The Pathway | Academy standout Neil Pierre signs with the first team

It’s official – Philadelphia Union have signed academy product Neil Pierre to a professional contract ahead of the start of the 2025 season.

When he put pen to paper, Pierre became Philadelphia’s 26th Homegrown, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Nelson, who signed as the club’s 20th in 2023.

Standing tall at 6-foot-7, the 17-year-old center back has completed each step of the club’s renowned pathway to the pros, climbing the ranks from the Union’s junior academy all the way to the first team.

“I’m really happy, because this club has seen me grow up. They've taught me through the time I was nine all the way up to now that if you keep working hard and keep doing what you're doing, you will get to your end goal. I’m really happy with the club for giving me this opportunity and chance to play for the first team,” Pierre said.

While he's been part of the Union organization for nearly half of his life, Pierre's soccer journey began an hour and a half from Chester in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

His parents, Guy and Nelsie, from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and are former athletes themselves. In college, his mother played badminton and his father played soccer. Naturally, Pierre’s introduction to the sport was time spent playing alongside his dad and Nelson at home.

“We had a little brick wall in our original home, so my earliest memory of soccer is when my dad, my brother, and I just passed the ball on the brick wall. We’d play just one touch, and it wasn't even like I really could play. I was only six years old,” Pierre recalled.

Pierre got involved with the Philadelphia Union at age nine, first joining Union juniors. From there, he advanced up the academy’s ranks, and he says his experience on the pitch and inside the walls of YSC made all the difference in his development.

“It’s been a long journey from U12, all the way to the second team, and now the first team. It's had its own struggles, especially, I'd say, in my U17 years. My first U17 year, playing up an age group, I didn't just get my spot. I had to really, really work for it. That showed me that I have what it takes to proceed and to become a professional player,” Pierre said.

“I would say, our academy is very, very hard, but at the end of the day, it pays off with our youngsters.”

After winning back-to-back GA Cups and earning MLS Next All-Star honors, he got the nod from the second team, signing as a pro with Union II at just 15 years old.

“With the second team, it was a great, especially last year. We came up a little bit short, but it was a really good season,” Pierre said.

Pierre started 20 of his 22 games played during the 2024 MLS Next Pro regular season, plus four more in the team's postseason campaign that ultimately finished in a loss in the MLS Next Pro Cup against North Texas SC.

He did so while simultaneously attending school at YSC Academy, often training with the first team during the week, then suiting up for the second team MLS Next Pro match days.

“The main thing for me was staying focused, and not just looking at things like, ‘Okay, when am I gonna become a first team player?’ I was kind of just focusing on what I can do better at each step throughout the whole year. And then it finally paid off,” Pierre said.

Through his eight years of Union soccer memories, Pierre can pick out a few experiences that have stuck with him the most.

"Winning the GA Cup back-to-back, and then, of course, winning the MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference Finals with the second team at Subaru Park," he said.

But big-time moments in blue and gold aren't the extent of his soccer achievements so far. Pierre has stood out on the international stage as well, representing the United States Men’s Youth National Team at the U15, U16, U18, and U19 levels. In 2023, he appeared with the U16 team at the International Dream Cup, where he captained the squad in a match against the Netherlands. He earned his first call-up to the U18 team for the 26th International Youth Football Tournament in Niigata, Japan, on September 6, 2024.

The young defender has enjoyed a very successful career so far, but he’s only just getting started. Now, his focus is locked on what’s to come.

“My goal this year is to make my debut,” Pierre said.

“Having my debut be a start would be ideal, but I’m most looking forward to seeing the atmosphere of all the fans packed in Subaru Park on a Saturday night,” Pierre said.