Speaker 1: RSL went to San Diego over the weekend and got
Speaker 1: a result three to one over the expansion side, who
Speaker 1: came here earlier this year and actually beat ral saw Lake.
Speaker 1: Our next guest scored a wonder goal, a great, great strike.
Speaker 1: Sam Junk joins the show on a Monday afternoon. Sam,
Speaker 1: how you doing, buddy, I'm doing great.
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1: I appreciate the time. So we got to talk about
Speaker 1: the goal. Did you know that you so? I always
Speaker 1: find it fascinating to talk to soccer players that scored
Speaker 1: goals the way that you did over the weekend.
Speaker 3: When you struck it, did you know that you had put.
Speaker 1: It on frame? Did you feel that good about it?
Speaker 1: Right instantly after you struck the ball.
Speaker 2: I felt like I got good contact on it. The
Speaker 2: difficulty with shots like that is there's a lot of
Speaker 2: people in and around the box and a lot of
Speaker 2: times get blocked when it's on frame. This time it
Speaker 2: didn't happen, and so fortunately went into the side netting.
Speaker 3: How much of a relief was that result?
Speaker 1: I mean, we'll get to some of the other story
Speaker 1: Lion's but the start has been rough, it's been up
Speaker 1: and down. So how good did that feel Sam to
Speaker 1: go to San Diego and get that three points, it
Speaker 1: felt really good.
Speaker 2: We've been in need of a win and it's never
Speaker 2: easy to win away, and to be the first team
Speaker 2: to win in San Diego was special.
Speaker 1: So tell us about yourself a little bits. First time
Speaker 1: we've been able to have you on the show. You're
Speaker 1: one of the new players. You were acquired from uh
Speaker 1: you were required from Dallas and the Anderson Julio deal.
Speaker 3: Tell us about yourself grown up?
Speaker 1: When did you first start playing soccer and how do
Speaker 1: you feel about, you know, landing here with RSL.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I started playing maybe around six years old, just recreationally,
Speaker 2: and got more serious as time went on. Really excited
Speaker 2: to be here in Salt Lake, and I feel like
Speaker 2: me and my fiance are settling in here and calling
Speaker 2: it home now.
Speaker 1: So instantly, of course, it was probably a little bit jarring.
Speaker 1: It's kind of the interesting thing when you're a pro athlete,
Speaker 1: you don't really have control over where you live. Did
Speaker 1: you know much about our market or is most of
Speaker 1: the dynamics about Utah pretty new to you and your fiance?
Speaker 2: Most of it's pretty new. I had a little bit
Speaker 2: of an idea of what it might be like, because
Speaker 2: I actually thought when I was leaving Houston that I
Speaker 2: might end up in RSL, But you know, I ended
Speaker 2: up in Dallas and that was that. And now two
Speaker 2: years later the opportunity came up again and it happened
Speaker 2: this time, and so we've gotten more familiar with the
Speaker 2: valley and you know all that Utah has to offer.
Speaker 1: This time around, you are competing with Alex for that spot.
Speaker 3: What's it? What's it been like to uh?
Speaker 1: And look, when it comes to healthy competition, of course,
Speaker 1: that's something Pablo wants, and the season is so long,
Speaker 1: you want multiple options at each each position. But tell
Speaker 1: me about that kind of positional battle that you and
Speaker 1: Alex are kind of fighting for.
Speaker 2: I think it's been good. I feel like the left
Speaker 2: back position has been a strong one for us this season,
Speaker 2: and the composition is good. Alex is a great player,
Speaker 2: and I think that we've both pushed each other to
Speaker 2: be at our best, and you know, I think that's
Speaker 2: helping the team this season.
Speaker 1: Tell me what specifically Pablo is asked for from you
Speaker 1: when it comes to that positional battle and the other
Speaker 1: things you're expected to do for the.
Speaker 2: Club, So specifically for that position. They want us to
Speaker 2: not just be defenders, but to provide some help in
Speaker 2: the attack and to get forward. And it's a physically
Speaker 2: demanding position. They want us to provide a pretty high output,
Speaker 2: usually the highest of the team in terms of distance
Speaker 2: covered and running back and forth. And you know, it's
Speaker 2: a position where we do a little bit of everything,
Speaker 2: and you know we we play on both sides of
Speaker 2: the ball.
Speaker 1: So far through the season, through at the start of
Speaker 1: the season, you know, it has been a little bit
Speaker 1: up and down. Tell me what you feel like, you
Speaker 1: guys excel at when you're getting points.
Speaker 3: What are you doing well.
Speaker 2: I think that we're a team that brings energy and grit,
Speaker 2: and I think we showed that in this past game
Speaker 2: because the first half wasn't easy. They had a lot
Speaker 2: of the ball and we were kind of weathering the
Speaker 2: storm for a lot of the first half. But we
Speaker 2: were the team that struck first and then we carried
Speaker 2: that into the second half where we kind of grew
Speaker 2: into the game and put the game away.
Speaker 1: We saw another brace from Diego Luna Sam and that
Speaker 1: young man star continues to shine and continues to rise.
Speaker 1: What's it like training with him? What's it been like
Speaker 1: to be his teammate and tell us maybe your thoughts
Speaker 1: on how he continues to evolve and really rise up
Speaker 1: the ranks as a genuine legit superstar in Major League Soccer.
Speaker 2: It's been great. You know, you always want to play
Speaker 2: with great players on your team, and he's been somebody
Speaker 2: that's been doing a great job for us this season.
Speaker 2: Funny story is he actually played with my little brother
Speaker 2: growing up when they were both playing for the center
Speaker 2: of the Earthquakes, and so I knew about him a
Speaker 2: little bit. It's kind of funny to be playing with,
Speaker 2: you know, people that my little brother has played with
Speaker 2: or against now in the league. But yeah, he's been
Speaker 2: somebody that I think has shown that he can produce
Speaker 2: at the club level and now on the national team level.
Speaker 2: So it's really exciting to see kind of where his
Speaker 2: career takes him.
Speaker 1: Just one brother, what's the family dynamic? Like he grew
Speaker 1: up where you're a southern California kid, right, So is
Speaker 1: your family still there and is it just you and
Speaker 1: your one brother?
Speaker 2: No, I'm the middle of three boys. So I've got
Speaker 2: my little brother, the one that has played with Diego,
Speaker 2: and I've got an older brother. Nobody actually lives in
Speaker 2: California anymore. My parents and my little brother, they currently
Speaker 2: reside in nearby Cordelaine, Idaho up north. Sure, and my
Speaker 2: big brother is actually going to be returning to California
Speaker 2: to be nearby UC Davis, but currently he's in Beaverton, Oregon.
Speaker 1: Very does who put a soccer ball at your feet?
Speaker 3: First? Was it Dad? Was it mom? Was it your brothers?
Speaker 3: How'd you get involved in the game?
Speaker 2: I had to think that I saw my big brother playing.
Speaker 2: He played all sorts of sports, soccer being one of them,
Speaker 2: and I saw him playing, and so I got involved
Speaker 2: when I saw that.
Speaker 1: Did you play any other sports? I mean, you're legitimately
Speaker 1: six feet tall. Some of these soccer guys are like
Speaker 1: five to five and they only played soccer.
Speaker 3: Did you play any other sports?
Speaker 2: I played a little bit of basketball. I did a
Speaker 2: little bit of swimming growing up, but otherwise it was
Speaker 2: intramural you know, baseball, football, those kinds of things, but
Speaker 2: primarily soccer basketball.
Speaker 1: Did you have a soccer hero growing up that you
Speaker 1: wanted to be in, a favorite club that you like
Speaker 1: to watch growing up?
Speaker 2: I think the one that inspired me the most was
Speaker 2: probably Ronaldinho. The things that he did on the field
Speaker 2: and with the ball were just, you know, they looked magical,
Speaker 2: and I always liked to watch his YouTube videos and
Speaker 2: try to recreate them, and I think that's what really
Speaker 2: inspired me.
Speaker 1: When did you know that you were really good at this?
Speaker 1: When did you know that if you put in the
Speaker 1: work and had some health luck and did the right things,
Speaker 1: that you could potentially be a professional player.
Speaker 2: I would say sometime when I was a teenager. I
Speaker 2: started to, you know, believe that I had, you know,
Speaker 2: the ability and the opportunity to maybe make it. But
Speaker 2: you know, it's always hard to say because there are
Speaker 2: players that you grew up with that you think are
Speaker 2: going to make it for sure, and they don't, right,
Speaker 2: And so I think what I started to realize was
Speaker 2: that it wasn't just about the talent, and that there
Speaker 2: were other factors and other you know, non controllables control
Speaker 2: goles that went into it. And I really tried to
Speaker 2: focus on everything I could control and and just you know,
Speaker 2: figure out the paths from there. Because I didn't really
Speaker 2: have anybody for my family that's with this path, so
Speaker 2: I was kind of winging it and trying to figure
Speaker 2: it out as I went.
Speaker 1: Tell me what it's like playing for Pablo here a
Speaker 1: new coach, juxtapost other coaches you played for. What makes
Speaker 1: Pablo Pablo? What's it like playing for him?
Speaker 2: It's been awesome. I I really enjoyed it when I
Speaker 2: was in Houston. I'm enjoying it again being here at oursel.
Speaker 2: You know, the teams that he coaches, they show a
Speaker 2: lot of grid, a lot of fight, you know, and
Speaker 2: not just a strong tactical sense. So I think that
Speaker 2: there's a good balance there. I like that he's a
Speaker 2: good man manager. He you know, as the players go through,
Speaker 2: and knows what it's like to be in our shoes,
Speaker 2: and so I think all that experience allows it to
Speaker 2: be the coach that he is.
Speaker 1: So tell me your thoughts on where you guys find
Speaker 1: yourselves and the kind of the conversation at that locker room.
Speaker 1: With the win against San Diego, you're now four to six,
Speaker 1: and oh, I think you're the only team in all
Speaker 1: of Major League Soccer that has not tied a game.
Speaker 3: And so you know, Sam, you know the deal. You're
Speaker 3: a vet.
Speaker 1: I think you played in one hundred and forty four
Speaker 1: games and ultimately some of the best teams we've ever
Speaker 1: had here have been off to really bad starts, and
Speaker 1: some of the worst teams got off the great starts.
Speaker 1: Like it is such a marathon long season. But through
Speaker 1: through ten games, where do you guys feel like you're
Speaker 1: at right now? What do you have to do to
Speaker 1: maybe get more results coming your way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that, you know, we feel a sense
Speaker 2: of urgency knowing that we're you know, getting close to
Speaker 2: being a third of the way through the season. At
Speaker 2: the same time, we know that it's a long season,
Speaker 2: and you know, you win a couple of games in
Speaker 2: a row and suddenly you shoot up towards the top
Speaker 2: of the table. And so I think, you know, in
Speaker 2: the past couple of games, we've gotten back to playing
Speaker 2: a little bit more the way we want to and
Speaker 2: playing more complete games. And I think, you know, the
Speaker 2: things that we've been doing in training and going into
Speaker 2: these games, we have to keep doing that and just
Speaker 2: be continue to be better in our defensive end and
Speaker 2: in our offensive end in the boxes, and that's the
Speaker 2: focus that we've been talking about. And I think that
Speaker 2: everything in between has been quite good. It's just being better,
Speaker 2: you know, not letting goals in and scoring our chances,
Speaker 2: and I think we'll be just fine.
Speaker 1: Primary transfer window comes and goes, two editions are made,
Speaker 1: both from SKC, ironically enough, which is kind of a
Speaker 1: rival of RSLs that battled for the Cup back in
Speaker 1: the day. So tell me what sort of what sort
Speaker 1: of kind of access or what sort of experience you've
Speaker 1: had so far communicated with Willy and Johnny And what
Speaker 1: are you guys hoping that those two acquisitions do for
Speaker 1: your team.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think it gives us a big boost offensively
Speaker 2: getting Willy and Johnny into the team. I think that
Speaker 2: this past game Will he showed a little bit of
Speaker 2: his ability and I think that it's very promising what
Speaker 2: he brings for the team. Johnny's still kind of getting going.
Speaker 2: He hasn't been training with the team. He's been a
Speaker 2: free agent, and so he might need a little bit.
Speaker 2: But you know, he's been producing in the league for
Speaker 2: the past seven years or so, and he's a well
Speaker 2: known name around the league, and so that experience that
Speaker 2: he brings to the team, and you know what he'll
Speaker 2: have to attack, I think will be really valuable going forward.
Speaker 2: We have had a little bit of difficulty producing much
Speaker 2: as we'd like offensively, and so I think that these
Speaker 2: guys will be really helpful in that category.
Speaker 3: What do you like to do, Sam when you're not
Speaker 3: playing soccer?
Speaker 1: I've read that you and your fiance like to foster
Speaker 1: animals and at one point, am I reading correctly that
Speaker 1: you had twelve cats in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: Yeah, something crazy like that, just because we had I
Speaker 2: think a litter of kittens that was in the process
Speaker 2: of being adopted out, and then there was another litter
Speaker 2: of kittens that we were asked to foster or else
Speaker 2: they were going to get put down, and you know,
Speaker 2: it was either we take them in or they were
Speaker 2: going to get put down that day. So we took
Speaker 2: them in and there was a little bit of an overlap,
Speaker 2: and but yeah, it's something that we're very passionate about.
Speaker 2: We love animals, not just cats and dogs, but we
Speaker 2: tend to foster or work with those animals. And otherwise,
Speaker 2: we both my fiance and I both really like nature.
Speaker 2: I like, you know, walking around Ochre Lake with my dog.
Speaker 2: I hope to visit the National Parks sometime soon when
Speaker 2: we get some days off in a row. And otherwise,
Speaker 2: I've enjoyed cooking some nice meals at home, cooking dinners
Speaker 2: with my fiance. We live right by Harman's and so
Speaker 2: being walking distance to a grocery store has made it
Speaker 2: much easier to go grab some things for dinner.
Speaker 1: And it's been a love for all of our listeners.
Speaker 1: Are rs listeners. Do you do the social media thing?
Speaker 1: Do you do the Instagram thing? I think the kids
Speaker 1: love the TikTok. Sam, is there any anywhere that our
Speaker 1: listeners can go find your stuff?
Speaker 2: Yeah, they can find me on Instagram at s Junka.
Speaker 1: All right, buddy, well, congrats on that goal. It was
Speaker 1: quite a strike. And keep up the good work and
Speaker 1: most importantly stay healthy. Okay, thank you very much all
Speaker 1: Sam junk rsel left back.
Speaker 3: He and Alex.
Speaker 1: Catronos kind of battling for that position. Had a pretty
Speaker 1: stunning goal. I didn't know Sam had that in him.
Speaker 1: It was from I don't know twenty five twenty six
Speaker 1: yards out beat the keeper lower right hand side and
Speaker 1: was able to get that goal to help RSL get
Speaker 1: that three one victory against San Diego. The road continues
Speaker 1: for RSL. They have been on the road for a while.
Speaker 1: Three of the next four on the road. They're going
Speaker 1: to take on Vancouver. Who's the best side in the West.
Speaker 1: Ride now, Then they'll be in Dallas at Toyota Stadium,
Speaker 1: a quick trip back to Salt Lake. I guess I
Speaker 1: should say Sandy to take on Portland, and then there'll
Speaker 1: be a Dick Sporting Goods Park to take on Colorado.
Speaker 1: So three the next four on the road for real
Speaker 1: Salt Lake