Flip the Switch: Justen Glad
The play: There wasn’t one play in particular, but RSL frequently played through Justen Glad out of the back in order to free up players further up the field in breaking SKC’s high press.
The reason: Heading into the match, Head Coach Freddy Juarez knew that breaking the Kansas City press would be important in finding success. Glad’s ability to play balls through the KC press alleviated much of that deep pressure that can often cause turnovers in opportune spots on the field. While they were able to accomplish that throughout the match, the play in the final third left RSL scoreless.
The stats: Glad led RSL with 90 completed passes, connecting on 92.8% of his attempts. Coupled with his five tackles – also a team-high – and he was an important piece on both sides of the ball in limiting Kansas City’s danger from the high press.
The quote: Freddy Juarez on the defensive effort - “I thought they were brave hearts. I thought they went in there and as much as you want to encourage the guys, they ran their tails off and our backline wasn’t any different. You couldn’t ask for more defensively. It was just the way the game was going to be and we were either going to handle that moment or it was going to be use hoping they didn’t capitalize with us throwing numbers forward and they did.”
