CHESTER, Pa. -- With fellow Union rookies Keegan Rosenberry and Josh Yaro standing on either side of him, Fabian Herbers was gushing about how difficult it was to play against both in college when he stopped and smiled.
"However I scored," said Herbers, a standout striker from Creighton who was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy (given annually to the NCAA's best player).
And how did that happen?
"I can say proudly, [it was my fault]," laughed Yaro, who teamed with Rosenberry to help lead Georgetown to wins over Creighton in the regular-season finale and the Big East championship this past fall. "I remember that goal clearly. The ball came in and I took a touch and it was a bad touch and he got it. It was a really nice finish."
These days, Yaro, Rosenberry and Herbers are no longer competing for Big East championships. Instead, they're trying to build a new foundation together in Philly after the Union made some moves to acquire them with three of the top six picks in this year's MLS SuperDraft.
"We're all young, we're all top six draft picks," said Herbers, who led the nation in scoring this past season with 15 goals and 17 assists. "That just means that the club is really excited to work with young players that they want to see develop. They want to build. With a long-term project, you can have a lot of success with young players. It's important that you have some older guys as well, some veterans, but for us it's good to be part of a young group. That makes us really, really comfortable."
This isn't the first time the Union have left the draft with a huge first-round haul.
Before their expansion season in 2010, they took Danny Mwanga, Amobi Okugo and Jack McInerney with three of the top seven picks. But despite the promise each of those players showed in flashes, they're all now playing elsewhere, joining many other youngsters - including, most recently, homegrown signing Zach Pfeffer - who were jettisoned from Philly before fulfilling their promise.
But with a new person calling the shots (first-year sporting director Earnie Stewart) and a new development affiliate in stow (Bethlehem Steel FC), this feels like a new beginning for the Union, who are recommitted to growing young talent and finding valuable minutes for promising rookies like Yaro, Rosenberry and Herbers.
"It's hard to say maybe how exactly or when we'll be used and what the coaches' plans are," Rosenberry said. "But I just think long term, and even now, the organization's trending in the right direction. And all these decisions and acquisitions, it seems like they have the right mentality. And it only helps when you're coming into a positive environment and things are trending in the right direction."
Rosenberry is more familiar with the organization than the other rookies. A Philly-area native who starred at Lancaster Mennonite High before going to Georgetown, the fullback had trained with the Union in the past and worked with their youth academy. Initially, the hope for the Union was that they could sign him to a homegrown deal and have him bypass the draft. But when that didn't work out, they took him with the third overall pick - one slot after Yaro and three ahead of Herbers.
"I think the biggest thing is just being familiar with the personnel, whether it's players or coaches," Rosenberry said. "It's really nice to know how guys act in the locker room. If someone gives you a hard time, you know for the most part they're joking. But no, it's nice to feel that I'm welcomed from seeing guys before. I think it instills a lot of confidence."
Herbers and Yaro didn't know the Union players before starting preseason camp a couple of weeks ago but both have impressed them with their considerable talent, particularly in the Union's preseason opener Saturday - a 1-0 loss to Jacksonville Armada. And both could be in line for key minutes this season with Yaro battling for a starting center back spot and Herbers in a good position, at least right now, to back up C.J. Sapong at striker.
The biggest challenges for the rest of preseason - until the Union's opener vs. FC Dallas on March 6 - is adjusting to the physicality and speed at the pro level.
"You cannot have any bad touches anymore," Herbers said. "I'm trying to get adjusted to that."
Added Yaro: "With every transition, no matter how experienced you are, you have adjustments to make."
Lucky for them, the three highly-touted Big East alums can all lean on each other as they embark on their first MLS season together.
"It's been great," Yaro said. "It's nice to have someone that you know."
