Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Alejandro Zendejas were left stranded on the Pacific Coast Highway during a Father’s Day pizza run and had to be rescued by the owner of a golf cart dealership.

The incident happened after the United States team’s 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle.

As reported by The Daily Mail, the three players left their World Cup hotel near Laguna Beach, California, on a day off to get food.

A crash on the highway closed one side of the road, blocking taxis. Walking the roughly 30-minute distance back was not practical: Pulisic was recovering from a calf injury that kept him out of the Australia match, and McKennie was wearing flip-flops.

The players walked to SC Carts in Dana Point, a business that sells street-legal golf carts. Customers include UFC fighters Luke Rockhold and Khalil Rountree, as well as Alex Hall from the reality show Selling the OC.

Owner steps in

Cole Schamber, the 27-year-old owner of SC Carts, told the Daily Mail that his colleague initially thought the players in casual clothes carrying pizza boxes were just local kids looking at the carts. Passers-by recognised them and asked for photos. The players got into one of the carts for pictures.

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Schamber went outside to help. The players asked about renting or buying a cart, models like the Voyager Patriot and Bintelli Nexus, priced around $9,000, and even considered shipping one back to Pulisic’s home in Florida.

They later decided against it.

Schamber drove the three players and their pizzas back to the hotel in one of the golf carts. The short trip along back roads drew more attention. Drivers stopped in the middle of the road to take photos.

“We didn’t even get out of the parking lot of my business when these people driving the opposite way down the road stopped in the middle of the road, got out of their car, ran over to us and took pictures,” Schamber said. The same thing happened again in traffic.

During the drive, the group talked about Dana Point, the history of the area, Schamber’s business, and the US team’s upcoming World Cup games. McKennie pointed out the golf cart’s gadgets. Schamber, the same age as Pulisic, said the players were relaxed and easy to talk to.

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“They were really nice guys,” he said. “No one was standoffish. No one was stuck-up.”

The Team

This came during the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is hosting. The USMNT defeated Australia 2-0 in Seattle shortly before the pizza trip. Pulisic’s calf injury had limited his involvement up to that point.

Schamber later joked on social media that the carts the players looked at were still available. He told the Daily Mail he regretted not asking for a photo because the business was busy that day. One of his co-workers’ fathers, a big soccer fan who had attended a recent World Cup game, was excited when he heard the story.

Schamber said he does not have much time to watch the tournament because he runs the business. “I don’t even have time to do anything other than go home and have dinner and go to sleep,” he said.

If the United States wins the World Cup, Schamber joked that he should get some compensation or at least a golf cart sale.