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Sports

Falls Township Boy Wins Halftime Shootout at Union Game

Eight year old Aidan and an experience he'll never forget

If you ask any kid from the area who their favorite Philadelphia Union player is, most will say forward Danny Mwanga. But 8-year-old Aidan O’Rahilly of Falls Township is part of the minority. His favorite player is Sebastien Le Toux.

“He was the first person I knew, and I really liked him,” O'Rahilly said of the midfielder and forward Le Toux.

On Saturday, June 25, O'Rahilly and two other children participated in the Verizon FiOS Kid’s Shoot Out at halftime of the Union game against Chivas USA.

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“My dad got an email about it, and he asked me if I wanted to enter and I said, 'Yes. I do.' That’s all I know,” O'Rahilly said.

“He was chosen. We’ve been involved with the Falls Soccer Club for a while now, and he’s a good kid who exemplifies the club. They chose him and asked him to do it, and of course we jumped on the opportunity,” O'Rahilly's father Gerry O’Rahilly said.

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“He’s very tough, and his best asset is up here [his head]. He’s real smart, very coachable and plays his position very well,” he said.

Aiden O'Rahilly said that dribbling up the field is his strength when playing soccer.

The halftime shootout consisted of the three participants dribbling through a set of cones, then shooting at the open net.

O'Rahilly won in a landslide. It took him just 10 seconds to complete, but he'll remember those 10 seconds for the rest of his life.

“It was fun,” he said. “I came out really nervous. I started off good, there was a lot of space in between the cones. The field was nice.”

His parents and sister were ecstatic.

“We’re overjoyed,” O'Rahilly's dad said. “Just to see the smile on his face.”

As his prize, O'Rahilly had the opportunity to meet and greet with Mwanga after the game.

“He was very excited,” Mwanga said. “I remember watching him. At this age you don’t really think about one day being a professional soccer player. I told him if you have a dream to be a professional soccer [player] just to keep playing and then one day that dream would come true. I was very excited to talk to him because I was in the same position as a little kid, and today I’m playing as a professional.”

After meeting Mwanga, did O'Rahilly change his mind about his favorite player?

“Nope, It’s going to take a lot more than that,” he said.

Mwanga smiled and said, "Obviously everyone has their own guy."

Mwanga came on in the second half of the game and scored the game winning goal in in the 82nd minute to make the final score 3-2. But who got the assist on the play? O'Rahilly's favorite, Sebastien Le Toux.

 

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