Hershey, Pennsylvania, is known for one thing to most of the world: chocolate. But for U.S. soccer fans, this town of about 15,000 people is something else entirely. It’s where Christian Pulisic learned to juggle a ball hundreds of times before he hit middle school. It’s where his parents held him back from going pro too early because they wanted him emotionally ready. And it’s where a whole community is now watching their hometown kid try to do something no American men’s team has done in 24 years: win a World Cup knockout game.
The U.S. faces Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara. Pulisic missed the second group game with a calf injury and only played 33 minutes as a sub against Turkey. But he’s expected to be healthy. The Americans haven’t won a knockout game since 2002, when they beat Mexico in the round of 16. Pulisic said the team’s approach won’t change just because the stakes are higher now.
“It’s just special to be here,” he said. “You just don’t want it to end.”
A Town Built on Chocolate and Soccer
Hershey was founded in 1903 by Milton S. Hershey as a company town. The streetlights on Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses. The Hershey Company still runs the local economy. But these days, the town’s other famous export is a 27-year-old soccer player who just got his own limited-edition chocolate bar from the company.
Pulisic posted about it on Instagram. “Hershey to me is everything,” he wrote. “It’s where my family is from, it’s where I grew up. It’s where I learned how to play. It’s just home.”
He started at PA Classics, a youth club about 20 minutes from Hershey in Lancaster County. The place smells like chicken and dairy farms. But it’s also where Pulisic spent eight years developing the skills that would eventually take him to Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, AC Milan, and the U.S. national team captaincy.
In 2021, he paid for and helped design new fields at the club. They’re called the Pulisic Stomping Grounds now.
“He Could Juggle Hundreds of Times in Elementary School”
Tara Seymour is a family friend who used to teach health and PE at Hershey Middle School. She met the Pulisics at a soccer camp and got close with Christian’s mother, Kelley. She remembers Kelley once saying quietly, “We have never seen anything like this.”
“He has an intensity that couldn’t be taught,” Seymour said. “I think he had the opportunity to go pro earlier or go to Europe earlier and they held back just to make sure emotionally and maturity-wise he was ready.”
That patience paid off. Pulisic’s parents, Mark and Kelley, both played college soccer at George Mason. Mark went on to play pro indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat. The family even moved to England for a year when Christian was 7 so his mom could do a Fulbright teaching exchange. He played for Brackley Town’s youth team there.
What Pulisic’s Legacy Looks Like Back Home
At PA Classics, kids still train in front of a giant collage of Pulisic photos that trace his career from childhood to the World Cup. Liam Gustafson, a 17-year-old forward who wants to play pro soccer, called Pulisic his role model.
“It’s really inspiring to see someone who paved the way, so that we can do that someday,” he said.
Brittney and Nick Jakobson, who both coach at PA Classics, brought their kids to kick a ball at the club’s fields recently. They said the U.S. has a real shot at winning the whole tournament, but that’s not the only thing that matters.
“Their goal is to inspire a generation and it’s really fun to see that happening in real time,” Brittney said. “To hear people going out and watching the games, to see people buying the jerseys.”
Nick added: “He does very much encourage that it’s not just about him. It’s not about just these four years. It’s about the next eight, 12, 16. It’s forward-thinking.”
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