Not long ago, four players came together from four different backgrounds in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Last week, those four players – Danny Acosta, Justen Glad, Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo were rejoined once again after spending the majority of the 2016 season playing for four different clubs and together led the U.S. U-20 National Team to its first ever CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
Over the course of 16 days in Costa Rica, the U.S. went 4-1-1 against the best U-20 squads in the region and emerged champions after a shootout win over Honduras in the tournament final, earning not only the CONCACAF trophy, but also qualification to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in May and June in South Korea. Now, all four are back with RSL (and a fifth in RSL Academy product Aaron Herrera, who currently plays for the University of New Mexico) and have great memories of a journey experienced with longtime friends.
“It was awesome. It was like we were back at the academy just playing around,” smiled Glad, who was one of four players to start all six matches. “It changes the dynamic – it makes the win that much more special.”
Lennon agreed, “It felt great. Every one of those guys played really hard and did really well for us. At that stage it gets a lot bigger and it’s great to look around and see guys that you grew up with and you’re playing alongside at such a high level. All the credit goes back to the coaching staff at Casa Grande. The way they prepared us for these big games, it just felt normal.”
The games got big in a hurry for the U.S. squad. After dropping the first match 1-0 to Panama in a disappointing performance for a team that came in with high expectations, Haiti opened up an early 1-0 advantage as well. However, the U.S. wasn’t about to back down. Led by a hat trick from Lennon, the Americans stormed back for a 4-1 win and never trailed again in the tournament.
They followed the drubbing of Haiti with a similar runaway 4-1 win over St. Kitts & Nevis. A historic win over Mexico followed before topping El Salvador to clinch a berth in the World Cup. Then the shootout win over Honduras was just icing on the cake.
Along the way, the RSL footprints were all around the successful run.
Lennon finished with a team-high four goals to finish second overall in the tournament, adding an assist as well. Saucedo had two goals, both coming against St. Kitts & Nevis. Glad was one of the most consistent performers for the U.S. in the six matches and was a key factor in the team finishing with just four goals allowed in six matches. And Acosta asserted himself as a viable option at left back while also converting the winning penalty kick in the shootout win in the final against Honduras – where he was born and lived until he was 13 years old.
“I think it’s incredible how much each of us put in the work to be able to be called into the national team. These guys haven’t given up and for five of us to get called in to the national team. That’s something special at RSL and the development at the RSL Academy has been huge for all of us,” Saucedo said. “Words can’t describe how I feel and how happy I am for everyone. To be able to win a championship with the guys you grew up with … it’s amazing.”
The four players – five when Herrera is included – all had a wide array of methods to contribute to the good of the group. And yet, those moving parts were also key in dictating the style, rhythm and tempo of the team – all staples of the academy system led by Martin Vasquez and Freddy Juarez during their time in Arizona.
“If you really think about it, each one of us has an individual thing that nobody else does,” Acosta said. “When you see Justen play the way he plays, it shows how mature he is. Brooks scored a hattrick and he really came up big. And then Bofo was really good. It shows that our academy has been doing great so far and hopefully continues to do it.”
Now, with the World Cup still two months away, the foursome returns to Utah with hopes of bringing much of that same magic back to Real Salt Lake. Coming from an academy team that won the U-16 championship in 2013, the culture of success is there and those players are beginning to come into their own as professionals. The U-20 championship is just another indication of that progress.
“Individually, we’re all happy with how we played and happy to contribute and win the tournament. On an organizational level, it’s a credit to the academy and the years that we spent at the academy and the investment they made in us,” Glad said. “That’s the culture the academy created was a group of winners. Wherever we go, we’re going to try to win.”
