On Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes, Real Salt Lake finished the match with six Homegrown Players on the field. And while RSL couldn’t overcome the late 2-0 deficit, the group of Justen Glad, Danny Acosta, Brooks Lennon, Jose Hernandez, Ricardo Velazco and Sebastian Saucedo fought to the final whistle and cut the lead in half when Hernandez scored his first MLS goal.
In an evolving league that sees high-priced talent from abroad increasingly dominate rosters, those five late minutes were a feather in the cap for a Real Salt Lake club that has utilized its Academy to bolster a roster in transition. With eight players unavailable for Saturday’s match because of injuries, suspension and international duty, that brought the young Academy products even closer to the limelight.
“We’ve gotten a lot of guys experience so far. The U-20 boys have been playing a lot. I’ve used Ricky, Jose a number of times coming off the bench,” RSL Head Coach Mike Petke said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you’re quality enough and your work rate is good enough and you show me on a weekly basis, then you’ll get a shot. So a lot of these guys have gotten shots.”
Glad, Acosta, Saucedo and Lennon all recently returned from the FIFA U-20 World Cup, helping the U.S. reach the Quarterfinal Round before bowing out to Venezuela. Thus far this season, that foursome has combined for 28 appearances, 23 of them in a starting role. All despite missing large chunks at a time while away at the World Cup and the CONCACAF U-20 Championships.
In total, Homegrown players have accounted for 2,111 minutes this season, even with Glad and Jordan Allen out with injuries for large chunks of the first half of the season.
Scoring a goal while representing that group and the RSL badge is a point of deep pride for the alums that have earned their way onto the field for the first team.
“It definitely speaks for itself I think,” Hernandez said. “We had a lot of success growing up, obviously we’ve all played together at one point or another, and it just speaks highly of the coaches of the academy, of the whole organization which has invested so much money, so much time and effort into developing young guys. I think it speaks very highly of the club which is focused on young guys, and I think the future is bright.”
Hernandez earned praise from Petke, who quickly shifted focus back to the entire group of young players that contribute week-after-week in different ways.
“To get the goal, it’s good for Jose. It’s good for his confidence, good for the young guys,” Petke said. “I hope at some point in the future in the next couple of years we have 11 homegrown players on the field. It’s great to have them on the field, but they have to continue to earn these opportunities.”
