Playing for 90
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Real Salt Lake: Three hopes, one fear

By Sean Maslin

Oct 23, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Real Salt Lake defender Chris Schuler (28) holds onto Seattle Sounders FC forward Nelson Valdez (16) during the second half at CenturyLink Field. Seattle won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Real Salt Lake defender Chris Schuler (28) holds onto Seattle Sounders FC forward Nelson Valdez (16) during the second half at CenturyLink Field. Seattle won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 16, 2016; Sandy, UT, USA; Real Salt Lake defender Justen Glad (15) defends as Sporting Kansas City midfielder Paulo Nagamura (6) trips going in the the box at Rio Tinto Stadium. The game ended 0-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2016; Sandy, UT, USA; Real Salt Lake defender Justen Glad (15) defends as Sporting Kansas City midfielder Paulo Nagamura (6) trips going in the the box at Rio Tinto Stadium. The game ended 0-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

Hope #1: That Justen Glad can keep up his current form.

Real Salt Lake have had their fair share of impressive young players come through their system. But none might be better than Justen Glad. The 19 year old defender has thrived in his first season as a full-time starter with the Claret and Cobalt, making 27 starts out of 28 matches.

The RSL Homegrown Product has had a trial by fire this season but thus far has not missed a step. With Cassar’s side featuring a very veteran-heavy back four (among regular starters only Glad and Tony Beltran are under the age of 30) Glad has done a phenomenal job as the team’s work horse.

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What is also interesting about Glad is his technical skills. At just 19 he really has a good bead on how to track attackers and to understand when opponents will use an overlapping run to break free. He doesn’t bite on plays that might confuse other players at his age. That could be due in part to his teammates. There is perhaps no better wealth of knowledge in terms of how to play in MLS than Beltran, Jamison Olave, Demarr Phillips, Aaron Maund, and Chris Wingert.

The hope that RSL supporters have is that with this being his first full season as a starter that he will not wear down in the postseason. This is something that happens quite frequently with rookies playing in their first season. The number of games does take its toll on players who aren’t used to playing this many games over the course of a season. Although Glad did not go to college and has three years of professional experience he has also never played 27 games in a season.

Assuming RSL makes it past the Galaxy it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure and the physical toll of a full season.

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