Real Salt Lake beat the New England Revolution 2-0 on Saturday night in Sandy, returning to form after two straight losses.
Anderson Julio took advantage of a New England miscue in first-half stoppage time to give RSL a 1-0 lead. Julio intercepted a soft pass intended for Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic, zigzagged on the left side and tapped the ball into the net.
Defender Philip Quinton scored in the 56th minute to put RSL up 2-0. It was Quinton’s first goal for RSL, which acquired him from the Columbus Crew in April.
RSL (13-6-8) has been among the leaders in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference for most of the season, but entered Saturday’s game coming off two straight losses. RSL fell to the last-place San Jose Earthquake 2-0 last week, after dropping a Leagues Cup game to the Houston Dynamo 2-1 on Aug. 5.
The loss to San Jose followed a busy summer transfer window for RSL, which made a series of moves, including sending rising star Andrés Gómez to French club Rennes.
New England, sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, fell to 8-15-2 with the loss.
RSL dominated with a 20-8 advantage in shots against the Revolution, including a 10-2 edge in shots on goal.
Ivacic had eight saves for New England, while RSL goalkeeper Gavin Beavers had two saves.
Real Salt Lake will return to action on Sept. 14 at Houston.