Union teen, Jersey native Aaronson called up by USMNT
CHESTER, PA. >> When Brenden Aaronson got the email from U.S. Soccer last week, he had no trouble keeping its confidential contents off social media.
At home in Medford, though, was another matter.
“I think I’m a pretty humble guy that I like to keep stuff down,” Aaronson said Wednesday. “I’ll wait for all the stuff to come out, when people talk about it. But I like to keep that stuff to myself. … My parents were the first ones I told. I was going crazy in the house. It’s just awesome.”
The message contained the biggest accolade yet in the 18-year-old’s soccer life: A call-up to the U.S. national team, announced officially Wednesday.
The Union midfielder is one of 26 players on Gregg Berhalter’s roster for CONCACAF Nations League games during the October international break. The U.S. will take on Cuba Oct. 11 at Audi Field in Washington D.C., then travel to Toronto’s BMO Field to duel with Canada Oct. 15. Aaronson is one of 18 MLS-based players in the squad and the only one making his senior-team debut.
His first national-team camp is the latest installment of a whirlwind season. Signed to a Homegrown deal last summer that kicked in Jan. 1, Aaronson, who turns 19 this month, started the Union’s opener and hasn’t looked back. He’s played in 27 matches (24 starts) with three goals and two assists, a big reason for the Union clinching a third playoff berth in four seasons and standing third in the Eastern Conference ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale.
Along the way, Aaronson’s stock has skyrocketed. He wasn’t part of the Under-20 World Cup in May but became a leading figure in U-23 camps this summer. Now he’s on the precipice of becoming a full international.
Fellow Homegrowns Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty, both of whom competed in youth World Cups unlike Aaronson, were part of Berhalter’s January camp but didn’t earn caps. Aaronson could be the first Union Homegrown to play for the U.S., more proof of internal competition that drives that contingent.
“I think not so much talking-wise but on the field, everybody wants to strive to be better than each other,” Aaronson said. “That’s the healthy kind of environment that it is here. Everybody wants to be better than everybody. I think that’s the competitive nature of this team.”
In the aftermath of the U.S.’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Berhalter has led an overhaul, trying with mixed results to imprint his system. Aaronson will play a role in the U.S. trying to qualify for the 2020 Olympics; the U.S. has failed to make three of the last four Games.
The generational house-cleaning that came with the travesty in Trinidad in 2017 has opened the doors to a slew of young players. Aaronson’s quick ascent stakes a place for him in that field, alongside older and more hyped attacking mids like Paxton Pomykal of FC Dallas and Chicago’s Djordje Mihailovic.
“I think that the U.S. is looking toward the next World Cup in 2022, and taking younger guys and giving them chances is an amazing thing that they’re doing right now,” Aaronson said. “It’s going to keep building players and give them confidence to go back and do well with their clubs. I think it’s a pretty special opportunity right now for all the young guys.”
One trait Aaronson has displayed consistently is raising his level against new competition. His transition from Academy to Bethlehem Steel last year convinced the Union to sign him. He showed in preseason that he could handle the rigors of MLS, and he’s improved incrementally all season — from being a fringe starter to an impact player, shoring up weaknesses in his game, particularly in the attacking third.
“I always have goals, and I always set them before the season,” Aaronson said. “And my goal is always to be the best I can, every single year . ... ”