Zach Pfeffer may not remain the Philadelphia Union's only Home Grown Player signing for long, as academy star Christian Hernandez may soon join the club's first team.

His junior year of high school has been great for Hernandez, who is the star of the nation's best high school team in the country. St. Benedict's has ranked at number one on ESPN Rise's ranking list for most of the 2011 season. At his last game with St. Benedict's, Hernandez told ESPN Rise high school soccer reporter Sheldon Shealer that he plans on going pro. Shealer went on to say that he wasn't surprised by Hernandez's decision, because he considers him a "stud."

As a member of the Union's academy system, Hernandez is able to sign with the Union as a Home Grown Player once he qualifies under MLS' rules for Home Grown Players. Any Home Grown Player must have spent at least one year in a club's youth system, along with unlisted league criteria, in order to for the team to be able to sign the player as a Home Grown prodct.

Hernandez is rated highly enough that there have been discussions about his decision about his national team future. The New Jersey resident is eligible for both the United States Men's National Team and the Mexican National Team.

The 18-year-old was named as US Soccer's under-17/under-18 player of the season for 2010-2011 year, and scored the game winner in the Union's 1-0 friendly victory over English Premier League side Everton. Hernandez helped the Player Development Academy, one of the Union's many affiliate academies, to a 7-2-1 record in division last year, and a spot in the academy Finals, afters scoring 16 goals in 26 games.

Cameron Keys, a member of the Philadelphia Union's academy system, was named as a part of US Soccer's 36 player under-15 national team camp. The goalkeeper joins the national team system as the country's two year cycle to prepare for the next under-17 World Cup begins.

Keys' addition to the national team pool at the youth level shows that the Union's 'odd' club based academy system can produce potential American internationals beyond current first team player Zach Pfeffer - the team's first ever home grown player signing. 

A member of the Union's under-16 program, Keys has starred for the Lehigh Valley United '96 team, which competed in the prestigious Dallas Cup this year. Keys joins fellow Pennsylvania player Sean Wilson, of the Union affiliate Player Development Academy, in the national team pool.

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Earlier this week, we brought you news of Jimmy McLaughlin, the Union's academy star who debuted with Colgate University with a goal and a Patriot League Rookie of the Week award. But McLaughlin isn't the only homegrown hopeful who began the college season on a good foot this season.

McLaughlin's former FC Delco teammates Mike Gonzalez and Ryan Dodds opened their college careers in the same conference, the Patriot League. Gonzalez has started both of Lehigh's games so far this season, a 0-0 tie with Stony Brook and a 1-0 loss to Fordham. Dodds, who has been given the number '10' jersey, came off the bench and played a part in Lafayette's 2-1 double overtime win over Rider to open the season. Dodds and Lafayette visit Temple tomorrow.

Central defender Matt Jeffery, previously of Players Development Academy, also enjoyed a good start to his college career as he started both of Monmouth University's games to open the year. They won both games by a 1-0 score over Saint Peter's and Boston University.

Finally, Chris Somerville scored a goal in his first week with national powerhouse Virginia. He scored in UVA's 7-1 rout of Richmond. However, it isn't clear as to whether Somerville is still on the Union's Homegrown Player List, because he left FC Delco last year and has never been called into the Union Reserves despite being a very talented striker at a top college program. Keep your browsers pointed here to the Brotherly Game for weekly updates as the first members of the Union Academy play in their freshman college seasons.

Tomorrow morning, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs will begin and the Philadelphia Union academy system is well-represented. The Union's three USSDA affiliate clubs, PA Classics, FC Delco, and Players Development Academy, have all qualified teams for the playoffs at least one of the U18 and U16 age groups, and there will be four Union-affiliated teams taking the field this weekend at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

PA Classics have qualified both their U16 and U18 teams to this year's playoffs. FC Delco, meanwhile, have qualified for the U16 division while Players Development Academy have made it into the U18 playoffs. The teams that Delco and PDA did not qualify to the playoffs will still participate in "Showcase" friendly games at Pizza Hut Park this weekend.

In each of the age divisions, 32 teams will compete in eight four-team groups. Each group winner will advance to the eight-team "Finals Week." That eight team event will be held from July 9-16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After the break, find the groups that the Union's affiliates will be involved in and read about some of the impact players to watch for each team this weekend.

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When the Home Grown Hopefuls series debuted here at the Brotherly Game, its purpose was to introduce some of the young players in the Union Academy to the average fan in the hopes that one day, one of those players would become a Union Home Grown signing. During the time since HGH's inception, no player has separated himself from the rest of the pack quite like Jimmy McLaughlin.

The FC Delco midfielder has impressed Union fans and coaches alike and has gone from captaining the Union at the 2010 U-17 SUM Cup to becoming part of the Reserve Team. McLaughlin has become a staple of Brendan Burke's Reserve side and frequently goes 90 minutes even when several Union first team players only play 45 minutes or so. McLaughlin also participated in a recent Union friendly with Reading United where he was able to share the field with members of the full first team.

During the course of the season, Home Grown Hopefuls will expand to include interview sessions with some of the top Union Academy players. Naturally, the first of the players that we will profile is McLaughlin, who has as good a shot as anyone at earning a Home Grown contract in the future. Jimmy was kind enough to give me a few minutes of his time, and here is what he had to say. Find the full interview after the break.

BG: Last year, you were chosen to represent the Union at the 2010 U-17 SUM Cup. How did that opportunity come up for you, and what did it feel like to play in Union colors and wear the captain's armband?

JM: It all came up pretty quickly; the coaches took looks at the local clubs and put together a team. They reached out to me to be a part of the team and I was ecstatic with the news. I had no idea I was even going to be captain until seconds before our first game. When I was given that responsibility it really took my confidence to the next level and I believe really attributed to my success. It was an honor to wear the Union colors and play for the first youth team ever.

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After the Philadelphia Union's 6-2 demolition of Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon, the two teams faced off again in Reserve League action. The Union came into the game with one win and one loss so far in the season.

The teams created numerous chances on goal, but in the end the match finished scoreless. The Union were left with four points from their three games. This put them in third place in the East Division, behind DC United, who have nine points from three games, and Columbus, who have nine points from four games.

Once again, FC Delco midfielder Jimmy McLaughlin featured in the Reserve team lineup. He took up his usual outside midfield slot and went the full ninety minutes. McLaughlin's Delco teammate, goalkeeper Zach Steffen, also was in Toronto with the reserve team as he sat on the bench to back up Zac MacMath. Two players from Reading United, Matt Baker and David Rodriguez, were also in the Union's lineup.

Meanwhile, FC Delco and PA Classics continued their push to make the playoffs in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Each team played powerful Baltimore Bays Chelsea over the weekend, and then the two Union affiliates faced off against each other on Monday. The results from those games and an update on the playoff race can be found after the jump.

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On Monday, the Philadelphia Union Reserve team were handed their first loss of the season at the hands of DC United. They went down 1-0 off a goal from Brandon Barklage.

One of the bright spots from the game was the debut of yet another Home Grown Hopeful: FC Delco and Conestoga High School midfielder Mike Gonzalez. Gonzalez came into the game into the 67th minute, replacing Keon Daniel. He earned solid reviews for his ability to link play between the midfielders and forwards. Regular Brotherly Game readers will be familiar with Gonzalez's talents.

Another FC Delco midfielder, Jimmy McLaughlin of Great Valley High School, also appeared in the game, after debuting in the team's season-opening win against New York. He entered the match at the start of the second half, coming on for Jack McInerney. He continued to impress fans and was an exciting player to watch on the wings.

For the second time in as many reserve games, FC Delco goalkeeper Zack Steffen sat on the bench for all 90 minutes as the backup goalkeeper. Steffen is a top-notch talent that was recently called up to the U-17 national team along with Zach Pfeffer.

At this point, it appears to be a no-brainer that out of all of the prospects in the Union youth system, McLaughlin is the closest to earning a Home Grown contract. It remains to be seen if the Union will want to sign another youth player, especially one who plays a very similar position to Pfeffer. After the jump are the latest results from the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

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On Sunday, May 8th, the newest winner of the national youth soccer talent competition known as Sueño MLS was crowned during the Spanish sports program Republica Deportiva. And that winner happened to hail from nearby Camden, N.J.

Birnis Adames, a Dominican-born 18-year-old who just started playing soccer four years ago, was named the winner of the talent search. Since he originally tried out at YSC Sports during the Philadelphia leg of the competition, he has earned a place with the Union Youth Academy.

Because of his age, Adames will almost certainly join the Union U-18 Academy team, which is currently in a training and development phase under the direction of Reading United A.C. and Union Reserve team coach Brendan Burke. Adames, whose brother has played with the Dominican Republic U-17 national team and whose playing style has been compared to Thierry Henry, will join a forward corps that includes young talents such as Melvin Snoh and Christian Hernandez.

This past week also saw the return of the local area clubs in U.S. Soccer Development Academy action, and it was rivalry week as two Union-affiliated clubs faced off against each other. PA Classics and FC Delco took the field and played an entertaining match, with Delco receiving some help from a player that has now moved on to greater heights. More after the break.

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