The U.S. U-20 National Team had a week of historical events and Real Salt Lake was in the middle of all of it.
With four current players on the U.S. roster and a fifth academy product in the ranks, RSL was the most represented MLS club on the U.S. U-20s. After posting a win over Mexico – the first in 31 years at the U-20 level – they rolled all the way to the championship match, beating Honduras in a shootout to claim the first CONCACAF U-20 Championship in U.S. Soccer history.
That Danny Acosta had the winning penalty in the shootout was icing on the cake for a tremendous tournament for RSL’s four first-team players. And that it came against Honduras, where Acosta was born and raised before moving to Sandy at age 12, was an added twist to the story.
During the tournament, Justen Glad emerged as a top center back at the level, strengthening the defensive core as the tournament wore on. Brooks Lennon finished with four goals, including a hat trick in the second match of the Group Stage against Haiti. Sebastian Saucedo had two goals of his own the next match against St. Kitts & Nevis.
In the final, Lennon, Glad and Acosta were all central figures for the U.S. Early in the match, Lennon was dangerous on set pieces, finding Glad with a ninth-minute corner kick that forced the Honduran goalkeeper into a big save, while a free kick in the 27th minute nearly found the net if not for another diving stop.
And when no goals were to be found in the 90 minutes, the match went to a shootout. All five U.S. players converted their PKs, including Acosta on the decisive shot in the fifth round to win 5-3.
All four players will return to RSL this week and are expected to be eligible for Jeff Cassar’s selection against the Chicago Fire. They will rejoin the U-20s for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup shortly before the tournament is set to take place May 20-June 11 in South Korea Republic. The U.S. will learn its group opponents during the tournament draw on March 15.
Watch highlights below:
