When it comes to representing the city of Philadelphia as a member of the Union, names like Sullivan and Westfield come to mind for a lot of folks… and so does Craig. While the elder Craig brother, Brandan, is now at CF Montreal as part of their first team after coming up through the Union, the younger of the two brothers, Andrew, is captain of the Academy’s decorated U-18 squad and representing his city well in both leadership and skill on the field. He started with the Union Juniors program ten years ago, and progressed through the various levels.
He and his Academy squad won the prestigious Dallas Cup tournament in April, defeating Botafogo in penalties after a huge comeback from being down 0-2. They then swept their matches at MLS Next Flex, qualifying for the culminating tournament of the season, the MLS Next Cup in Salt Lake City, which will kick off on Sunday for the U-18s against B.W. Gottschee.
Not only does Andrew play with the 18s, but he trains and plays with Union II as well, having made his official debut this season against Carolina Core on April 12. He made his first start on May 13 against New England Revolution II and had an impressive 90-minute performance. He also graduated from YSC Academy last week, and is committed to attend and play for the University of Michigan.
One recurring theme whenever Andrew Craig has come up in conversations is what a quality person he is, from teammates, coaches, parents, and others who know him. He is also Philly through and through. There is a reason he wears the captain’s armband for the U-18s, and I have seen the leadership myself from watching Academy games.
The other half of The One Team We Agree On, Kyle, and I wanted to get Andrew’s thoughts on the Academy as they finish their season, as well as his experiences with Union II and future endeavors. We had the opportunity to chat with him and had a wonderful conversation, which is transcribed below as well as available in video form.
Jillian: Just to get started, from what I understand, you’ve been with the Union for a really long time. Can you talk about how you got started there, and just some of your favorite moments coming up through the Academy before this season?
Andrew: Yeah, so I’ve been with the club for 10 years now. I first joined during the Union Juniors program, just giving it an opportunity to see what it was all about, as I was still playing for my club team Lighthouse. Just giving that an opportunity just to see what it’s about, and then got invited back, and then yeah, the rest just climbing through the ranks every year, and now graduating and moving on.
Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union Academy.
Kyle: I am curious on one thing. Talk about the impact of your family on your career, how they’ve supported you, especially as you have the benefit of being a local player, and how those things impacted you.
Andrew: Yeah, I mean, my family have impacted me throughout my whole career. Obviously, both my parents played college soccer, and my brother, obviously being a professional with the first team, and then moving on. I mean, they gave me support every weekend, whenever I needed it. Like criticism and learning opportunities, just to reflect on my game, like how well I did throughout the weekend, and then I just bounced back and moved on, and learned what they told me, and used that for the next week to get better.
Jillian: It’s always interesting to see those perspectives, because you know, we’ve talked to Frankie [Westfield] in the past, and of course him being local and that support, but also we’ve talked to like Eddy [Davis] and Sal [Olivas], some of those guys… Malik [Jakupovic], and just that perspective of travel, coming from far away, and also living in the residency house. So it’s so interesting to hear the differences between the two as well.
Kyle: I actually have a follow-up there. Andrew, where did your parents play soccer?
Andrew: They both went to Temple University.
Jillian: Nice! Let’s talk about the Dallas Cup a bit. Obviously, just a huge, exciting tournament for you guys in the 18s. That incredible goal from distance [you had]… take us through that.
Andrew: Yeah, so it was a bit of a scrappy game, really. Sao Paulo got two red cards early on in the first half, and then pretty much just sat in the low block for the rest of the game, and then we couldn’t find a goal in the first half, so we all at halftime, we just said we have to remain calm with each other, like there’s no need to get frustrated. We obviously knew that we were going to get the result, and then Sebastien Le Toux on the other side of the stands, he somehow relays a message to our assistant coaches, which then our assistant coaches relay the message to me to tell the team that we should be aware of the goalie, because he’s off his line. Well, I never said to the team that the goalie was off his line, I just shot it. So no player on my team knew that the goalie was off his line. I just knew that for myself, and then I took the opportunity to just shoot.
Jillian: Well, that was quite the incredible goal. I mean, it was so far back that the camera couldn’t even keep up with it, but that was great. And then the final against Botafogo. Was that the most physical match you’ve ever had? Watching that, I was really impressed with how you kept up the tenacity, even though it looked like you were getting pretty banged up. But yeah, talk about that a little bit.
Andrew: Yeah, I would say that’s… I mean, Botafogo was a really good team. They’re obviously Brazilian, so they like to go into tackles, and to be honest, I thought we handled all the tackles well, like even if we got knocked down, we hit him the next play, so it was pretty even matchup, to be fair, and yeah, I mean, got a couple knocks, but it’s alright, we move on.
Jillian: I was really impressed with you guys… just kept bringing it, and you know, that was honestly just an incredible job there. And speaking of an incredible job, let’s talk about Alex Smith for a second. The job he did that tournament, and the growth. He’s obviously been there a long time with you as well. Just, can you talk about the growth you see from him over the years?
Andrew: Yeah, I’d say the biggest growth that I’ve seen from Alex throughout his time has been his distribution. I mean, now he can pick passes 56 yards away and just put them right on someone’s foot. I mean, no team can really stop that if our goalie is just picking passes around, so that’s I would say that’s his biggest improvement, along with his communication has gotten a lot better recently, and just the overall leadership that he brings to the team in the back line. It really helps me out, along with the back line and the sixes.
Jillian: It’s definitely going to hopefully come in handy when you guys go to the Next Cup here soon.
Kyle: I do have a question for you, Andrew, with the Dallas Cup. With that being your first time there, and being one of the oldest amateur tournaments out there, what was the overall experience like for that competition for you, and not only you, but your teammates as well, just like the environment and everything?
Andrew: Yeah, I mean, I thought the environment was great, like every game that we played was really competitive, and yeah, so we were just building off, like, each performance, learning from what we didn’t do well at the game before, and just trying to tighten the screw, because we didn’t have so much to fix throughout each game, just little tiny things that we kept on building off of game by game, which then ultimately gave us the final edge against Botafogo in the final.
Jillian: Now, Andrew—are you familiar with the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce?
Andrew: I am, yes.
Jillian: Yeah, I’m a listener of that myself. But I know they do a segment of “You don’t have to answer, but we’ve gotta ask.” You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, but just curious of what was going on there?
Andrew: No, I was just complimenting him on how well he, his team, and how well he played during the final.
Jillian: Nice. Yeah, appreciate that. So now looking at the MLS Next Cup coming up, I also talked to Matheus [De Paula] and Tyler [Gladstone] the other day after Union II about their hopes for that, and they both mentioned how important winning with this particular group of guys would be, considering all your shared history. Can you share your thoughts on the season with the 18s, especially given your role as a captain. So what makes this group special, and what are your hopes for in Salt Lake City?
Andrew: Yeah, obviously, I think the hope is that we obviously win this tournament, and we feel like we can do that. But no, the bond that we have as a team is just unmatched. I mean, I think it’s honestly one of the better teams that I’ve been a part of throughout my academy, just the way that we vibe together, the energy… like all of the friendships that we have with each guy, it’s really good.
Kyle: Andrew, I want to talk a little bit about your brother Brandan. You know, he kind of came through the system, through the pathway, obviously. Now he’s up with Montreal. First, what lessons has he imparted on you during his journey that you know, obviously you’re still going through, but that you’ve found very good value in?
Andrew: Oh, yeah, I mean, I think one of the lessons is just like, it takes time. He instills in me that, like, be patient with everything. So, obviously, being at the Union, there’s so much fluidity within the club, so pretty much just him telling me to be patient, and like, you know, just being my best every day that I can be in training and in games.
Kyle: You know, seeing him kind of go through his career to this point, does that kind of, where you are at now, give you any sort of… just things to maybe be on the lookout for in the future?
Andrew: I’d say we’re a bit different now, because me obviously heading off to college, but obviously the hopes are that after college I end up to where he is.
Jillian: Then of course you made your debut with Union II recently and got your first start the other night. Just after that match, I talked to Ryan [Richter] a bit. He was very complimentary about your performance there, as well as on Sunday, saying that you definitely earned coming in there, so you know that was great to hear. So, just talk about the jump between the Academy and Next Pro, and just how going between the two of those has been for you.
Andrew: I think the main difference is just the intensity, really. I have the quality to play at Next Pro, so it’s pretty much just the get your brain up to speed with Next Pro, and just be quicker in all your decisions and everything.
Jillian: Of course, you also recently graduated from YSC, so congratulations on that. I know, for me—I’m a teacher as well, so I appreciate the academic side of this, and I know as a former student-athlete myself—I was a competitive swimmer, it’s a big commitment. So just can you talk a bit about your experience there at YSC, and just how that really supported you?
Andrew: Yeah, YSC has done a great job, I mean, with [Dr.] Nooha [Ahmed-Lee] as our, as our principal, and Mr. Richie Graham and Mr. Steve Graham, what they’ve created at YSC is is really like amazing. You get to play soccer in the morning, go to school for a little bit, get a really high education, then in the afternoon head back and train with your team. I mean, it’s completely different than normal high school.
Kyle: I want to talk about your recruiting process a little bit, your commitment to Michigan. First, what was the recruitment process like for you?
Andrew: Yeah, so it was a bit difficult, really, because at first a lot of the schools reached out and then two years ago in playoffs, I tore my knee. So then I was out for seven months, so that made it difficult, really. A lot of the college coaches didn’t really text back, but there were obviously some coaches that have always stuck through, and I’m grateful for those ones. And then Michigan reached out Christmastime of two years ago, from Mr. Sullivan— Quinn, Ronan, Cavan, and Declan, their father, knew the Michigan head coach, they played together, so he gave him my phone number. And then we just connected ever since, and then I fell in love with the school, really, once he sent a couple videos of campus and the soccer side. I just knew that was home.
Kyle: And then on that, talking about Coach Chaka Daley, what sold you on his vision of the program?
Andrew: His vision of being… he was a left-sided center back too, and obviously he’s been very successful, so just the vision of him helping me as obviously a left center back can get me to the next level.
Jillian: Yeah, looking forward to seeing how that goes. I mean, some of your former teammates are just out there killing it at the college level, guys like Henry Bernstein, Zach Mastrodimos, Gavin Wetzel, and so on. So, you know, I think that enough can’t be said about what a great experience it can be being an athlete in college. Kyle and I were both collegiate swimmers, so you know it’s definitely a great path to go. And speaking of which, finally, can you talk about your goals for the future, both personally and athletically?
Andrew: Yeah, I’d say obviously one of the goals for athletically is to become professional after college, get drafted by an MLS team, and earn a contract, really, but if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll hopefully get a degree, and then find a working opportunity, but obviously the priority is, or the main focus is, obviously, get the professional contract.
Jillian: Do you have a major decided?
Andrew: Currently I’m enrolled in sports management, but I might hit a transfer over to the Ross Business School.
Jillian: Sounds like good plan. We appreciate your time, and best of luck in Salt Lake City. We’ll be definitely following how that goes, and all the best to you guys.
The One Team We Agree On will be covering the MLS Next Cup, so follow our coverage to see how Andrew and his U-18 squad do, as well as the U-16s and U-15s. Special thank you to Andrew Craig for taking the time to talk with us, and Niko Dinoulis of Union PR.
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.
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