Category: Sports

TEMPE, Ariz. — In another world, Cavan Sullivan might have followed his 8-year-old self’s baseball dreams in Bridesburg and become a shortstop.

Maybe Frankie Westfield would have joined his siblings in football or basketball at Father Judge High, not far from their home in Northeast Philadelphia’s Morrell Park. Perhaps Neil Pierre would have heeded those who saw his surging frame in Blue Bell and stuck with his young love of the hardwood.

In this world, though, none of those things happened. They chose a different game, coming together on their local soccer team. And now, as the young men turn into adults, the world’s game has launched them into the spotlight.

They haven’t had much time to appreciate it lately, between the Union’s frantic summer and their first journey with the senior U.S. men’s national team. This week, a moment finally arrived, as the trio sat down together to talk with their hometown newspaper.

Over their shoulders on a hotel terrace, the sun baked a sweeping view of a metropolis in a desert — about as un-Philadelphian as a landscape gets. But within seconds, it felt like they were right back home.

“The chemistry is obviously there,” Sullivan said. “We enjoy every second we play together and we try and have fun, all while competing, and we like to all do it with a positive mindset. I’m really happy and honored to be with these guys, and proud of them.”

At times, there’s more to take in off the field than on it: new teammates and coaches, practices, meetings, and a hectic travel schedule of five cities in 18 days.

“It just makes it easier, being with the guys that you know and you grew up with throughout the academy,” Westfield said. “I know it’s a long time away from our team, but just having these two guys to have alongside, to join in with conversation or whether it’s at dinner tables or stuff like that with the other guys, just makes it so much easier.”

As young as they all are, they’re already accustomed to living in a fishbowl. Sullivan, who just turned 17, is the biggest example: swooned over by the world’s chattering classes as he awaits a future with English power Manchester City. Pierre, 18, also has a growing legion of suitors, reportedly including Spanish juggernaut Barcelona.

Westfield, 20, isn’t quite that famous yet. But while brother Rocco was winning back-to-back Catholic League hoops titles, Frankie was becoming a locked-in Union starter and major prospect for the 2028 U.S. Olympic team.

‘This is our dream’

Each has gained much from this, and stands to gain much more. They also realize the scale of sacrifices required.

It struck a chord with many people when Pierre said last week that his six-month loan to Denmark’s Lyngby earlier this year was the closest thing he’ll have to a college experience. He and the others will never have a traditional young adulthood.

“Yeah, we didn’t get to go to college, but we’re obviously very grateful for where we’re at,” said Pierre, who has been taking online courses through a partnership between MLS and Syracuse University. Sullivan will begin the same program soon.

“Growing up, for all three of us, this is our dream, the days that we live now,” said Westfield, who backed out of a commitment to Penn State in 2024 to turn pro with the Union. “We wake up, we get to play soccer every single day. We’ve always dreamed of that, and also, to represent our country has been one of our biggest dreams growing up. “

He then spoke just as strongly about the value of time away from the field and keeping watch on one’s mental health.

“Just to clear our minds and get away from other things like that, I think that’s one of the biggest importances of recovery,” he said. “In terms of mentally staying sharp, just getting away from the game is also how we stay sharp in a way.”

All three players made their senior national team debuts in the opener of this four-game set of friendlies, last Saturday against Peru. Sullivan earned his first start that day, and Westfield and Pierre earned their first starts three days later against Chile.

Imagine, even if you aren’t a soccer fan, the emotions of the moment: walking through the tunnel and onto the field, a USA crest on your shirt, then standing for the national anthems.

The rest of us might take the scene for granted, given how often it happens. But players don’t, especially when it’s their first time.

“It’s kind of cliché to say you can get goose bumps and stuff, but honestly, like that’s what I felt like,” Westfield said.

“It’s so different from your club — it’s way more than that, it’s bigger than that, it’s your whole nation,” Pierre said. “To have that pride and also that responsibility, the weight of the country on your shoulders. … It was just an amazing feeling.”

Sullivan thought of his parents, who were in the stands watching another milestone for a three-generation soccer family.

“The national anthem means a lot to me, and I take pride in singing it and also having goose bumps,” he said. “I was representing my family that day, but also my entire nation. To be able to do that is pretty special.”

Their first shot at the U.S.’ best rivalry

As they spoke, they awaited the marquee moment of this stretch: Saturday’s showdown with Mexico at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (10 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62). It will be the teams’ first meeting since the Gold Cup final 15 months ago, and so much has happened since then that the rivalry has fallen off the marquee.

This game will bring it roaring back, with a near-capacity crowd expected at the 63,400-seat home of the NFL’s Cardinals.

“We all grew up watching USA-Mexico,” Sullivan said, “from when …”

He paused for a moment, looked across the table, and said, “I’ve got to be careful.”

The veterans on hand laughed, and excused him — though with a brief pause for a history lesson. This reporter’s first U.S.-Mexico epic was the inaugural “Dos a Cero” triumph 25 years ago. A U.S. Soccer staffer in the next chair had been around even longer.

Then it was back to the present, and Sullivan’s first chance to make his mark.

“It’s USA-Mexico, and it’s the biggest game of our lives,” Sullivan said. “So we’re trying to take it day by day, but we are excited.”

Pierre relayed the excitement across the U.S. camp: “Coming from the U.S. staff and everyone, we know this is a big game. … We used to watch these games, and now to be there, it’s just an amazing feeling.”

Westfield affirmed that they’re all up for it.

“I won’t lie, we’ve been talking about it for a while now, before we even left for this,” he said. “Guys may fold up in moments like this where it’s bigger occasions, a bigger team in terms of Mexico, but these are moments you live for. These are the games you play for, and these are the games you live for, and we’re looking forward to going out there.”

Nor do these guys take for granted doing it as Philadelphia Union players specifically. They know they are part of a lineage, and that Auston Trusty is as proud to be with them on this roster as Alejandro Bedoya is to watch from back home.

“They say keep doing what you’re doing, trust in the process,” Pierre said.

“The proof is in the pudding, right?” Sullivan added. “The message from the Union and from those national team guys is just be yourself, and do what got you here when you make it to camp. And I think Neil, Frankie and I are trying to do just that.”

Westfield knew the names in that lineage just as well, from Bedoya’s era to more recent ones like Brenden Aaronson and Nathan Harriel.

“Seeing them grow and also represent the national team only gives younger guys like us confidence, knowing that we can go out there and do that as well,” he said.

They appreciate the welcome they’ve gotten from the rest of this U.S. team’s veterans, which is not to be taken for granted. The culture certainly isn’t like that on the club side of the world’s game, and it often isn’t with other national teams, either.

“I feel like all these guys accepted us into our family,” Pierre said. “We had a team dinner and we all talked about it: even though this is the first time, it’s like we’re a whole family already. We laugh, sit, you can talk to anyone, it’s no stress. I think it’s a very good bond that we’ve had.”

There are still reminders of how young the trio are, and that each step is to be taken one at a time. But it’s a milestone on its own that they have made it this far, and they clearly won’t forget it.

“We used to call these guys by their last names: [Gio] Reyna, [Sergiño] Dest,” Sullivan said. “Now we know them on a first-name basis. Every moment is sort of like a pinch-me moment, and we’re having fun.”