Brooks Lennon moving forward after strong start to RSL career


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SANDY — It was just one goal, and Brooks Lennon hopes to have plenty more of them before the end of his time with Real Salt Lake.

But when the 19-year-old forward stepped back and took a surprise kiss from his head coach after Saturday’s dramatic come-from-behind 2-1 win over Rocky Mountain rival Colorado, Lennon knew he had done something special — even if it meant a little good-natured teasing from friends, family and teammates.

What’s next for the teenage wunderkind on loan from England’s Liverpool FC? For starters, expansion Atlanta United FC at 7:30 p.m. MT Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. He's also likely headed to the U-20 World Cup in May, alongside RSL teammates Justen Glad, Danny Acosta and Bofo Saucedo.

But before the future, Lennon is trying to stay in the present.

“Scoring a goal is great. But it’s in the past, and I have to keep pushing and keep working,” Lennon said after training Tuesday. “Every time I get on the field, I just do what I do best and fight for everything I get.”

Of course, Saturday’s goal was special. It came against Salt Lake’s rival in the Rocky Mountain Cup series, on the road, and against the 10-man Rapids, who moved to the bottom of the Western Conference as RSL jumped into fifth place following a 0-2-1 start.

Photo: Monica Gibb
Photo: Monica Gibb

It was also the first MLS goal for a 19-year-old RSL-Arizona academy product — one who starred at every level with the club since his debut with the U-16 side in Casa Grande, Arizona.

“It means a lot to me, coming from the academy and playing with the Under-16s and Under-18s,” Lennon said. “It feels amazing to be scoring goals at this stage now, and all the credit goes back to the academy. They’ve got great coaches and staff down there.

“You can see the amount of players they’ve produced to the first team. It’s great to see that, and it’s good for Real Salt Lake.”

Lennon’s goal was also highlighted by a traditional Dybala celebration, with a little flair from his European idol Cristiano Ronaldo, that was given to him by assignment from his brother Riggs.

Part of the job of keeping rising young stars like Lennon grounded is on head coach Mike Petke, whose tenure at RSL has begun with back-to-back wins and a dramatic increase in team morale.

Petke was quick to admit Lennon hasn’t been too smug about his first career goal in Major League Soccer. But he also admitted there can be a tendency to hype young talent too soon, and he won’t let the organization do that with Lennon or any of the other youngsters playing with RSL’s first team, like fellow U-20 national team members Bofo Saucedo, Danny Acosta or Justen Glad.

“We live in a world where the second that somebody does one thing, they become something special,” said Petke, embracing the philosophical for a brief moment. “That’s a far cry from when I grew up; you had to do 10, 12 or 14 things. But you adapt to society — that’s how it is now. For me as a coach and us as an organization, we know we have to keep them level-headed.”

Petke was quick to give credit to the other players who contributed to Saturday’s win, like Yura Movsisyan for scoring his fourth goal of the season via penalty kick, and Chris Wingert for earning said penalty and forcing the Rapids to play with 10 men for the final 15 minutes.

“It’s not that (players like Lennon) aren’t ready. But this is a team sport,” Petke said. “We won Saturday because of 18 players who traveled there, because of the coaching staff and because of the players who didn’t travel but contributed during the week. That has to be the mindset; it’s not about one person.”

So RSL will move forward, young players and veterans alike. But it’s hard to deny there is a different feeling around the club than the one that led to Petke's hiring three weeks ago.

If nothing else, it represents a two-match winning streak — the first since August.

“I think the vibe has changed just because of the two wins we’ve gotten,” Lennon said. “We just need to keep building on them, keep working hard in practice and move forward.”

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