Team USA players Christian Pulisic, Alejandro Zendejas and Weston McKennie were stranded after a late-night pizza run near Laguna Niguel when a major crash on the Pacific Coast Highway halted rideshare service. Unable to walk back because of Pulisic’s nagging calf, the trio were given a lift on a street-legal golf cart by SC Carts’ owner, avoiding a risky trek and returning safely to their World Cup hotel.
Team USA trio rescued by golf cart after Pacific Coast Highway crash
What happened: quick facts
Three U.S. men’s national team players — Christian Pulisic, Alejandro Zendejas and Weston McKennie — left their World Cup hotel in Laguna Niguel for pizza late at night. A major accident on the Pacific Coast Highway blocked rideshares and left them stranded miles from the hotel.
Faced with a 40-minute walk and Pulisic managing a calf issue, the group accepted a ride on a street-legal golf cart from SC Carts and returned safely.
Immediate impact and player welfare
This was more than a light-hearted anecdote. Pulisic’s calf restriction made a long roadside walk a genuine injury risk, and McKennie’s insistence on avoiding it shows a pragmatic approach to player health. The quick decision to find alternative transport preserved recovery priorities and avoided potential aggravation of an injury that already has national-team staff monitoring minutes and training loads.
Details of the encounter and the community response
The players, casually dressed and carrying pizza boxes, browsed high-end, street-legal carts outside an Orange County dealership. Staff initially took them for locals admiring the merchandise until fans recognized the trio and asked for pictures, confirming their identity in the moment.
The dealership owner arranged to deliver a cart along a route toward the hotel and offered the players a lift. The golf cart navigated around the accident scene and dropped the group at the hotel valet without incident. The interaction ended friendly and low-key — a fist-bump and an open invitation should they want to return.
Why this matters beyond a feel-good moment
This episode highlights several practical realities facing elite athletes away from the training ground: travel interruptions, limited late-night mobility, and the need to protect minor injuries. It also underscores the human side of squad life — players making conservative decisions for health, staff and team cohesion being prioritized implicitly, and positive fan engagement in public spaces.
What this says about Team USA culture and optics
The story reinforces an image of the U.S. squad as accessible and grounded. Rather than creating a distraction, the players handled the situation responsibly and courteously. For a national team operating under intense scrutiny, small incidents like this can either blow up or pass as harmless human moments; this one did the latter, reflecting well on player conduct and a calm team demeanor.
Looking ahead: minor incident, no fallout
There’s no competitive consequence from a pizza run gone sideways — no injury worsened, no disciplinary issue — but it’s a neat reminder of the logistics that accompany tournament life. Coaching and medical staff will take comfort in the prudent decision-making, while fans get an unvarnished snapshot of players off the pitch.
Bottom line
A late-night pizza run could have become a risk for Team USA, but quick thinking and a friendly local averted any problem.
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The episode reinforces player-first choices, offers a warm PR moment, and has no bearing on on-field plans other than the encouraged caution around Pulisic’s calf.
The Sun
