Sandy • Before running though footwork warmups with the starters, Justen Glad paused at the cone, flashed a big smile at fellow Real Salt Lake Academy product Corey Baird and gave him a low five.
Baird made his first MLS start Saturday, following impressive back-to-back appearances off the bench. The former Stanford Cardinal, who signed with RSL over the offseason, slid in on the left wing against Vancouver, while Joao Plata was available off the bench.
“Corey’s from our academy, he’s talented, he had a great four years of college, and he’s young and hungry,” RSL coach Mike Petke said at training Monday, three days after Baird scored his first MLS goal. “... He’s got that mentality.”
Petke compared Baird’s mentality to the one he had as a player, one he’d like to see from all his players no matter their roles on the team.
“When I played for 13 years, by my skill level I certainly did not deserve to play over 300 games on three teams,” Petke said. “I every day took it as, ‘This is my job, this is my passion, I’m going to give every single thing.’”
Baird won the starting spot Saturday with 44 energetic minutes over two previous matches. He took two shots in those appearances, one of which hit the back of the net at Toronto last week. The rookie’s first MLS goal kept RSL from being shut out in the 3-1 loss. In the 82nd minute, Baird took one touch to settle and a second to place a curving shot on the ground just inside the far post.
“When you’re playing well everything starts to click and you get more confidence in yourself,” Baird said after that match. “I’m getting more comfortable around my teammates and around the ball and I’m hoping to continue progressing throughout the season.”
In between his two appearances for RSL, Baird traveled to Tulsa with RSL’s USL affiliate, the Real Monarchs. There he scored the first of the Monarchs three goals to help lift them over the Roughnecks in the season opener.
On Saturday, Baird was one of three RSL Academy products to start, up from just one in RSL’s first match of the season. Glad started at center back, per usual. Brooks Lennon started at right back. Lennon is traditionally a winger and originally filled in on the back line against LAFC last month due to a rush of injuries to defenders. He has continued to start there in three matches since.