Oldsmar's own Nathan Harriel raising game with Philly Union

Each year when the Philadelphia Union spend their preseason in Clearwater, Nathan Harriel acts as the team's local tour guide. 

"Guys ask me for spots and I give them some information about where to go and get a good burger or some good fish on Clearwater Beach," joked Harriel. 

The 21-year-old Union defender is good at being the team's local guide. 

After all, he knows the area like the back of his hand. 

The fields the Union trains on at the Joe Dimaggio Sports Complex aren't foreign to him either. 

After all, he grew up on them. 

"I drove past these fields almost every single day," remembers Harriel. 

Born and raised in Oldsmar, Harriel grew up playing soccer around Tampa Bay and was a star at East Lake High School. 

"When I was younger, we would train down here (Clearwater) with the Chargers but never on the top fields because they were for the (Philadelphia) Union," Harriel recalls. 

During his senior season at East Lake, however, the Union invited Harriel to play on those "top fields" he could only look at, but never play on, as a kid. 

So Harriel left home to join the Union's youth academy in Philadelphia. 

Four years later, the Oldsmar native has turned into one of the best young defenders in all of Major League Soccer.

"He has a skill and attributes that could suit our national team one day," says Union head coach Jim Curtin. 

"Almost like a defensive back, whoever he's playing against, he'll shut them down. He's stopping $15 million players on the weekends and that's not an easy task." 

Last season, Harriel's second in MLS and just his first as a full-time starter, the young defender helped the Union march all the way to the MLS Cup Final. 

"Last year, being in the final was a dream and was an unbelievable experience for only my second year. Hopefully, this year we're lifting that cup, especially at home," said Harriel.

Now, when Harriel gets to share his hometown with his teammates, he soaks up every bit of Tampa Bay while he can. 

"It feels like home, again," said Harriel. 

"I only get it four weeks out of the year so these months down here for preseason are special." 

From the Bay Area to the City of Brotherly Love, Nathan Harriel is setting the stage for future Tampa Bay soccer stars. 

"I would love to be that kid that came from Tampa Bay, to win the MLS Cup and achieve all these great things," Harriel said. 

And along the way, maybe Harriel can inspire the next generation. 

Clearwater