Chicho Arango had Real Salt Lake’s first hat trick since 2018 as RSL rallied to beat St. Louis City 3-1 on Saturday night at America First Field in Sandy.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead on Indiana Vassilev’s goal in third minute before Arango scored three goals in the second half.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) St. Louis City defender Tim Parker (26) and Real Salt Lake forward Chicho Arango (9) fight for the ball as RSL hosts the St. Louis City during an MLS soccer match in Sandy on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
Arango scored in the 70th minute with an assist from Alex Katranis, in the 84th minute on a penalty kick, and in the 91st minute with an assist from Diego Luna.
Arango’s hat trick was the seventh such feat in Real Salt Lake’s 620-game Major League Soccer history, and the first since former captain Damir Kreilach struck three times in a 6-2 home win over LA Galaxy in September 2018.
Real Salt Lake had 11 shots in the game, including five on goal. St. Louis had 10 shots, with two on goal. RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath had one save, and St. Louis’ Roman Buerki had two.
Real Salt Lake improved to 3-2-1 with the victory, while St. Louis fell to 1-1-4.
RSL will visit Minnesota United next Saturday (6:30 p.m. MDT, AppleTV).