A week ago, Justin Schmidt was hustling up and down the Real Salt Lake sideline, nearly entering the match against Toronto FC for his professional debut on several different occasions. All the stops and starts of that potential opportunity paved the way for the 23-year-old rookie center back to start on Saturday against the Chicago Fire.
And by all accounts, he distinguished himself despite RSL’s 2-0 defeat in freezing conditions at Toyota Park.
“As debuts go, you couldn’t have asked for more,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said.
Schmidt came to RSL in a tremendous turn of luck at the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. When RSL selected in the first round with the No. 13 overall pick, the club was debating between Schmidt and University of Denver right back Reagan Dunk. After a conversation that started weeks if not months earlier, Dunk was the choice.
As players were taken off the board, one after another, Schmidt remained until finally Salt Lake was on the clock again with the 35th overall pick in the second round. Without hesitation, RSL submitted its card with Schmidt’s name on it and the club finished off the day with both players it wanted.
Throughout preseason, the University of Washington product showed why he was so highly regarded on draft day and on Saturday in his debut he continued to assert himself as MLS-ready.
“It was a lot of fun. Obviously there were a good amount of nerves before the game, but once I connected a couple passes, it felt good. I finally got into a rhythm,” he said, noting he wasn’t sure he would start until he saw the XI announced by Cassar the day before the match. “Throughout the week, I knew some of the other center backs were struggling with some little injuries. I had an idea, but I didn’t know until the day before. It felt good, obviously.”
One week prior, it looked like that debut might come in an emergency substitution in the second half of RSL’s scoreless draw with Toronto FC at Rio Tinto Stadium.
David Horst was visited on the field by the training staff. Schmidt ran to the bench area to get instructions, only to find that Horst was fit to continue. Chris Wingert took a knock in a battle for a ball. Schmidt repeated the process. And again was sent back to continue his warmup with the rest of RSL’s bench players.
While he didn’t end up getting on the field in the season opener, he started doing the math throughout the week as RSL readied to face the Chicago Fire on the road this past weekend. When injuries prevented Justen Glad, Aaron Maund and Chris Schuler from training in full with the first team, the likelihood of Schmidt starting became apparent as the week progressed. By Friday, he was ready to line up with the starters in his first match.
After the match on Saturday, his teammates and coaches were effusive in their praise.
“I think the guys gained a lot of respect for him. It’s not easy to step in as a rookie and he did a good job,” said Horst, his center back partner on Saturday. “For his first game, he did an excellent job. Those aren’t easy guys to go up against. Those are all very experienced guys and I thought he held his own and did a very good job out there.”
Added Cassar, “I thought Justin and Dave did a very good job for their first game together. There are always areas to improve. It was promising and I’m really happy for him.”
For his part, Schmidt was elated to make his debut bet didn’t let that get in the way of his disappointment at the final result. While he was happy to put his first appearance behind him, it also served as a learning experience after two fluky goals – one on an offside flag that was correctly waved off but caused momentary confusion on the field and the second on an unfortunate deflection – served as the difference in the game for an otherwise sound performance from RSL’s defense.
“That’s why we love the game, that’s why we hate the game,” he said. “There’s always things to learn. The guys around me were nonstop trying to make me feel comfortable and help me with little things that I can learn here and there.”
RSL returns to the training field on Tuesday and while it is unclear how many of RSL’s injured defenders will be fit for return, Schmidt did enough in his first appearance to keep confidence alive for the coaching staff if he is called upon moving forward.
