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SANDY — The game was nearly out of reach when Jose Hernandez found a little space.
The 20-year-old Real Salt Lake Academy product knew how to score goals; he tallied 16 of them in two seasons at UCLA, including a Pac-12 freshman of the year campaign in 2015.
So when teammate Sebastian Saucedo found Hernandez to set up a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time of an eventual 2-1 loss at San Jose, the diminutive winger knew what to do.
The result may have been little more than cosmetic: RSL took its 11th loss of the season and fifth in the past six matches, being outscored 15-4 in that span.
But the goal? The goal was another step forward in RSL’s youth movement — even if it didn’t feel like a milestone following the sting of another loss.
“It’s a wonderful feeling, very lovely,” Hernandez said of his first professional goal. “I couldn’t enjoy it because of the result. But it’s a good point for me.”
Hernandez is one of six academy products on Salt Lake’s roster in the first season under Mike Petke. The former New York head coach appears to be a fan of the club’s youth movement, playing the homegrown players 2,111 minutes of the season in his inaugural season, one where he came into the job just three games into the year.
That can lead to some awkward moments, such as when the club, coach and former goalkeeper coach Daryl Shore split up Monday following another loss. But it can also lead to several opportunities for players like Hernandez that they might not see otherwise.
“I inherited a staff, I inherited a team, and it was OK for me,” Petke said after training this week. “I had to step back and see what was best for me, for my staff, and for Daryl.
“At the end of the day, I had to do what was best for Daryl and what was best for us.”
Part of what’s best is the homegrown campaign, similar to what Salt Lake has tried to do from its inception — but not always followed perfectly.
RSL finished Saturday night’s road loss with six homegrown players on the field, with Hernandez and Saucedo featuring in the lone goal of the night but getting service from standouts Brooks Lennon, Ricardo Velazco, Danny Acosta and Justen Glad.
That group is also missing a key academy product, the multi-talented Jordan Allen, who suffered another setback during RSL’s 4-1 loss at Sacramento in the U.S. Open Cup.
Don’t take that group lightly just because they are young, Hernandez implores.
“Mike has said it — everyone is here to fight for positions,” he said. “If you get an opportunity, you have to do your best to take advantage of it and hopefully get more.”
Hernandez has had to adapt, much like his team, to a new setup. Besides the altitude in Utah, the speed of MLS has been an adjustment as the 5-foot-6 midfielder who originally hails from Mexico City transitions from two years in Los Angeles and the Pac 12.
Playing alongside a core from his academy days in Casa Grande, Arizona, makes the transition a little easier, though. Hernandez was reminded of that brotherhood after he scored against the Quakes.
“It’s a family here, so you get your first goal of your professional career, and everyone was very supportive," he said.
But Hernandez hopes it isn’t his last.
“A goal is always a good turning point for the team, and maybe for yourself,” he said. “It’s a good point for me.”
