SANDY, UT (Monday, January 8, 2018) – The Real Salt Lake trio of DF Danilo Acosta, DF Justen Glad and FW Brooks Lennon all received their first senior national team calls when they will join 30 players called in by U.S. National Team Head Coach Dave Sarachan for January camp, which opens January 10 in Carson, California. The U.S. will play a friendly against Bosnia & Herzegovina on January 28 (7:30 p.m. MT, FS1) at the StubHub Center to conclude the camp.
“Each one of them has proven that they deserve to be part of that group. We take great pride in that as an organization,” Real Salt Lake General Manager Craig Waibel said. “Our club believes in our youth and we’re going to play a major role in this next crop of U.S. performers, I believe. I think the impact that our young players can have truly can be phenomenal.”
All three players were part of a U.S. U-20 National Team that was the first to win the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in 2017, later advancing to the quarterfinals of the FIFA 2017 U-20 World Cup in South Korea. At the club level, they were regular contributors on a rising Real Salt Lake team that was among the best in MLS over the second half of the 2017 season under Head Coach Mike Petke.
Acosta, 20, made his MLS debut in 2017 after playing the 2016 season on loan to Real Monarchs SLC in the USL. He finished his first full season with 17 appearances, 16 of them in a starting role, and notched assists in consecutive matches against the Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City in July. After making his debut on April 8 in a 3-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC, RSL went 8-5-3 with Acosta in the starting lineup. In addition, he started in 10 of his 11 appearances for the U.S. U-20 National Team, converting the winning penalty kick in a shootout victory over Honduras in the CONCACAF U-20 Championship final, lifting the trophy for the first time in the tournament’s history.
Glad, 20, played his third full season with the Claret-and-Cobalt in 2017 and while the season was abbreviated by injury and his time with the U.S. U-20 National Team, he was among the top center backs in the league over the second half of the season. He made 18 starts, giving him 53 appearances and 51 starts in his MLS career, as RSL went 9-5-4 after Glad solidified his spot in Petke’s starting 11. With the U-20 National Team, he started in nine of his 11 appearances and was a key contributor as the U.S. made historic runs in CONCACAF and at the World Cup.
Lennon, 20, played on loan from Liverpool in 2017 before signing a permanent move to Real Salt Lake at the end of the season. He started in 15 of his 25 appearances and finished the season with three goals and four assists, including a pair of one-goal, one-assist performances against the Colorado Rapids and Sporting Kansas City over the final seven matches of the season. He was the leading scorer in 2017 for the U.S. U-20 National Team, scoring six goals and four assists in 12 matches.
“We’re excited about our 2018 January Camp roster. It’s all about the future and opportunity,” said Sarachan. “We clearly feel that we want to have a look at these players that have the chance to be a part of the National Team for a number of years to come. It’s a long journey forward, but this is the first step starting in 2018 for the program and for these players to now get experience at this level.”
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Alex Bono (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Bill Hamid (Midtjylland/DEN; 4/0), Cody Cropper (New England Revolution; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (9): Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Justin Morrow (Toronto FC/CAN; 3/0), Ike Opara (Sporting Kansas City; 0/0), Tim Parker (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/CAN; 0/0), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Brandon Vincent (Chicago Fire; 1/0), Walker Zimmerman (Los Angeles Football Club; 1/0)
MIDFIELDERS (11): Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; 1/0), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 15/2), Russell Canouse (D.C. United; 0/0), Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Marlon Hairston (Colorado Rapids; 0/0), Ian Harkes (D.C. United; 0/0), Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 1/0), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution; 3/1), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 2/0), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy; 37/6)
FORWARDS (6): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution; 27/3), Dom Dwyer (Orlando City SC; 4/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 24/5), Christian Ramirez (Minnesota United FC; 0/0), Rubio Rubin (Unattached; 4/0), C.J. Sapong (Philadelphia Union; 3/0)
