It is no secret that the Philadelphia Union Academy has been a launching pad for many players to go on to strong college and/or professional careers in soccer, and one need only look at the current crop playing in the NCAA, especially the Big Ten Conference, to see how much talent is thriving in the collegiate ranks.
One player in particular that has strong roots in Philadelphia is 19 year old Henry Bernstein, who hails from Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. The current sophomore at University of Maryland has not only become a starter and key player for the Terrapins, but leads the Big Ten Conference in assists (8 as of this article) with .889 average per game (it was 1.000 going into his most recent game). He is second in Division I of the NCAA for assists and assists per game. He also has one goal this season.
As a freshman, he mainly came off the bench, scoring three goals and contributing one assist during Maryland’s incredible season that saw them go undefeated in the regular season and win the Big Ten Championship. He made his first and only start that season in the NCAA Tournament, on December 6, 2025 against Washington in the Elite Eight round, where he scored a goal. Now a sophomore, he has earned his role as a starter and flourished.
Before all that success with the Terps, he was a long-time member of the Philadelphia Union Academy and student at YSC, and was a part of the super-talented U-17 squad that won the 2024 Generation Adidas Cup. He rose through the Academy ranks, and first made the matchday roster for Union II in July 2024, though he did not see action that season. In 2025, he made seven appearances with Union II before departing for college.
We at The One Team We Agree On caught up with him recently to talk about his pathway at the Union up through his time at Maryland. The full interview is available on YouTube and all major podcasting platforms.
The interview transcript, edited for length and clarity, is below.
Jillian: Just starting at the beginning, let’s talk about your time growing up. I understand you were in the Union system for a long time. How did you get into soccer and did you play any other sports too when you were coming up?
Henry: Yeah, I was playing soccer since I could walk really, but I was definitely a multi-sport athlete growing up. Played lacrosse. My dad played lacrosse in college, so played, had a stick in my hand as a kid, and played basketball, played football at recess. I played pretty much every sport, and did that up until I had to really choose soccer, and that was always my favorite sport.
Kyle: How did you end up at YSC and the Academy? What was that process like?
Henry: So I played for my local team, Lower Merion Soccer Club, and at the time, probably around six years old, they had a Union Juniors program. Union Juniors and Union Futures. So that was like every, I think it was every Friday night they would bring in the top players from a few of the teams in the area, and would do like, just you know, scrimmages really, and that was with Phil Karn, Ian Monroe, Kevin Coleman, and so yeah, that was how it started off. And I did that while playing for my club team. And then once I was old enough to play for the Academy, I played with the 2006s. I joined as a U12, and from there carried on through the Academy.
Jillian: And then coming up through the Academy, who were some of the coaches you would say had the biggest impact on you?
Henry: I mean, there’s so many because there’s you know so many years that I played in the Academy. But I mean, for sure, the big names now… Ryan Richter, he coached me for my U 2 year, U15, and with Union II a few years ago. So he had a huge impact. Also, Phil Karn, Kevin Coleman, Fred da Silva, Ian Monroe. At a young age, you know, I still remember he would bring us over to a wall and have us practice our headers against against the wall.
So I mean, yeah, there’s been tons. Pete McDonnell was helpful at the U17 level, but yeah, everyone you know, it was always the same system, so it was easy to jump around from coach to coach, and every coach, you know, they affected my development in different ways, but there was never a drop off in standard.
Kyle: I think that’s one of the things that makes the Academy so unique compared to some other ones we’ve talked to people about. So I have to ask just a follow up about that. You talked about Fred da Silva and Ryan Richter. Are you shocked right now with all the success both of them are having with the first team? Having spent so many years with them all through the Academy, I mean, even with Union II. And what makes those two coaches so special, in your opinion?
Henry: Yeah, I mean, not shocked at all. I wouldn’t expect anything less from from them, and you know, I think that for me, every day with them, it was about competing and their competitive spirit that they want their team to play with, and that they bring to training every day to the games, is I think what makes them special. So yeah, it’s not surprising that they’ve galvanized this Union team, the first team.
Kyle: Getting back to the Academy real quick, with YSC specifically, looking now that you’re in your second year at University of Maryland. How did that time at YSC prepare you from an academic standpoint for college?
Henry: Yeah, I’ve said this to multiple people. The schedule at the Union, at YSC Academy is almost identical to my schedule here at Maryland. Besides the fact that the classes are maybe staggered a little differently at college, but it’s the same. Train in the morning, and then have class in the afternoon, and sometimes we have more stuff after in between classes or after classes. So I feel like it was a seamless transition, and YSC gave me the freedom to kind of figure things out on my own sometimes, which I think that not a lot of normal high schools give that chance for people to kind of figure out their organization and dealing with freedom, so I think that it was it was super easy for me to transition to college.
Jillian: During your time with the Academy, you had some pretty memorable teams that you were a part of in some big moments, but looking back at that, what were some of your favorite memories from playing with the Academy?
Henry: I think the my favorite one has to be the GA Cup in 2024, winning GA Cup. That was a special moment for me because that was like really the first tournament, where I had a pretty long spell of being injured, and that was the first time where I was really able to, in a few years, contribute to a team and win the trophy.
Kyle: I want to flip now to talking a bit about University of Maryland, where you’re currently at. During your recruitment process, if you could expand on what were you looking for in a school, education wise, and then obviously soccer, and how did University of Maryland check all those boxes for you?
Henry: Yeah, I mean Maryland is the top program in the country, and they produce professional players every year. So that obviously got my attention pretty easily. My uncle also played at the university under Sasho [Cirovski]. Sasho coached my uncle, so there was a small connection there. But yeah, the academics was also a big, important factor for when I was choosing where I wanted to go to school, and it’s one of the best public schools in the nation, which is is very important for me because I came here to play soccer, but I also want to get my degree. And yeah, Sasho has built up this program to be a contender every year, and obviously I wanted to go to a place where I was going to be able to compete at the highest level and compete for trophies.
Kyle: With Sasho, tremendous success at University of Maryland. I mean, three national titles, but beyond that, just the winning, the development of players. If you could expand to what makes him so unique— you’ve been around a lot of coaches going through the Academy. What makes him so unique as a coach? But even more importantly, off the field, and maybe that human side, that human element as a person, what makes him stand out to you?
Henry: Yeah, I think Sasho truly… if you came and just saw the day to day, he truly cares about every single player, every individual, and he makes sure that the message is received that, “I care about you,” and whether it’s on the field, of course, but also if you need help with something outside of soccer, I wouldn’t be afraid to ask him for advice or for anything of that nature. So yeah, I think that is just how he deals with relationships, and you just kind of get the sense that he really does care, and he also has the passion and the competitive spirit that I spoke about with with Ryan and Fred, where he wants to win. I consider myself an extremely competitive person, and that’s the environment that I want to be in.
Jillian: Let’s talk about your freshman year. What were some of the biggest adjustments you had to navigate during that time, both academically and athletically?
Henry: Yeah, I mean, I think academically, like I said earlier, it was it was a pretty easy transition. I think YSC prepared me well to to go to school, and you know I did well in the academic side. On the field, I think the biggest adjustment is the subbing rule. That’s something that was brand new to me, and I was coming off the bench in pretty much almost every game, and it was something that is hard to adjust to where you’re getting subbed in in the first half, playing 10, 15, 20 minutes, and then going back to the bench. It was interesting, and I think it’s something where it’s hard to develop a rhythm, but I I think that my best games came from when I was able to get into the flow of things. But I also, I think, learned throughout the year how to make an impact with limited minutes, and yeah, I think that it was tough at first, but something that I think I handled pretty well.
Jillian: Let’s talk about some of the highlights from your freshman season. The team won the Big Ten regular season title, made a run to the NCAA Elite Eight. What moments stand out to you personally the most?
Henry: Yeah, I mean, obviously, winning the the Big Ten regular season at Michigan State… winning a trophy is always going to be a highlight, but every Friday night at Ludwig feels like it is a special moment. Like each game is, it’s really unbelievable with the crowd. I never really played in front of such a big crowd like that, and it was week in and week out. And you know, we had so much success last year, trailing for like 50 seconds or some number like that for the whole regular season. So it was fun. The whole team, we kind of took off and and didn’t look back. So yeah, I mean there’s so many unbelievable moments. The last thing is scoring in the in the Elite Eight game against Washington. I was proud of that moment. That was my first start that I got that year, and to score again in front of the fans like that was was awesome.
Jillian: And and speaking of playing in front of big crowds and having big moments, this past summer you got to appear in that friendly with Union II against the Ivory Coast national team in Subaru Park. Kyle and I were there. It was definitely a cool experience, I think, all around. But just talk about that opportunity. What was it like playing against a team with world class talent like Ivory Coast?
Henry: Yeah, I was super excited when when they told me about that opportunity, and there was some stuff I had to work out with college eligibility. But luckily, I think there was a rule that was passed that allowed me and a few of the other college guys to play. But that was such a cool experience, just being able to kind of size yourself up against some of the world’s best players, and they did really well in the World Cup, and you know they have Yan Diamonde, who is now playing for Real Madrid, who I have a picture winning a header over him. So it was a great experience, but also something that I won’t forget for the rest of my life.
Kyle: And now, looking at the season so far to date, the team has had some good wins against ranked opponents, top 10 opponents. But what would you say from a coaching staff perspective, and everything else, was the message going into the season, and just how that’s evolved to this point, heading into tomorrow’s match against Michigan State?
Henry: Yeah, I mean, we have the same goals every year. We want to win, we want to win the Big Ten regular season, Big Ten tournament, and national championship, and that, of course, was the goal coming into the season, and that still is the goal as of today. We’ve had a tough start in in Big Ten play, but we’re still fully confident in ourselves, and have a lot, still a whole half of the season left to play. So yeah, we’re just taking it one game at a time, so right now the focus is on Michigan State, and we just want to get three points tomorrow, and then we focus on the next game, and we want to get three points, and yeah, I think we’re just going to keep battling, and we still have the same goal in mind: we want three rings.
[Unfortunately, Maryland fell 2-1 to Michigan State.]
Kyle: I want to ask you… I know you played Rutgers earlier this week, and a former teammate of yours, Zach Mastrodimos was there. What was it like playing against him, and did you get a chance to talk to him at all, and thoughts on that match?
Henry: Yeah it was funny to look across and see his big smile. It almost felt like we were back in training. He loves to talk during the game, so he was in my ear pretty much the whole game. I was trying to, you know, stay focused, but it was fun. That’s one of the things that I didn’t realize would would be so fun about college soccer, is that I have so many friends that play. That every other week it feels like I’m playing against one of my best friends. But yeah, we got to talk after the game for a little bit, and it’s good to catch up with him. And yeah, Rutgers—they were a good team. You know, we’re happy that we were able to get a good result. But yeah, they’re a tough team to play against, and yeah, it was good to see him.
Jillian: Yeah, we were watching that and saw kind of the coming together sometimes that was going on and were wondering about the banter. So finally, what are your goals for the rest of the season, and as you look towards the future?
Henry: I mean, like I said, still want to win a Big Ten, both regular season and the tournament, and we want to go as far as we can in the tournament and win the national championship. For me, I want to keep putting consistent performances together. Stay healthy. Play the rest of the games this season, and just help out my team in any way I can, whether that’s getting goals and assists, or sprinting as hard as I can and winning the ball. I just want to win.
Jillian: And just even beyond playing at Maryland, what are your future goals?
Henry: Yeah, I want to play professionally, and that’s something that I, of course, have to have in the back of my head, that if I consistently put the work in, that that’s something that will come. So it’s not something that I necessarily think about like, oh, you know, I need to play well because I want to, because I need to be a pro. But something that I think about, and whether it’s with the Union— I hope that I can put a good season together. And you know, they’ve been there watching, of course. I know that.
Jillian: And we actually we like to sometimes include a fun question here, and so we’ve been down on campus before a bunch of times. Beautiful pool, by the way. So Kyle and I are both swim coaches, former competitive swimmers. And there’s a meet in January called Winter Fest we go to every year there, middle of January usually. And one one of the favorite places for most of our team to stop at is Little Blue Menu [an experimental, special version of Chick Fil A]. Have you been there? And thoughts on that?
Henry: Yeah, I’ve been once just because yeah, I feel like I have to try it. I actually think that they are changing it back to a regular Chick Fil A. That’s what I heard. But yeah, I have been there once because I feel like I had to check that off the list.
Jillian: Oh, that’s interesting you say that because yeah, we have some some kids on our team that are probably gonna be pretty disappointed if that gets changed. But yeah, it’s definitely an experience. But you know, we really thank you for your time, and we look forward to continued success. And of course, you’re leading Big 10 right now in assists eight, correct? So that’s incredible. So, Henry, again, thanks, and we look forward to seeing how the rest of season goes in the future.
Henry: Yeah, thank you. It was a pleasure.
Henry and the Terps will face University of Michigan next in Ann Arbor on Friday, October 16 at 7:00 PM as they look to rebound from the loss to MSU. Tune in to Big Ten Network to catch the action.
Main article photo credit: University of Maryland
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