In today’s starting lineup against the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake will feature two Academy alums who will be making their 2017 debuts – one of whom is making his MLS debut – as Sebastian “Bofo” Saucedo and Brooks Lennon were inked into the XI on the wings.
While RSL has struggled to find a goal in the first two matches of the season while going 0-1-1, Saucedo and Lennon were late additions who had a limited number of preseason training sessions with the club while both were with the U.S. U-20 National Team prepping for the CONCACAF U-20 Championships. The tournament concluded March 5 with the U.S. ousting Honduras in a shootout to win the championship for the first time since its inception.
During that championship run, Lennon led the team and was second among all players in the tournament with four goals while Saucedo had two goals himself.
“Both Bofo and Brooks are two young players that just want to score. They go through practice just wanting to score goals and that’s important right now for the group,” RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “We need players who are hungry to create opportunities.”
RSL opened the season with Joao Plata and Jordan Allen starting in the wing positions. However, Plata suffered a hip contusion following the season-opening 0-0 draw with Toronto FC and Allen was taken out of the match early in a 2-0 loss to the Chicago Fire after straining his quad. Against Chicago, Luis Silva started in place of Plata and Ricardo Velazco came on as a sub for the injured Allen early in the match.
The move to the youngsters, Saucedo and Lennon, is a reward for their performances in the U-20 tournament. While it will be Lennon’s MLS debut – after graduating from the RSL Academy as one of the top players in the country and joint-leading scorer in a remarkable season in 2015, he played 18 months with Liverpool’s reserve teams and came to RSL on a year-long loan – Saucedo is in his seond stint with RSL. In 2015, he appeared in nine matches, starting once while logging 168 minutes. A dynamic attacker who can play on the wing or as a No. 10, Saucedo had nine shots in that time, a rate of nearly five per 90 minutes.
Now 20, he has more seasoning and a greater desire to contribute after spending a year on loan to Veracruz in Liga MX.
On an RSL team that features 13 players who are 25 years old or younger, Saucedo and Lennon represent another step in the youth movement as they look to make their mark.
In addition to those two changes to the XI, Cassar also sees Demar Phillips return to the left back position and Luke Mulholland slotted into the midfield alongside Kyle Beckerman, creating a more attack-minded lineup.
“I’m excited about this group,” Cassar said. “It’s energetic and lively.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT.
