Zach Pfeffer is no longer all alone as the only Philadelphia Union Home Grown Player. The 16-year-old midfielder now has fellow former academy star Jimmy McLaughlin as a teammate on the Union's first team roster.
McLaughlin started all 22 games possible at Colgate in 2011, including the University's 4-1 loss to Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He was also named as the Rookie of the Year in Colgate's collegiate conference.
The 18-year-old played three times for the Union first team last season, with two of those appearances coming against European teams in international friendlies (the first one was against Reading United, a Union affiliate). After impressing in his debut against Everton, an English Premier League team, McLaughlin was substituted into the Union's Lincoln Financial Field friendly against Real Madrid. The attacking midfielder helped fullback Ryan Richter shut Crtisiano Ronaldo out of most of time he was on the pitch.
The Brotherly Game had speculated that Christian Hernandez, yet another Union academy star, was set to sign as the team's second Home Grown Player, but it appears that McLaughlin finalized his agreement first, or at all.