The United States Men's National Team, including Columbus Crew SC players Zack Steffen, Wil Trapp and Gyasi Zardes,visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum as the squad competed in an international friendly against Brazil on Sept. 7 in East Rutherford, N.J., before preparing for a friendly against Mexico on Sept. 11.
Trapp, who captained the USMNT squad against Brazil, spoke on behalf of the team to members of the FDNY and NYPD soccer teams.
"Understanding that the acts of heroism, the acts of courage that you guys put out there…it’s an honor for us to be here today to witness that, to talk to you, get to know you, see your faces, it brings a lot of confidence to us and a lot of courage as a team," Trapp said.
"We know that life is so much bigger than our sport, but it brings us together with gentlemen like yourselves. We’re really thankful to walk through with some of the firefighters, the police department members that were there on that day. It’s difficult to describe the emotions of it. The acts of heroism, the courage of men and women, it’s truly amazing. We’re honored to be here."
Following the USMNT's match against Mexico, which is set to air at 8:30 p.m. ET from Nashville, Tenn., Crew SC returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 15 at FC Dallas, with kickoff slated for 8 p.m.