Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Glesnes in awe of reaction to ‘crazy’ goal in L.A.
CHESTER » Jakob Glesnes’ goal is becoming the closest thing in Union history to the moon landing: Everyone will recall where they were when they saw the defender’s free kick wonder strike Saturday night in a 3-3 draw with Los Angeles FC.
Here’s Jim Curtin’s version from his Wednesday press conference:
“I’d like to say we worked on that one in training,” he said. “I think I bent over to get a quick drink of water and I looked up and I saw that Jakob had not advanced to where we would usually have him, where we’d be kind of clipping a ball from that distance onto his head, which is a real asset as well. But when I saw him over the ball, I turned to (assistant coach) Pat Noonan and I said, ‘is he thinking of shooting this?’ And he said, ‘I think he is.’
“I had a good view of it. It was one of those ones where it actually gained speed later on as it went, which maybe sounds weird to people. It’s a once in a lifetime hit and the kind of goal actually you need against a really good team in LA. That was a big goal for him, big moment.”
The Union have a recent penchant for creating viral moments on national TV, from Alejandro Bedoya’s plea for gun reform last August in Washington to this one. It’s created a whirlwind week for Glesnes, who as of
Tuesday morning hadn’t finished sifting through the transatlantic social-media messages.
“It’s been crazy,” said the 25-year-old Norwegian. “I’ve gotten a lot of messages from the U.S. and from Norway and from everywhere. It seems like many have seen the video. It’s been crazy.”
It’s the right kind of buzz to be generating ahead of the home opener at the newly re-christened
Subaru Park Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes (7:30 p.m., PHL17). Despite a kickoff just before 11 p.m. in Los Angeles on the first day of Daylight Saving Time, the Union drew notice for their gutsy performance, three times taking the lead against the Supporters’ Shield holders in one of MLS’s most hostile environments.
Though it was only one point, the Union (0-1-1, 1 point) marked the experience in LA with a little celebration around Glesnes’ world-class goal, all signing the ball, once the singe marks from the net were buffed out.
It was the signature moment of a stirring performance.
“I think maybe more than any game I’ve coached, the amount of texts and calls from friends and teammates and former players and coaches and media that just said, that was fun to watch,” Curtin said. “I wish it was a better time for Philadelphians, but it was one that made me proud for a lot of reasons.”
For Glesnes and the team, it creates confidence to take with them.
“It’s makes good confidence, of course,” Glesnes said. “We met a strong home team away, and we have to take with us the good things and be ready for the home game on the weekend and do the same, but a little bit better.”
••• Saturday’s home opener against San Jose will go on without restrictions on attendance, per a team statement Wednesday. MLS has avoided across-the-board decrees about closing stadiums in light of the coronavirus outbreak, though it has aligned with other major sports in closing locker rooms.
It has deferred to local states of emergency where the disease is particularly prevalent and announced Wednesday that it would postpone matches on March 21 in San Jose and Seattle, two of the harder-hit areas that have placed restrictions on public gatherings.
Absent a similar degree for the greater Philadelphia area, the Union game is on as scheduled.
“There’s been memos sent from the league,” Curtin said. “There’s been memos internally. It’s a very serious situation that’s ongoing. You’re starting to see a lot of leagues take serious precautions. … So we’ll do whatever we’re told to help prevent any further spread.”