Brenden and Paxten Aaronson still root for the Union, and want them to win a big trophy

Although they're both playing in Europe and with the U.S. men's national team, the Aaronsons still keep an eye on their former MLS home.

Paxten (left) and Brenden Aaronson came back to Subaru Park for the Union's game against Inter Miami on May 24.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published June 12, 2025, 1:58 p.m. ET

When Lionel Messi visited the Union with Inter Miami a few weeks ago, it attracted some people who don’t go to Subaru Park all that often.

Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean — whose popularity has grown so fast that more people in town might have heard of him than Messi — was a guest of honor. So was former Eagle Malcolm Jenkins, who was on the sidelines as a photographer. The Sixers’ Justin Edwards and Adem Bona weren’t just there, they took photos with fans on the concourse.

In a corner suite, there were two more visitors from the sports world whose presence also mattered, even if they weren’t as famous.

Former Union players Brenden and Paxten Aaronson rarely get a chance to come home during the year, usually just two or three weeks in the summer. Most of their lives are spent in Europe, especially Brenden, since English soccer plays some of its biggest games around Christmas.

When they aren’t with their clubs abroad, it’s most likely because they’re jetting around to U.S. national team camps, or, if they’re lucky, to tournaments: the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa América for Brenden, the 2024 Olympics for Paxten, this summer’s Gold Cup for both.

The time that they have to truly rest, to spend with their families in their native Medford or down the Shore, is especially precious. So it matters that they both chose to spend the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend at the stadium they used to call home.

“I tried to be as sly as I could, almost in a way, because I don’t like a ton of attention and I don’t want to be the main thing all the time,” Brenden said. “But it was cool just coming back. I always like going to the games, I just like seeing the guys, and, of course, being able to watch the Union play Messi.”

The pipeline keeps growing

Both spoke for this story before the U.S. men’s team’s recent losses to Turkey and Switzerland. They only played in the first half of the latter game, and the 4-0 drubbing in that frame was the worst first half by a U.S. team since 1980.

So will everyone else involved, a group that includes current Union players Quinn Sullivan and Nathan Harriel, and fellow Union alumnus Mark McKenzie. Their stocks all went down, and so have others on a roster that is a C-level squad at best.

But it does show the Union’s remarkable influence on the U.S. program. No other MLS team comes close to the eight players with Union ties on the Gold Cup squad, and it would have been nine if not for Zack Steffen’s knee injury.

“When I look around, it’s honestly weird,” Brenden Aaronson said, intending his statement as flattery. “It’s just, like, how — I mean, they’re all doing amazing for their clubs; they all deserve the call-ups. So it’s great to see, and I think it just gives props to what the Union have done over the years — they’ve created talents, and they’ve continued to create talents.”

There are Union ties all over U.S. youth teams, too. Frankie Westfield and former academy prospect Marcos Zambrano were in the under-20 squad’s most recent camp. Andrew Rick, CJ Olney, David Vazquez, and Sal Olivas were with the under-19s. Cavan Sullivan and Jamir Johnson were with the under-17s.

The influence extends to the coaching ranks. Former Union reserve team coach Marlon LeBlanc just led the under-18s to a friendly tournament title in Europe, with wins over France, Argentina, Australia, and Portugal.

‘Why can’t that be me?’

Paxten praised the Union academy, especially longtime bankroller Richie Graham, “for building that platform of trust” that has made the club a destination for elite prospects.

“When you sell people — [Auston] Trusty, Mark [McKenzie], Brenden, me — then it’s more appealing for people to come, because they say ‘Why can’t that be me?’” he said. “But I think the Union have done a good job of sustaining that. It hasn’t been, like, a fluke with three transfers. They really keep doing it, and I think there will be more in the future.”

Indeed, there already are. Malik Jakupovic, a 15-year-old striker, is turning heads around American scouting circles and abroad. The Union had to fight off interest from Eintracht Frankfurt and other European clubs to convince him to turn pro, which he did last month by signing a Union II contract.

In his first pro game, on June 3, he entered as a substitute and scored the last goal of a 4-1 win at FC Cincinnati’s reserves.

“I step back into the Union’s stadium and I see the giant warehouse that they’ve built with all the fields,” Brenden Aaronson said, referring to the indoor fieldhouse that was just built south of the outdoor training fields. “I haven’t seen it in two years now because I don’t really have a break, so I can never get down there to go see it and look at it. I’m going to go back and look, and I want to walk around and stuff.”

He’ll need a hard hat because the building going up next to it — training and workspaces for the Union’s reserve and youth teams, and a multisport facility for the public — is under construction. But it certainly will be worth a visit when it’s done.

“I think there’s a lot of talent still coming up, and it’s really amazing to see, and I’m proud,” he said.

‘Union fans deserve’ a trophy

Will those players take the Union further than the Aaronsons did? Brenden helped win the team’s only major trophy, the 2020 Supporters’ Shield, with a group that then crashed out of the playoffs in the first round. That was his last game before leaving. Paxten’s last game was the 2022 MLS Cup final, a day of heartbreak.

They know what it would mean for their old club to win something really big — an MLS Cup or U.S. Open Cup. They see the talent on this year’s squad, atop the Eastern Conference entering Saturday’s game vs. Charlotte FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). And they want it to happen.

“I think that would mean a lot to the alumni and mean a lot to the club in general just to have a trophy in the trophy cabinet like that,” Brenden said. “A U.S. Open Cup would be awesome. But, I mean, the way that they look right now, they could even go for the MLS Cup if they want.”

Paxten grew up in the Union’s academy with Quinn Sullivan, Nathan Harriel, and Jack McGlynn. They turned pro in the same year. Though Sullivan and Harriel have shown that they aren’t at the highest heights of the international game, they’ve been significant contributors in MLS. When they return from the Gold Cup, they’ll be three games from an Open Cup title and in the thick of the playoff race.

“I think the Union fans deserve it,” Paxten said. “Me and Brendan got close. But I think the club deserves it. We’ve been so close so many times, so I think it’s only a matter of time.”