In only his third international match, U.S. forward Edson Buddle turned heads internationally by scoring his first two goals for the U.S. in its 3-1 friendly win over Australia Saturday. He also left several Eastern New York state and club administrators beaming with pride. Buddle hails from New Rochelle, N.Y. and played for several youth club teams.

"It's a fantastic achievement," ENY Youth Soccer Association president Barry Salter said.

As it turns out, Salter's son, Joshua, played with the 29-year-old Buddle with a New Rochelle team in the Westchester Youth Soccer League.

"He was a good player," Salter said.

As good as Buddle was, it was difficult to predict whether any youth player would be part of the National Team, let alone score or be a member of the U.S. World Cup team.

"It's hard to tell," Salter said. "We looked at players a lot differently then. He was a player."

Among the teams Buddle starred for was FC Westchester.

"It is great to see a hometown Westchester player rise to the highest level and it was thrilling to see him score two great goals today," FC Westchester president Lonny Unger said.

"We in Westchester, of course, have watched Edson grow as a player since he was a 12, 13 year old and beyond and it is just terrific to see a local player contribute today. We are all pulling for him to replicate today's performance starting next weekend."

Ken Gulmi, president of the East Hudson Youth Soccer League, admitted he turned down an opportunity to coach a teenage Buddle in the 1990s when he directed the Mahopac Hurricanes Boys Under-18 team. Buddle, father, Winston, asked Gulmi if his son could try out.

"The first question I asked, all my players were 18," Gulmi said. "I said, how old was your son and he said 15. And I said, 'No, he's too young. I don't want to take a 15-year-old on an 18-year-old team. He said, 'I promise you he's good enough. He can play at that level.' My answer was, 'I don't care. He's too young. I don't believe in 15-year-olds playing with 18-years-old.' It shows you how smart I am as a a coach."

Gulmi then laughed.

"My fellow coaches at the time had a lot of good laughs at my expense over that," Gulmi said with another laugh.

But he was proud of Buddle's accomplishment.

"I think that's wonderful," he said. "It's great to see a local kid do well. It's terrific to see the U.S. team with so many bright young prospects. . . . I just think the National Team has a great future with kids like Edson Buddle. It's really great. It's really great to see a kid from this area be successful at the national level."

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