Pickle Rick, Rick Wall… whatever you want to call him, Philadelphia Union’s Andrew Rick is making a name for himself as he straddles the line of playing for both the first and second team. A big story line of 2024 for the Philadelphia Union was the goalkeeping situation, with Andre Blake sidelined by injury for much of it. Rick, Union II’s homegrown goalkeeper, made his MLS debut in the summer of 2024,with six starts for 540 minutes for the first team. At just 18 years old, he stepped in and held his own, and even had a save that made SportsCenter’s top 10 at number two. Kyle Almoney spoke to Rick after that match, and that save and one by Andre Blake were both up for MLS Save of the Year.

He was key with Union II in their run to the MLS Next Pro Cup that ultimately ended in defeat to North Texas. He has continued to grow in skill and confidence, and has been training and on the bench so far with the first team. One can suppose he will get the majority of his minutes with Union II as long as Andre Blake stays healthy, but with an international window coming up for Blake, he could possibly feature in the match versus St. Louis. He has one game under his belt this season with Union II, where he preserved a 0-0 draw after making a huge save on a penalty kick. Now 19 and with a first team contract and some MLS experience, his stock continues to rise. I caught up with Rick following training ahead of the Union’s tilt with Nashville and Union II’s home opener with New York Red Bulls II.

Full audio:

Transcript:

Last season was pretty momentous for you with making your first team debut and coming up big in some of those matches. Then that run with Union II. 
How are you feeling this season in terms of confidence and growth?

Andrew Rick: Yeah, I mean nothing really changes. I had the same preparation as I do every game. My biggest goal is to try and carry that momentum from last season to this season and help the team, whether it’s Union II or first team in anyway that can. 


Is it difficult to keep switching between the first and second team and how much does your approach change if at all?

AR: Approach is never gonna change. I have a routine that I do for each game. Way I warm up everything stays the same regardless of the environment that I’m in. I’m gonna control what I can control and, you know, I try my best, do what I can. 


Getting to work with someone like Andre [Blake], what are some of the biggest things you’ve learned from him?

AR: That’s a loaded question. There’s so much I’ve learned from him, you know. 
I think he’s helped me grow as a person. When I first joined the first team, I was kind of a shy little kid. You know, he kind of helped me grow out of that and be more of a leader and just show my personality on the field as well as like, just learning from him in general, whether it be normal goalkeeping stuff or just life stuff and he’s probably the best role model I could possibly ask for, and I’m very grateful for everything that he’s done for me.

And also you’ve gotten to work with great goalkeeping coaches in Phil Wheddon and Ross Cain. 
What’s it like working with them?

AR: I mean it’s amazing, you know, both of them, especially Phil, both of them have crazy experience. They’ve coached a wide variety of different people, whether it’s national team, USL, MLS, all that sort of stuff. So to get to learn from them and just see their point of view and try and incorporate what they say into how I play, it’s a huge privilege and opportunity for me to grow as both player and person.

I’m curious as to your thoughts on how the match versus New England went last weekend and what you were seeing from the squad and what went well, and what could improve?

AR: Yeah I mean it’s the first game, so there’s a few of us that are still kind of trying to click together. Unfortunately they didn’t water the turf before the game, so we kind of struggled to pass the ball, but yeah, I mean, it’s a similar group to last year, we’re really talented. One of my goals this year with Union II is to kind of be a leader and I’m probably the most experienced on the field, so it kind of helped the guys settle in and perform at the highest level that they can was my goal, and I think that we’re gonna we’re in for another big year, you know?

We all wanna win, we all wanna go as far as we possibly can and there’s the same hunger and drive that we had last year regardless of who joins and who’s left. So it’ll be fun.

And you made two big saves, first in that PK and then the shootout.

You had a lot of success there last season and the playoffs even. So what goes through your mind, without giving away too much, when you’re in a PK situation?

AR: Yeah, I mean just be patient. There’s a lot of guys now that try all this fancy stuff, you know. 
They’re trying to- like the guy this weekend, he was looking at me the whole way. If I moved too early, then he probably scores, so just to keep my composure and to remember that the pressure’s on him, it’s not on me. You know, I think a lot of goalkeepers thrive on penalties because no one expects anything from them, but that’s I think, as well as me, like I thrive in that situation because the penalty taker already thinks he’s gonna score. And just put myself in the best situation to make a save, and I trust the penalty data that we look over before the game, and trust the coaches and trust myself that I can make a save. 


You’ve been enthusiastically embraced by a lot of fans, and the Bridge Brigade. I saw they were all up there in New England, which is great- pretty loud, actually, and just Union II as a whole has seen a lot of growth and fans showing up and supporting. 
Can you talk a bit about what maybe someone less familiar with the squad can expect to see the season?

AR: Yeah, I mean the Bridge Brigade are the best fan base in MLS Next Pro, you know. These guys drove however long it was this weekend to watch both the first and the second team play.

So the dedication that they have is unreal and I mean, I can’t- all of us, the whole team, we can’t thank them enough for the support that they bring us. But it’s a fun environment, you know? I think it’s an environment where all of us can kind of try and grow as players and maybe not necessarily try new things, but step out of our comfort zone because we know that at the end of the day, like, even those guys in the Bridge Brigade, the coaching staff, everybody has the best- they care for us, and it means a lot. I don’t think, I’m sure they realize now, but their support last year throughout all of those games, I mean, they themselves willed us to however many games it was, you know, having all those people out and watching us that really helped us win a lot of those games. And for the new guys coming in, you know, I don’t want them to try and do too much. They’re all good soccer players, there’s a reason they’re here, so just do what you’re good at and the rest will come naturally.


And I’m sure you know what “tree” is in Spanish at this point.

AR: Árbol, yes! (said with a big grin)

Ryan Richter on Andrew Rick

Union II head coach Ryan Richter, in his presser prior to the match with New York Red Bulls II, spoke highly of Rick’s performance against New England Revolution II:

“Yeah I thought in the game he was excellent. Obviously the penalty save is a great moment for him and a great moment for the team, and allows us to come away with the point from the game. But I think his overall composure of the game, the way that he controlled the space behind his backline, the crosses he came for, his distribution… I thought when he chose to play long it was accurate and gave us a chance to either control possession or at least challenge for the first ball. So overall his his total management of the game I thought was really strong.”

Union II face New York Red Bulls II in their home opener at Subaru Park on Monday, March 17 at 7:00 PM. The match will air on MLS Season Pass on AppleTV.

Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union.