Aaronson’ sample size was perhaps too small to break into a U-20 roster that had dominated the Concacaf Championship and then returned to the World Cup quarterfinals. And he was ok with that.
“I wasn’t in with the U-20s at the time, and that’s respectable,” Aaronson told ussoccer.com from Chula Vista, Calif. where he is one of 25 players on the U-23 Men’s National Team roster preparing for 2020 Olympic Qualifying. “So I wasn’t really worried about it, I was thinking about playing for Philadelphia and doing my best there.”
Aaronson has been a staple of the Eastern Conference leading Union since his debut, appearing in 24 of the team’s last 27 games. That consistency led to his first call up to an older Youth National Team camp when U-23 head coach Jason Kries brought him to a camp in Utah.
“I had been watching him since the beginning of the MLS season, he jumped off the page at me, and I wanted to give him an opportunity in June,” Kreis said. “I really was pleased with how he did then, and so he moves forward.”
“That was a pretty awesome experience,” Aaronson said of his first U-23 camp. “It kind of came out of nowhere. I think I was invited like 4-5 days before the start of camp, and I was super happy with myself and super proud that I got the call. And now I’m just happy to be part of the group again.”
Aaronson is one of four Philadelphia Union players taking part in Kreis’ third preparatory camp in California this week, along with defenders Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty and goalkeeper Matt Freese. Two other Union teammates – Matt Real and Anthony Fontana – helped the U-20s qualify for the World Cup, with Real ultimately joining McKenzie in Poland.
