Before Auston Trusty scored a World Cup goal, he ‘put the work in’ at Penncrest High and Nether United

Auston Trusty plays centerback for the U.S. men’s national team, a position that doesn’t lend itself to scoring. But when he fired a goal against Turkey in the group stage finale of the World Cup, William Hall wasn’t surprised.

The University of Richmond junior was well-acquainted with Trusty’s shot. He’d seen it dozens, if not hundreds, of times, standing in the net at Chester Park in Wallingford, Pa.

It was the spring of 2020. Hall was 14 years old, an incoming freshman at Strath Haven High School, and Trusty was 21, a starting defender on the Colorado Rapids. COVID-19 had, pushed back the MLS season, and Trusty was at home in his native Media, Pa.

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He still needed to train, but there were few options available. So, the professional athlete decided to return to where it all began: Chester Park, home of youth soccer club Nether United, now 1776 United FC.

Trusty had played under coach John Waraksa for six seasons, two years above his age group, before going to the Philadelphia Union Academy in 2013. Hall was on Nether United’s U-15 team when the pandemic hit.

The teenager would often train with his teammates at Chester Park, and one day in late April or early May, Trusty showed up. They ran through warm-ups, then L-shape passing drills, then finishing drills, then shooting drills.

Hall was the only goaltender present, which put him in the unenviable spot of having to defend against a world-class athlete. It didn’t go well for the teenager.

Unlike players Hall’s his age, Trusty moved with a quicker pace and a harder strike. The ball would curl into the corner rather than launching straight ahead.

“He would just pound them into the net, over and over,” Hall said. “I would say if he shot 20 shots, he’d probably make 18. Maybe hit the post on one of them. And I could scrape a hand on the last one.”

Trusty continued coming back to Chester Park, training with Hall and a group of local players five or six times that spring. It was a thrill for the teenager then, but now, those moments mean even more.

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The “Delco-head,” as national team goalie and Wayne, Pa. native Matt Freese calls him, has made an imprint on the sport’s biggest stage. His goal against Turkey on June 25, which came in the third minute, was the second fastest in U.S. World Cup history.

It was not only Trusty’s first international goal, but the first men’s World Cup goal scored by a player born in the Philadelphia region.

“The group chats were going crazy,” said Hall. “But I think my first thought was, ‘I played with a player who just scored in the World Cup. That is insane. I saved his shot as a young kid.’”

Others throughout the Delaware Valley soccer community felt similarly. Paul Norris, who coached Trusty as a freshman at Penncrest High School, said he became emotional just hearing his name and hometown during the roster reveal.

As was the case with Nether United, Trusty was playing far above his weight at Penncrest. Even as a 14-year-old, he was starting alongside players who were much older and bigger than he was.

“What people laugh at now is he plays professionally as a defender,” Norris said. “But at the time, he had obviously a lot of skill, and we had him as a striker. And he was our second leading goal scorer that year.”

For the last 25 years, Norris has worked both at Penncrest and at Springton Lake Middle School, where he taught Trusty physical education. He still sees that lanky kid when he’s roaming the defensive line for Team USA (even though that kid now stands at 6-foot-3, 172 pounds).

So does Waraksa. The 1776 United coach has known Trusty since he was 8 and was at his World Cup debut in Seattle against Australia on June 19. He was down the shore, in Ocean City, N.J., watching with friends and family when the Media native scored his first goal.

It brought Waraksa back to 2013, when Trusty scored in Nether United’s state cup final against Lehigh Valley.

“Lehigh had won the last five state championships at our age group,” the coach said, “so he stepped up, even two years young, in a state cup final. I mean, who does that?”

Trusty found himself in some challenging situations with Nether United. Waraksa put him on a high back line, but even from an early age, he took to it. Once the centerback realized he could compete amid a more advanced style of play, his confidence only grew.

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And as he continues to represent his country, that confidence is as high as ever. Norris is still coaching varsity soccer at Penncrest, and for the past few years, he’s shown his players clips of Trusty back when he was playing for the Philadelphia Union.

A lot has happened since then. In 2022, Trusty signed with Arsenal. He returned to Europe in 2023, signing with Sheffield United, and in 2024, he penned a five-year-deal with Celtic.

But Norris now has the best Auston Trusty highlight reel of all, one that is “slightly updated” from his Union days. And with Penncrest’s preseason rapidly approaching, the coach can’t wait to show it off.

“We try to remind the kids that this was somebody who was local,” Norris said. “This was not that many years ago. These are things that somebody who was in this school, and in the seat that you may be sitting in, has done.

“You’re all capable of it. It’s just a matter of, do you want to put the work in for it?”

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In this World Cup, underdogs are stealing the spotlight, the U.S. men are on a roll, and Philadelphia has not only welcomed the world but has given visitors a crash course on just how real the curse of the Rocky Statue can be.

Join Jonathan Tannenwald, the Inquirer's soccer writer, and host Lisa Carlin, analyst for CBS Sports Golazo, as they dissect the matches, the moments, and more as Philly has its moment in soccer's brightest spotlight. Watch our latest episode right here. 

Watch previous episodes:

Episode 1: The Wait is Over! 
Episode 2: Groups, Goals, and Glory
Episode 3: Electric Action in Philly
Episode 4: The Knockout Rounds Begin!