Soccer Fans Couldn’t Get Enough ‘Snow Goals’ in Frosty Real Salt Lake-LAFC Matchup

Snow is a relatively rare commodity in soccer. It feels like it should feature more prominently in the world’s game, but several rules mitigate its effects: Scandinavian soccer leagues usually follow a spring-to-fall calendar, UEFA tends to prevent Northern European teams from hosting games in the winter, and so on and so forth.

Therefore, soccer fans should savor what took place in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

Real Salt Lake defeated Los Angeles FC 3–0 in snowy conditions that provided a surreal backdrop to the home team’s first win of the season.

In the 18th minute, winger Andrés Gómez—a native of Quibdó, Colombia, where the high Saturday was 92 degrees—opened the scoring with a goal that charmed the bundled-up crowd and viewers around the world.

Fans were later seen dancing shirtless as Real Salt Lake polished off a shutout victory, with Gómez scoring again shortly before halftime.

There was also an interesting exchange when a referee had to draw a line in the snow to communicate where Real Salt Lake forward Chico Arango should stand.

With a market for egregiously frigid soccer conditions clearly in place, MLS expansion to Anchorage seems necessary.