Years of hard work for one of the more underrated players in the Philadelphia Union Academy system paid off for 18-year-old Dawson McCartney last week when he made a surprise start in the midfield for Bethlehem Steel FC.
An injury to Chris Wingate cleared the path for McCartney to earn his professional debut on a rainy day in Bethlehem in front of family and friends who had made the trek from his home in Voorhees, New Jersey.
“It’s kind of what I’ve been working for my whole life,” McCartney said of his debut, which impressed the coaching staff enough to insert him into the starting XI again on Sunday against Harrisburg City Islanders.