RSL was in the midst of a pummeling at home to expansion franchise LAFC in its home opener. In an attempt to wiggle their way back in somehow, coach Mike Petke called on his 20-year-old winger to put a jersey on and get in the game.
RSL was throwing numbers forward in the eventual 5-1 loss, and it was on that sunny spring afternoon in Sandy that the landscape of Lennon’s hyped, promising career might’ve taken a slight detour. Because growing up, Lennon was a goal-scorer.
At the old RSL academy in Casa Grande, Ariz., he was a forward.