Photo: Courtesy of Vancouver Whitecaps

Corey Hertzog grew up in Reading. He played his college ball at Penn State and played in the off-season with Reading United. By the time he was up for the MLS draft, in 2011, he was one of the top prospects available. The Union even tried to sign him as a homegrown player before the draft, but MLS denied the request. But hey, no big deal, the Union had the fifth pick.

Philadelphia, for better or worse, picked Zac MacMath instead of Hertzog, who would go eight picks later … to the Red Bulls.

That was, of course, back in the Nowak era, and we can debate whether the Union made the right choice or not (we did have a certain Jack McInerney already), but seeing Hertzog drive up I-95 to be a part of the Red Bulls was tough, because people who’d followed his career knew that it was only a matter of time before he was scoring in MLS.

Except, it didn’t happen. Blame Hans Backe’s disinterest in young USA-born players if you like, or the looming presence of Thierry Henry, but in his first season, Hertzog made five appearances, totaling 35 minutes of game time. The Red Bulls just weren’t interested.

So, they loaned him out.

Hertzog spent 2012 with the Wilmington Hammerheads of USL Pro, where he scored 9 goals and notched 5 assists in 17 appearances, helping lead Wilmington to the league championship game. Surely, the Red Bulls could see what they had then, right?

Nope. They released him.

Swiftly scooped up by the Vancouver Whitecaps, Hertzog spent the first four games of the 2013 season in a depressingly familiar situation: on the bench. He came on for a minute in Vancouver’s 2–1 loss to Houston but was otherwise unused.

But with Vancouver coming off two road losses and needing a spark playing away to the San Jose Earthquakes, home of reigning MLS top scorer Chris Wondolowski, Hertzog was given his first MLS start. And what did he do? Nothing, except score the equalizing goal that allowed Vancouver to escape San Jose with a share of the spoils.

It’s likely not the last goal Corey Hertzog will score in MLS, and it shouldn’t be his last start. After finally getting his chance, the future is looking bright for Hertzog. While Union fans may bemoan that he doesn’t play for the Union, at least he’s not scoring for the Red Bulls.