June has been a busy month for the U.S. Soccer Federation, and Utah's family of professional soccer clubs have been heavily involved:
• The women's national team begins its World Cup campaign on Tuesday against Thailand in France. Utah Royals' Becky Sauerbrunn, Christen Press and Kelly O'Hara are all on the roster.
• The men's team was just crushed 3-0 by Jefferson Savarino's Venezuela squad as they prepare for the Gold Cup.
• The U-20 team, led by Real Salt Lake/Real Monarch's David Ochoa and Real Salt Lake Academy graduates Richard Ledezma and Sebastian Soto, was recently eliminated from the U-20 World Cup in Poland, but not before advancing to the quarterfinals.
• Most interesting is the announcement of the roster of the U-23 training camp because it is a mix of current and classic RSL.
Four players — Justen Glad, Aaron Herrera, Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo — were called up by former RSL player and head coach Jason Kreis. All four players participated in the 2017 U-20 World Cup, also reaching the quarterfinals.
Kreis, who left RSL after the 2013 season to become New York City FC's first head coach, was recently hired to lead the U-23s. Kreis spent his final three years as a player at RSL before transitioning to the sideline to bring about the club's most succesful era — winning the MLS Cup once and leading the team to runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League and MLS Cup.
No other MLS club has more that two players named to the U-23 roster. Of RSL's four, it is notable that Brooks Lennon, who has played as a wide defender for RSL for the last two seasons, was named as a forward to the U-23 squad.
Other links
• The Athletic's Stewart Mandel gave Utah State quarterback Jordan Love a shoutout in his latest mailbag column.
• Actor and singer Bryan Greenburg joked about Kawhi Leonard going to the Jazz.
And finally...
Saturday marked 89 days until the start of the NFL season, so naturally Twitter account @nflthrowback shared highlights from a breakout game by former Utes star Steve Smith.