CHESTER, Pa. — Almost five years ago, when YSC Academy opened its doors to significant fanfare, the Philadelphia Union brass preached patience.

Yes, creating a team-affiliated private high school to cater to its youth academy players was a milestone — it was believed to be the first of its kind for a professional sports franchise in North America — but the club’s higher-ups also recognized it would take time for it to bear fruit.

On Saturday night, in the Union’s 2018 season opener, many of the club’s long-held dreams were finally realized.

Led by two recent graduates of YSC Academy — teenagers Anthony Fontana and Auston Trusty — the Union put their youth on full display in a 2-0 win over the New England Revolution, perhaps ushering in a new era of soccer in Philadelphia while helping to give an oft-floundering club a distinct identity.

“You can reflect back to when Anthony was in the Union juniors when our youth academy was just starting,” said Union head coach Jim Curtin, who got his coaching start at the academy ranks during the 2010 expansion season, just after his own professional career ended. “There was a 40×40 patch of AstroTurf where this young group of nine-year-old kids were on the field and had a dream of maybe someday playing for the Philadelphia Union. You think of Auston Trusty being there as well, with [academy coaches] Ian Munro, Phil Karn and myself, and to see them now, take this step at Talen Energy Stadium under the bright lights, is something that is special.”

Developing local talent from young ages is done at soccer clubs around the world and has taken hold in MLS, a unique aspect of the league compared to its counterparts in major U.S. professional sports. It’s something that the Union hope to be among the best in MLS at doing — their way of finding a competitive advantage in a league where several teams spend significantly more money on foreign imports.

But for much of the club’s existence, as other teams dished out more first-team minutes to youth academy products, it sometimes felt like more talk than action.

That changed this offseason when the Union signed Matt Real and Mark McKenzie to Homegrown contracts and decided to give Trusty and Fontana opening-day starts. It got even better Sunday when Fontana, in front of 16,452 very cold fans, scored the team’s first goal of the season in his MLS debut — before losing his mind in celebration.

“I don’t even know if I was there,” the 18-year-old attacking midfielder said. “I was going on pure emotions, running around, doing whatever.”

“I was the first one to him,” said Trusty, who also made his MLS debut, putting in a strong shift at center back. “You can watch the tape, I was the first one to him. I was as hyped as him. We’re family. That’s what we both dreamed of, growing up in the academy. I’m so happy for him.”

When the game ended, Trusty and Fontana sat next to each other in the locker room, their lockers side by side, soaking in the moment. If starting a professional game was new, so too was dealing with the postgame media attention. When Fontana was put in front of the Union backdrop to answer questions, his teammates showered him with hoots and hollers, and the 18-year-old smiled meekly in return. At one point, while standing there, he asked a Union PR rep who he was waiting for. “The media,” he was told.

“It’s funny to think about being that young,” said 24-year-old right back Keegan Rosenberry. “I can’t even imagine it, to be honest. I really benefited from going to college and maturing a little bit and trying to lead a group of guys and stuff like that. At the same time, it’s a really cool opportunity for them and I’m happy to be any help I can. They have real raw personalities and they’re fun to be around.

“It’s kind of cool for the locker room. In the offseason, we went from being one of the older teams to [one of] the younger teams. We embrace it.”

If Rosenberry feels old around the teenagers, it’s hard to imagine how 30-year-old captain Alejandro Bedoya must feel. But getting to be around a U.S. national team stalwart has surely done wonders for Fontana, who roomed with Bedoya throughout the preseason. And Bedoya — who showed his toughness by playing a full 90 minutes despite feeling so sick on Saturday morning that he texted his coaches he might not be able to make it to the stadium — has enjoyed seeing the teenagers’ rise too.

“We want him to want the ball and have no fear and he definitely tries to take some risks,” Bedoya said of Fontana. “It’s just the beginning for him.”

Fontana, a native of Newark, Delaware, likely won’t start when the Union play their next game on March 17, as recent acquisition Borek Dockal, a playmaker from the Czech Republic, gets fully integrated into the group. But Union fans can expect to still see plenty of local products take the field throughout the season.

Homegrown defensive midfielder Derrick Jones, 21, who logged over 700 minutes last season, showed his worth off the bench Saturday, helping to close out the shutout as a late reserve. Trusty, who made some big plays tracking back to dispossess Revs striker Juan Agudelo, will almost certainly keep his starting spot as one of the league’s youngest defenders.

And the 19-year-old will keep loving every minute of it, the realization of his dreams — and the Union’s — coming true after years of hard work.

“I remember going to games here as a little kid and buying a ticket and coming to see these guys play, and I always dreamed of playing on this field and being a starter and playing for the Union,” Trusty said. “For it to actually happen is amazing.”

Top photo: Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports