Oldsmar's native earns first call-up to US Men's National Soccer Team

CLEARWATER, Fla. - To Nathan Harriel, this is the best time of the year.

"It's warm now compared to Philly," Harriel said, walking off the soccer field at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex in Clearwater. 

The Philadelphia Union defender and East Lake High School alum relishes the opportunity to spend each training camp on the very fields he grew up playing on. 

"It's great being back at home, because I get it a very limited time a year," Harriel said. 

What he loves to see even more is the progress he's been making on the pitch with the Union. Last season, the 22-year-old played in a career-high 25 games while making 18 starts for Philadelphia. 

"You look at a kid who [before last year] was just starting to get a taste of first team minutes and realized he belonged," said Union head coach Jim Curtin. 

It is a belonging that has shown Harriel something that even he didn't see. 

"I am capable of doing more than I thought I would be able to," he said. "It's crazy to think about being on the team from my first year to now."

What is even crazier is that Harriel is starting to earn the right to represent, not just his team, but his country. Last week, Harriel was excused from the Union's training camp to join the U.S. Men's National Team for a friendly match against Slovenia. 

"It was a great feeling just to be in that group and environment with the first team staff," Harriel said. "We've obviously been with the youth team before, but being with the men's team is a huge step forward."

The call-up to join the USMNT marked the first time Harriel had played with the first team in his career. 

"I never really thought back when I was 10 or 11 years old, I would ever be in the situation that I'm in now, and I'm extremely grateful for it," said Harriel. 

Making the occasion even more special, Harriel was joined on the national team by fellow Union teammate and friend Jack McGlynn. 

"It's very cool," McGlynn said. "Me and him lived together for like three years, so to make it to the top together was a cool moment."

And while the official roster has yet to be announced, both McGlynn and Harriel look like shoe-ins to make the U.S. Olympic team roster this summer in Paris. 

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Harriel. "Not a lot of kids, not a lot of people in general, get to represent and put on the crest of their country."

Now, Harriel's time with the national team has him seeing Stars and Stripes from the fields of Clearwater to the lights of Paris.