Justen Glad may be just 20 years old, but he’s already a veteran imparting sage wisdom on his teammates when it comes time for the MLS Homegrown Game. A fourth-year defender for Real Salt Lake, Glad is in his third Homegrown Game, joining a list that includes current teammates Jesse Gonzalez and Bradford Jamieson IV, along with Tommy Thompson who played in the first three editions of the annual summer exhibition.
“It’s always fun reuniting with them. To be able to showcase yourself on a different stage with different levels is always exciting,” he said after training with the team on Monday. “It’s fun. It’s good to be here. I’m happy about it.”
While the match has quickly become a mid-season staple for Glad, he is poised to take the next step in his development – from good young player to star-level talent.
After splitting time between Real Salt Lake and Real Monarchs in the USL in 2015, he burst onto the scene as RSL’s top defender in 2016, starting in 27 matches for the Claret-and-Cobalt as RSL went 10-6-5 with Glad in the starting lineup before the attack went anemic in the final six matches and the club went 0-4-2 despite allowing just six goals in that stretch.
Although his 2017 season has been limited due to injury and international duty with the U.S. U-20 National Team, who he helped win the 2017 CONCACAF Championship and reach the quarterfinals of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Glad has made a clear impact with RSL. In the seven matches since his return to the lineup, RSL has gone 3-2-2, allowing nine goals (1.22 per match). Prior to that, RSL was 4-10-2 with a goals against average of 1.94.
His presence makes a palpable difference, even if he still occasionally sees the inconsistencies that youth bring. The same can also be said for the Homegrown Game on Tuesday, where Head Coach Brian McBride sees Glad as a pivotal figure in unifying the team on short notice with just one training session together.
Playing a vocal role as a center back, Glad has the most experience among his most savvy teammates, starting in 40 of his 42 career MLS appearances and logging 3,605 minutes. That outshines the totals of the FC Dallas goalkeeper Gonzalez (33 starts, 2,970 minutes), the LA Galaxy forward Jamieson (eight starts, 838 minutes) and the San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Thompson (31 starts, 2,882 minutes).
“It’s probably more difficult for center backs to play in these games than any other player. They’re the ones who have to organize and communicate,” said McBride, himself a U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer who notched 80 goals in 11 MLS seasons before retiring following the 2010 season. “Having Justen here, I can say everything positive about his talent, but the communication side is going to be invaluable for us.”
Kickoff in Tuesday’s match is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT with a live stream on MLS Live.
