Justen Glad Named 2022 Real Salt Lake Most Valuable Player
Oct 19, 2022, 4:54 PM | Updated: Nov 7, 2022, 2:17 pm
Justen Glad of Real Salt Lake and Chicharito of LA Galaxy during the fixture at America First Field on April 30. (Photo by Laura Dearden/Real Salt Lake)
(Photo by Laura Dearden/Real Salt Lake)
SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake center-back Justen Glad has been named the 2022 Most Valuable Player (MVP) and becomes the first Homegrown player to receive the award.
Justen ‘MVP’ Glad
Glad, 25, was voted MVP by his teammates. It is the first time Glad has received the award, he is only the third defender in club history to receive the honor.
Generally, the MVP award goes to the player who scores the most goals, has the most assists, or has the most significant offensive impact. But not this year, Glad played and started in 27 fixtures for Real Salt Lake and was astounding in his defensive ability to stop opposing teams attacking chances.
MVP has a nice ring to it
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 19, 2022
This year Glad scored a career-high three goals from his center-back position. Most notably, Glad scored the third and final goal of the game against New England on March 12 to help secure a come-from-behind 3-2 win on the road. He also managed to score against Montreal and Houston Dynamo.
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Glad also managed to notch career-best performances in shots (18), shots on goal (8) passing completion (87.5%), and interceptions (52). Over the course of the 34-game regular season, Glad was named to the MLS Team of the Week on two occasions.
In his nine seasons with Real Salt Lake, Glad leads all Homegrown players in games played (183) and minutes played (15,940). Real Salt Lake has led the league in Homegrown games and minutes played in four of the previous five seasons.
Other Award Winners
Glad is joined by Andrew Brody who was announced as the Defensive Player of the Year, Sergio Córdova took home the Golden Boot award for the most goals (11), and the 2022 captain Damir Kreilach who was honored with the Humanitarian of the Year for his efforts off the pitch.
Prior to the 2022 season, Kreilach purchased 100 tickets to every home game and have the tickets for underprivileged children that sat in what is now known as Kreilach’s Corner. Kreilach was sidelined with a back injury for the majority of the year and therefore spent his time volunteering at a number of food banks and charities across the Wasatch Front.
Real Salt Lake is scheduled to hold exit interviews on Thursday and Friday of this week. KSL Sports dot com will have all of the latest news as it breaks over the coming days.
