Home has a variety of definitions and can take on several different forms. Most say a home is made up of four walls and a roof, but for six members of the Marist men’s and women’s soccer teams, it is a place called Poughkeepsie.
Hailing from our neighbor to the north, five of the six Canadian athletes are first-year students who all had different journeys in finding their way to Marist. The game of soccer and the journey players have been on to reach this point in their careers is that of a snowflake – no two are alike.
From the early stages of her recruitment process, first-year midfielder Mia Katchouni has always been drawn to Marist. Katchouni felt immediately welcomed on the campus and knew she could call Poughkeepsie her second home.
“[Head coach Nicole Pacapelli Ciano] had a big influence on why I chose to come here. She is all about family, love and helping each other be a good person before being a good soccer player,” said Katchouni.
From her hometown in Montreal, Quebec, Katchouni has experienced the ups and downs of adjusting to life as a college athlete. Being away from home was challenging at first, but as her relationships with her teammates began to blossom, she began to find the good in each day and grew as an individual.
Katchouni’s father, who played and enjoyed watching soccer, introduced her to the sport at an early age and pushed her to play soccer at the highest collegiate level. High school soccer was not the focus for Katchouni. The intensity of the recruitment process really took off on her club team.
Playing on a club team is a year-round commitment and some programs prevent players from playing high school soccer if it interferes with club play. This is a complete 180 from how the process is treated in the States, where there is emphasis on high school play, while club is seen as an off-season commitment.
“I think the biggest difference coming here is when you talk to people about their high school experiences, high school sports are such a big thing here,” said Katchouni. “Americans have separate seasons for high school versus club, where in Canada, high school sports are more for fun and club is more intense.”
Katchouni traveled with her club team to tournaments in America and got her recognition from different college coaches, with the understanding that the transition to playing soccer collegiately in the United States would be a challenge.
The women’s soccer team is not the only Marist soccer program possessing Canadian talent. The men’s soccer program rosters three first-years who have quickly found their home in Poughkeepsie as well.
First-year center back Miles Douglas, from Quebec, and first-year right back Christian Dewsbury, from Ontario, both followed different paths to playing at the Division I level.
Douglas got involved with soccer through his father and grandfather, who both played soccer and inspired his passion for the sport. Douglas played for a few different teams in Montreal, eventually spending a year overseas.
“When I play club, it is not connected to my school, so it does not really take into consideration everything else I have going on,” said Douglas. “Whereas at Marist, we have set time blocked out for training and it is way more structured with training almost every day. We even have a nutritionist.”
Dewsbury took a different route, playing competitively throughout his youth years but not placing a focus on soccer until his senior year of high school. With an opportunity to play in the States, making the transition to balancing school and athletics at Marist became a learning curve.
“It’s an adjustment, just getting used to having a schedule, like waking up at the same time every day, going to class, going to training, but it’s a good environment to be a part of,” said Dewsbury.
The age gap, level and style of play in college holds a different level of maturity and intensity compared to the typical high school and club experience. First-year winger/midfielder Adriano Iannello brought a unique experience coming into college, playing semi-pro before committing to Marist.
“I started playing when I was young, my dad started putting me in a higher level each year, and then from that I played semi-pro,” said Iannello. “I went to Europe for a bit, and decided that Europe wasn’t the go, so I played in the States and started doing showcases and eventually signed with Marist.”
Iannello credits the similarities between the Division I and semi-pro environments for aiding his smooth transition to becoming a student-athlete.
Looking at older athletes during the recruitment process, first-year attacker Jiji Sweiss began her journey to collegiate soccer at the age of 13.
“My older sister played soccer, I kind of copied her and just wanted to do whatever she was doing,” said Sweiss. “From there, I fell in love with it. I started at a really young age, I was four years old, when my sister stopped playing soccer, but I still loved it. I kept playing for her and myself.”
Sweiss played for a Canadian and a U.S. team simultaneously, giving her lots of exposure and experience early on in her career. She also gained experience playing for both the boys and girls teams, getting used to the quick style of play that she is now adapting to being at Marist.
For both Sweiss and Katchouni, senior center back Julia Loncar has been a role model for the young Canadians in New York. Building a family environment within the locker room has helped strengthen the team’s bonding, setting a new program culture for years to come.
“Julia [Loncar] helped me in so many ways when I needed it. She would talk to me about what was going wrong and make me feel better,” said Katchouni. “She’s my mentor, and with her also being from Canada, we obviously have that little bond of being Canadian and being international students.”
“We are all focused on wanting the same thing and we’re not scared to get on each other and push each other. It’s not super sweet all the time, we’re gonna be honest, but it helps us grow and feel more like a family.”
Jiji Sweiss
The feeling of family and finding a home in Poughkeepsie has elevated both programs, with strong bonds creating room for both individual and team success for the Red Foxes this season.
Loncar earned All-MAAC second team honors, along with senior midfielder Olivia Lindsay and sophomore forward Gabby Tirado. The men also saw success in the All-MAAC Team honors. Junior midfielder Kyle Evans earned first team honors, the Verheul Brothers, sophomore defender Gjis Verheul and sophomore defender Chris Verheul, earned second team honors, and Iannello earned third team honors.
“Everyone at Marist is very nice, all the teams and the upperclassmen have helped us with this transition,” said Iannello. “It’s important to talk to your family at home every day, but having a family here helps with the adjustment.”
The Marist soccer programs have a bright future ahead, with a family-first mindset and a constant strive to be better. With the foundation of Canadian players, the connection between Poughkeepsie and Canada will continue to grow, with future Red Foxes having role models to look up to.
Everyone has a different journey with shared connections that are discovered along the way, and for some, that leads them to a place called home: Marist.
Edited by Mike Schiavone and Ben Leeds
Graphic by Xavier Angel
Photos from Marist Athletics
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