Coming off of his first professional minutes as a second half substitute against Columbus Crew SC on April 7, Chicago Fire Homegrown rookie defender Grant Lillard’s next personal milestone was a different challenge entirely.
“I was obviously very excited to get my first start,” Lillard said, referencing his inclusion in head coach Veljko Paunovic’s starting 11 prior to Saturday’s match against LA. “Going up against the Galaxy, they have a lot of talent in the team. Going up against Zlatan, he was one of my favorite players growing up so it was just an unbelievable experience.