Real Salt Lake has long been praised for its tremendously run Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona. Through the years, it has produced championship level teams at the U-18 and U-16 levels and churned out pro-ready players in the process.
Two of those players continued their development in 2016 and drew further acclaim that the progress of young talent doesn’t stop when players leave Arizona. Justen Glad and Jordan Allen have been highly-regarded at their age levels throughout their careers and now that they have both finished their third years as professionals, the plaudits have taken on new superlatives. They aren’t just good “for their age,” but good MLS players who will soon compete for time with the U.S. National Team.
Allen, 21, had a career-best three goals to go with two assists in 1,099 minutes as he spent the season fighting for playing time with Joao Plata and Juan Manuel Martinez on the wings, Javier Morales as a No. 10 and many other established veterans at the numerous other positions that he has proven effecting while playing.
Glad, 19, burst into the starting lineup in April and never ceded his spot, finishing the year with two goals and one assist in 27 starts for RSL, anchoring a back line wrought with veteran talent. For his efforts, he was named to the U.S. U-20 National Team for its current camp in Costa Rica and is a likely candidate to lead the way for the U-20s at the CONCACAF Championships in February and March and the World Cup in May and June.
Further proof that the Academy doesn’t just produce professional level talent, but also good people, Allen and Glad were named Real Salt Lake’s Co-Humanitarian’s of the Year, the first time the honor had been given to two players in the club’s history.
We continue to count down the Top 10 RSL stories of 2016 throughout the next two weeks.
No. 10 – Monarchs-to-MLS
No. 9 – Always Sunny at the RioT
No. 8 – Gleesome Threesome
No. 7 – Young Guns
