers 2-0 Despite Pantemis' Club-Record 13 Saves

James Pantemis made 13 saves on Saturday afternoon, a Portland Timbers club record for a single match. He still lost. That is how relentless Real Salt Lake was at America First Field, where the home side peppered the Portland goal with 25 shots and put 15 of them on target.

Real Salt Lake beat the Portland Timbers 2-0, with 19-year-old Zavier Gozo scoring in the 10th minute and Diego Luna doubling the lead in the 28th. Rafael Cabral made two saves for his first clean sheet of the season, according to the AP, and RSL snapped a two-match losing streak in the process.

Fast Start, Faster Finish

RSL came out flying. Luna tested Pantemis from distance in the 5th minute, and Gozo had a shot saved in the 9th. A minute later, Gozo got his goal. Sergi Solans drove at the Portland back line and fed Gozo, who, by the Timbers' account, needed just one touch to beat Pantemis at the near post.

The pressure did not let up. Morgan Guilavogui forced another save in the 12th minute and then smashed a shot off the crossbar from outside the box two minutes later. He also sent one just wide in the 19th. Portland's best spell came just before the half hour: Kevin Kelsy headed a Cole Bassett cross toward the top of the net in the 26th minute and Antony fired from the left side a minute later, and Cabral handled both.

The Turning Point: Luna Answers Back

Portland's push lasted about 60 seconds. In the 28th minute, RSL broke the other way. Luna and Juan Manuel Sanabria combined on a quick one-two, as the Timbers described it, and Luna finished with his left foot into the bottom right corner. It was the kind of goal that drains an opponent's belief, and Portland never seriously threatened again until the second half.

What followed was the Pantemis show. He denied Solans twice, Guilavogui again, Luna in first-half stoppage time and Gozo twice more before the break, including a header in the ninth added minute. The AP noted he had nine saves by halftime, matching his career high.

Portland also lost captain Finn Surman, who was replaced by Kamal Miller at halftime because of an injury.

Pantemis Versus the World

The second half followed the same script. Pantemis stopped Gozo and Noel Caliskan in the 50th minute, Sanabria in the 52nd and Stijn Spierings from outside the box in the 75th. That last one made 13. The Timbers said that set new club and personal records for saves in a match, breaking the club mark of 11 set by Jake Gleeson against Vancouver in 2016 and topping the nine he made against Nashville in March 2025.

Portland created a few looks of its own. David da Costa dragged a shot just wide in the 62nd minute, Kristoffer Velde fired high and wide in the 73rd and Kelsy pulled one wide on a fast break in the 76th. None found the target. Portland finished with two shots on goal all afternoon.

Both benches got busy as the half wore on. Portland sent on Ian Smith and Alexander Aravena in the 59th minute, and Aravena had a hand in two of the Timbers' better second-half looks, heading a ball down for Velde and springing Kelsy on the break. RSL brought on Philip Quinton for Justen Glad in the 61st, then Victor Olatunji and Zach Booth in the 76th and 77th to see out the lead. Jimer Fory and Smith were booked for Portland, and Sanabria picked up RSL's only caution in the 85th.

Star Watch

Gozo was RSL's most dangerous player: seven shots, five on target and the opening goal. For a teenager, he plays with the confidence of someone who has been doing this for a decade.

Luna, though, was the conductor. Beyond his goal, ESPN's play-by-play feed credited him with setting up 10 other attempts. MLS said the goal was his third in his last five appearances and his 50th goal contribution, 25 goals and 25 assists, in 101 appearances for RSL. By MLS's count, he now has three goals and three assists in 2026, trailing only Solans and Gozo on the team despite playing three fewer games. MLS also framed the performance as part of his push for a place on the U.S. World Cup roster, which head coach Mauricio Pochettino is set to announce on May 26. The AP noted Luna's season debut was delayed until March 14 by a knee injury.

Sanabria and Solans picked up the assists, and Cabral, per the AP, earned his eighth shutout in 44 appearances over his two seasons in the league.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Real Salt Lake 25, Portland 11.
• Shots on target: Real Salt Lake 15, Portland 2.
• Saves: Pantemis 13, Cabral 2.
• Corners: Real Salt Lake 6, Portland 2.
• Possession: Real Salt Lake 52.8 percent, Portland 47.2 percent.

What It Means

Real Salt Lake climbs to 6-1-3 with 19 points and gets back on track after losses to Inter Miami at home and the LA Galaxy on the road. RSL has now won five of its six home matches this season, and the lone defeat was that one against Miami. Next up is a trip to FC Dallas on May 9, one of four matches MLS said Luna has left to make his World Cup case before the break.

Portland falls to 3-1-6 with 10 points. The Timbers arrived off their first road win of the season, a 2-1 victory at San Diego, per the AP, but this was their third straight match away from home. They finally return to Providence Park for the first time in a month to host Sporting Kansas City on May 9, and a little home cooking could not come at a better time.

Closing Take

Pantemis spent 90 minutes playing the most stressful game of Whack-a-Mole imaginable, and he won 13 of 15 rounds. That is a record-setting afternoon and a losing one at the same time, which is about as Portland as it gets right now. RSL, meanwhile, got exactly what it needed: a clean sheet, a teenager in form and a playmaker making his World Cup case one through ball at a time.

Stats from ESPN's match data and the AP recap via ESPN. Match notes from the Portland Timbers (timbers.com) and MLS (mlssoccer.com).