The Homegrown signing season has begun.
Real Salt Lake on Tuesday signed University of Virginia and US Under-18 national team star Jordan Allen to a Homegrown contract. The 18-year-old Rochester, N.Y., native played at Real Salt Lake's Arizona Academy between August 2011 and December 2012 and was named the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Player of the Year in 2011-2012.
Allen is the sixth signing from RSL's Arizona Academy and joins three other RSL academy products on the roster: center back Carlos Salcedo, goalkeeper Lalo Fernandez and forward Benji Lopez.
“To see my dream of signing with RSL come true is very exciting,” Allen said in a club statement. “This is the reason I first moved to the Academy in Arizona. At the same time, I know that this is just the first step, and I need to stay grounded. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to play at RSL, but I know that I have plenty of work to do in order to become a successful pro.”
According to an RSL release, Allen can play at defender, midfielder or forward, but in his lone season at the University of Virginia he proved productive as an attacking midfielder with three goals and a team-high five assists. His game-winner against UConn in the NCAA tournament helped the Cavaliers to the 2013 College Cup.
