Craig, Aaronson create Olympic moment in CONCACAF U-20 semifinal
Brandan Craig stood over the free kick Friday at what had the potential to be critical moment, in a game and in so much more.
Here the United States Under-20 squad stood, in San Pedro Sula. A win over Honduras would send the U.S. to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, ending a long-running embarrassment to the youth program. Already, the group had hit its first objective, making the semifinals to qualify for the U-20 World Cup in 2023.
With so much riding on this outcome, Craig lined up a free kick, caught a glint in the eye of someone he’s known for most of his life, and let fly.
That all-Philadelphia Union connection — Craig swerving a free kick for Paxten Aaronson to volley home — started the U.S. on its way to a 3-0 win. With it comes a berth in the Paris Olympics in 2024 and a reinforcement of the Union’s centrality in the U.S. youth pipeline.
“That’s a little trainingground thing that one of our assistant coaches put up,” Craig said Saturday via Zoom. “He told me before the game, ‘I feel like we’re going to get a goal off a set piece.’ And I was like, ‘I hope so.’ If I put in the right ball and Pax makes a right run or anybody makes a right run, it’s should be a tap-in, and that’s what it was. It was really good for finally a set piece to pay off, and it’s really special from me to Paxten.”
The U.S. may not have met its goals without a core of Union Homegrowns: Aaronson, Craig, Quinn Sullivan and Jack McGlynn. Sullivan and Aaronson have played in all six games of the tournament, combining for
nine starts. Sullivan leads the golden boot race with six goals, including a tapin for the third Friday, plus three assists. Aaronson has five goals and an assist. McGlynn has made five appearances (three starts), including a rocket of a goal from outside the box in a draw with Canada. Craig has started four games at center back, one of coach Mikey Varas’ most dependable stoppers, to go with deceptively stellar set-piece deliveries.
Aaronson scored both goals in the quarterfinal win over Costa Rica, the first on a Sullivan helper, to earn one of four World Cup spots. Sullivan recorded a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Cuba, Aaronson furnishing an assist.
The quartet represents the biggest footprint for any club on the U-20s roster. It’s an experience the group has relished.
“That’s just a testament to our academy, and Tommy Wilson, Richie Graham,” Craig said. “That’s a big testament to them. They should get a lot of the credit for what they do and each individual coach and player, too. We’re in such a good environment to learn and develop as better players, and a lot of it, too, is because we have an Academy, a second team and a first team that trusts young guys. It’s really, really special
what we have here, and it’s really paying off at the youth international level.”
“I think it was great because we’re all really good friends,” McGlynn said. “We have a really good connection on the field, and we show that every time we step on the field. Me and Paxten, we’ve known each other and we’ve grown up together, so doing it with him and all the other Union guys, it’s really special for us.”
Sullivan takes that a step further: Not only are he and Craig together in Honduras, but their families are rooming together in Texas, where both younger brothers — Andrew
Craig and Cavan Sullivan — are playing in the MLS Next Under-17 championships. That’s how deep the connections run.
All four players are proving, again, in Honduras that they’re among the premier players of their age in the region. Fighting for time with the Union is a different matter. All but Craig had time last year thanks to the condensed schedule, but they haven’t quite duplicated their performances this season. Aaronson scored three times last year. Sullivan added two goals, including a sensational overhead kick in Chicago in his first start.
McGlynn delivered an assist and impressed in short stretches.
This year, they have no goals or assists in 471 minutes. Much of that is due to limited opportunities, and by releasing them to the U-20s, the Union prioritized them helping the cause in Honduras. The process they’ve undergone there might help in the future.
They’ve had to fight for their places with the U-20s and they’ve been rewarded by seeing goals hit the back of the net. With individual and team success, they’ve done nothing to hurt their stock back home with the Union.