The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
McGlynn’s first start signals next wave of Homegrowns
Jack McGlynn didn't ponder the larger ramifications of his first MLS start, though the 17-yearold can be forgiven for looking past a process underway for well more than half his lifetime.
The midfielder wasn't just the youngest Union Homegrown Player to start in MLS since Zach Pfeffer in 2011. He marked a turning of the page in the club's Homegrown story, a first start from the contingent of five additions for the 2021 campaign. That from an offseason defined by the two Homegrowns who helped change the perception of the Union's developmental program being sold overseas.
That narrative is a little too much to foist upon McGlynn Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago. But in a solid 62-minute shift in a 2-0 win, the midfielder demonstrated that the future is in good hands.
“All five of us have been working really hard, playing well in training, so it's just good to get my first start,” McGlynn said via Zoom. “The next training, just keep doing what I've been doing that got me here, keep working hard.”
Like it or not, the fates of the latest five Homegrowns will forever be tied by timing. It's the same way that the careers of Mark McKenzie and Matt Real, signed on the same day in 2018, are intertwined. Or how Anthony Fontana and Brenden Aaronson, sharing the same position and signed as seniors in high school a year apart, are comparable.
Though the signings came on four different days, there's a through line linking McGlynn with midfielders Quinn Sullivan, Brandan Craig and Paxten Aaronson and defender Nathan Harriel. Of that group, McGlynn is the first to notch a league start. Only he and Sullivan have played MLS minutes. Aaronson and Harriel have made the matchday 18 in MLS. McGlynn's progress has also skipped the line ahead of the batch of 2020 Homegrowns, with neither Cole Turner nor Jack de Vries having started yet.
“Jack deserved the start,” Jim Curtin said. “He