Young Pros Leading Charge For The Union
In the 1960s it was Philadelphia that brought teen-oriented American Bandstand to U.S. afternoon television audiences.
Now it is the MLS Philadelphia Union featuring another youth movement one might call “The Mac & Zac Show.”
Jack McInerney and Zac MacMath have played key roles in recent Union successes. They have some things in common other than the name of the MLS team on their paychecks.
First, both are from the South.
McInerney was born in Chattanooga, TN, and grew up in Alpharetta, GA. MacMath, a true-blue “Florida guy”, was born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL.
Both were members of U.S. Under-17 MNT Residency classes in Bradenton, FL. Both have played for the U.S. in various U.S. national teams, but neither has yet to earn a cap with the senior National Team.
MacMath, a year older, was just leaving Bradenton for the University of Maryland when McInerney arrived with his U17 class.
MacMath, 21, played for the Terps for three seasons before turning professional in the 2011 SuperDraft. McInerney, 20, entered the SuperDraft in 2010 right out of high school. Both were drafted by Philadelphia
It should be pointed out that when the Union replaced Peter Nowak as head coach on June 13 of last year, it was former U.S. Under-17 MNT John Hackworth who took his place. Hackworth came with a positive point of view in giving “his young guns.” a chance to show what they can do.
And they’ve done pretty well, thank you very much Just ask the Chicago Fie.
Twice in a span of about 10 days Philadelphia defeated the Fire in 1-0 games. In both cases it was McInerney who scored the game-winners. It was MacMath who earned the shutouts with stellar performances in goal.
McInerney, whose latest goal against Chicago came in just the third minute of play, now leads Major League Soccer in scoring with eight goals. He already had been named MLS Player of the Month for April.
“It was a good start for us,” McInerney said of his header off a cross from Sebastien Le toux. “Seba played a good ball off my head. It’s extremely hard to beat a team two times like that.
“It’s a good accomplishment and it’s a game we needed to get three points out of.”
Many called the May 19 shutout MacMath’s best game of the season….perhaps tops in his professional career. He had six saves in his second consecutive shutout of Chicago, which sandwiched around perhaps his worst showing of the season, a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles.
“I don’t know, but it’s good,” said MacMath as he tried to explain his success against the Fire this season. “I enjoy getting shutouts and can hopefully continue to play well and carry that into facing other teams.”
Already there are those who are calling for McInerney to get a call from U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, especially for the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer.
The U.S., with key World Cup qualifiers in June, will likely use two different rosters for those games and for the Gold Cup. At the national level, the U.S. has a number of goalscorers who have been exceptional at the club level, but who have struggled to score goals for the national team.
Jozy Altidor, Eddie Johnson, Chris Wondoloswki to name three.
Some say that McInerney is a “poacher”, a forward who has a nose for goals and gets in the right place at the right time. That’s an asset that Klinsmann might consider in his Gold Cup selections.
MacMath likely will get his senior camp callup in time, but his way to the national team will be more difficult than McInerney’s with Tim Howard still in the prime of his career and Brad Guzan making his mark as the U.S. #2.
But for now “The Mac Zac Show” is providing Philly fans with a lot of fun and promise that the future is looking brighter.