Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie relish their USMNT homecoming on the Union’s turf

As Mark McKenzie made his way to the field where the U.S. men’s soccer team has practiced this week, he stopped for a moment to take a detour.

The Union were training on another field nearby, and McKenzie spotted some old friends: Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, and assistant coach Frank Leicht among them. So he went over for handshakes and hugs, and they were just as happy to say hello.

Everyone with the U.S. program has been a welcome guest this week, but the squad’s quartet of Union alumni have been the guests of honor. So when McKenzie and Brenden Aaronson met with the media Wednesday afternoon, the first thing to talk about was obvious.

“Being back home is, of course, amazing, and we’re both really lucky that this is the first time that the national team has been in Philly since we’ve been on the team,” Aaronson said. “It’s amazing to be here, and then on top of that, to see the facility — I think they’re calling it ‘the WSFS?’ That’s kind of what we’ve been hearing. It’s an amazing facility.”

Yes, WSFS is the local bank that put its name on the doors of what’s officially called the WSFS Bank Sportsplex. And this week has been Aaronson’s first time inside, since it wasn’t open yet when he attended the Union’s game against Inter Miami in May.

“Seeing the people that we grew up [with], our coaches, I saw my Union Juniors coach,” Aaronson said, referring to when the 25-year-old was just 10. “It’s always nice to see those faces, people that helped you in your development, and then seeing them at this stage of your life. It’s amazing, and it’s great to see how the Union have done a great job.”

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The layout of the place also has created some fun cross-pollination between the U.S. and Union staffs. Union goalkeeper coach Phil Wheddon and head athletic trainer Paul Rushing used to work for the national teams, and have stopped by the workout room to catch up with old friends. In this online age, in-person interaction still has value for catching up and trading ideas.

“It’s always special to come back home, see familiar faces,” said McKenzie, who also stopped by the Union’s youth academy across the parking lot. When he was a student there, the classrooms were temporary buildings around a parking lot in Wayne. The scene at the school’s new facilities in Chester is much different.

“To see how the facilities have expanded beyond, honestly, what I would have even thought,” he said. “To think back when we were in Wayne, Pennsylvania, in a small locker room — 70 of us squeezing in there and showering — I think it’s come a long way. But it’s a testament of the belief from [academy bankroller] Richie Graham, from the owners of the Union, and everybody who’s put even the smallest amount of effort into helping us succeed.”

The quartet of former Union players on this U.S. squad grew up together: Aaronson is 25, McKenzie is 26, and Auston Trusty and Matt Freese are 27. Then they grew up separately, departing the club in their respective directions from 2019 to 2022.

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This week’s reunion feels a bit like a homecoming on a college campus, an idea U.S. Soccer is happy to market to a city happy to receive it. So are the players, McKenzie in particular. He and Trusty played together from their early teens, then started together on the Union’s back line in 2019. A year later, McKenzie and Aaronson won the Supporters’ Shield together.

“‘B’ has grown up in front of my eyes — he’s engaged as well,” McKenzie said, to a fiancée in Milana D’Ambra with her own soccer pedigree. “To think back in the Bethlehem Steel days [with the Union’s reserve team], Trusty and I shared a lot of minutes together, a lot of time on the field as a centerback duo. Even going back before that, in the academy, and then with the first team.”

As for Freese, he received a gentle roasting. The Wayne native has been the definition of focused as he works to keep the U.S. team’s starting goalkeeper job, while also knowing he’ll be back at Subaru Park a week later to try to knock the Union out of the playoffs.

“Of course, he loves the place, he loves Philadelphia,” Aaronson said. “You can kind of see it going in his head a little bit, and it’s funny to see, because he’s just a guy that whenever he shows up, he wants to be locked in all the time. So you can kind of see that when we’re at the facility, he doesn’t want to get too close — and, I mean, he knows all the guys.”

» READ MORE: With two more starts, Wayne’s Matt Freese remains atop the USMNT goalkeeper depth chart

McKenzie didn’t hide his allegiance either.

“He’s a professional, so he doesn’t want to showcase too much of that attachment of sentiment with Philly, even though everybody knows he’s a Philly boy at heart,” he said. “He tries his best, but we already [see] through that. … But no, I’m happy for him. He’s done really well, especially with New York City, and he’s also done really well with national team. So I’m proud of him.”

They dreamed in those early days of doing what they’ve now done: playing for their hometown club, earning a life in the sport, and now coming home to play for their country in front of fans who still cherish them. If they get on the field Saturday against Paraguay (5 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62), the welcome they get will be one to remember.

“I think the best thing about the Philly development [pathway] is we have the mentality from young ages,” Aaronson said. “It was this winning mentality. … I think you’re just surrounded by these guys [who] want to be the best players that they can be. And it’s not cutthroat, I would say, it’s competitive.”

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It also was an immersion in the world’s game, from practice sessions to the classroom to watching Europe’s Champions League on TV on midweek afternoons.

“Everybody wanted to reach the highest level, and that’s what the beauty was,” Aaronson said. “I still have a lot of friends that I talk to today from the Union academy and stuff like that. So it was just a big family, but I think also, they did a great job of honing everybody’s skills and the mentality. “

Now the academy’s current crop watches him in England, McKenzie in France, Trusty in Scotland, and Cavan Sullivan starring at this month’s under-17 World Cup. Not for nothing did the school post a video on its Instagram account of the students celebrating one of Sullivan’s goals in the tournament.

That spirit is further shown by the many current Union players and prospects across all U.S. youth national teams. Just this month, the club has four players at the under-17 World Cup, two more at an under-17 training camp, one with the under-19s, three with the under-20s, and former player Brandan Craig with the under-21s.

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Harriel, the injured Quinn Sullivan, and Frankie Westfield also have had turns this year, the first two with the senior squad and Westfield as a breakout name at the under-20 World Cup.

They know the footsteps they’re following in, and that their footsteps might be followed in turn someday. And they’ll all be watching Saturday when Aaronson, McKenzie, Trusty, and Freese realize another long-sought dream: to be welcomed home for their country, with a roar many years in the making.