SANDY, Utah (Friday, August 30, 2019) – Real Salt Lake DF Justen Glad, DF Aaron Herrera, DF/FW Brooks Lennon and FW Sebastian Saucedo were all called in to U.S. U-23 National Team camp by U.S. U-23 Head Coach Jason Kreis for the Olympic team’s upcoming camp in California from September 1-10.
The U.S. will face Olympic hosts Japan on September 9 at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center. Additionally, the match vs. Japan represents another step in the U-23 MNT’s journey to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as the USA aims to qualify for its first Men’s Olympic Tournament since 2008. Concacaf recently announced that the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship will be held March 20-April 1 in Guadalajara, Mexico. That tournament will send two teams from the North America, Central American and the Caribbean to Tokyo.
“Having four players called in to the U-23 camp is a feather in the cap for our Academy and youth development structure, but primarily is a credit to Aaron, Justen, Brooks and Bofo,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said. “Their inclusion in this Olympic cycle speaks volumes about the work they’ve done this year and throughout their careers.”
All four players developed in the Real Salt Lake Academy and previously represented the U.S. at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, reaching the quarterfinal round after winning the CONCACAF U-20 Championship earlier that year. This is their second camp together with the U-23 National Team after previously training in Herriman, Utah, in June.
Glad, 22, is in his sixth season with Real Salt Lake and has started in 18 matches this season, with RSL going 12-3-3 with eight shutouts and a 0.78 goals against average in those matches. He now has 102 starts in 104 appearances in his MLS career, including a stretch of 50 consecutive starts from 2017-2018. In addition to his time with the U-20 National Team, he also appeared for the U.S. Youth National Teams at the U-18 and U-17 levels.
Herrera, 22, is in his second season with Real Salt Lake after logging 16 appearances, 14 as a starter, in his rookie campaign in 2018. This season, he leads RSL in minutes played with 2,138, starting in 24 of his 25 appearances this season, logging four assists. He has 41 appearances and 38 starts in his two MLS seasons after a standout college career at the University of New Mexico. He made three appearances for the U.S. U-20 National Team in 2017 on its run through the CONCACAF U-20 Championships and the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Lennon, 21, is in his third season at Real Salt Lake. He earned RSL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2018 after converting to right back and logging 32 starts. With 14 starts in 24 appearances this season, he now has 61 starts out of his 82 career MLS appearances with three goals and nine assists. After playing at the RSL Academy, Lennon signed with Liverpool in England before returning to Real Salt Lake in 2017. In 2015-2017, he scored six goals in 11 appearances for the U.S. U-20 National Team after previously playing at the U-17 and U-18 levels, where he totaled eight goals in 11 appearances.
Saucedo, 22, has two goals and two assists in 22 appearances this season, 12 of them in a starting role. Now in his fourth season at RSL and fifth as a professional after spending one season on loan at Veracruz in Mexico, he has five goals and nine assists in 79 appearances, 28 as a starter. With the U.S. U-20s, he scored eight goals in 19 appearances from 2015-2017.
Real Salt Lake is currently second in the Western Conference standings at 13-10-4 (43 points) and faces the Portland Timbers on Saturday at Providence Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. MT with live coverage on KMYU, the KSL TV app and ESPN 700.
The full U.S. U-23 roster by position is as follows:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes; Alamo, Calif.), Andrew Thomas (Stanford; London, England)
DEFENDERS (8): Kyle Duncan (New York Red Bulls; New York, N.Y.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Chris Gloster (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Montclair, N.J.), Niko Hamalainen (Kilmarnock FC/SCO; Miami, Fla.), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake; Las Cruces, N.M.), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.), Donovan Pines (D.C. United; Clarksville, Md.), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; Media, Pa.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; Medford, N.J.), Edwin Cerrillo (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC; Federal Way, Wash.), Alex Mendez (Ajax/NED; Los Angeles, Calif.), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire; Lemont, Ill.), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas)
FORWARDS (7): Omir Fernandez (New York Red Bulls; Bronx, N.Y.), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake; Park City, Utah), Sebastian Soto (Hannover 96/GER; Carlsbad, Calif.), Mason Toye (Minnesota United FC; South Orange, N.J.), Haji Wright (VVV-Venlo/NED; Los Angeles, Calif.).
