When Geno Zambrano was growing up in St. John, he never imagined that he would be playing soccer on a team packed with international athletes. 

But that’s exactly what the PNW Men’s Soccer defender is doing today. More than half the team’s players come from Spain, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom. 

“Playing with a lot of international students is something that I am very grateful to have experienced,” said Zambrano, a senior in Biological Sciences. “My … teammates are great guys, and it has been very cool to talk to them and get to know about their hometowns and cultures. They are also very talented, which has pushed me to be a better player.” 

He said he was first attracted to PNW by the promise of a competitive soccer program. 

“It was mainly the ability to play high level soccer close to home,” he said. “However I also knew Purdue was a great college to earn a degree from.” 

Teammate Marco Ussi took a slightly longer journey – but for similar reasons. The junior Hospitality Management major, who plays midfield on the team, grew up in Carrara, Italy, where he began playing soccer when he was 4 years old. 

His journey into American soccer was facilitated by College-life Italia, an agency that helps student-athletes navigate the recruitment process. He came to the United States in 2022 and spent a year at Bergen Community College in New Jersey before deciding to move to Hammond. 

“PNW offers an excellent academic program, and this was fundamental in my choice,” he said. “Being able to play and compete in the NCAA D2 championship was very relevant.”

Last season, the Men’s Soccer team experienced historic success.  After finishing as champions of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, with a 10-4-4 overall record, the team competed in its first NCAA Division 2 Soccer Tournament. While it was eliminated in its first round of national competition, PNW earned national attention for the first time.  In fact, in September, for the first time it was nationally ranked – eighth among the top 25 teams.  

Most of the team’s starters returned this year, joined by what Coach Luke Dunn has called a strong recruiting class. So far this season, Men’s Soccer has a 4-3-2 record.

Dunn has said the team will need to adjust to last year’s success.

“After having the success we had, it’s going to be a different feeling going into games,” he said during the official season preview. “We … had that underdog feeling … in previous years. I think that will go away this year. 

“[We] have a little bit of a target on our backs, but looking forward to embracing that challenge,” he said.

Meanwhile, players are learning from each other.  

“It’s very nice to meet guys from all over the world with different cultures and different habits,” said Ussi. “I think it’s one of the best parts of this experience, which makes you open up a lot mentally.” 

Zambrano said that the athletes’ shared love of soccer overcomes any language or cultural barriers the team may experience.

“It is easy to speak to them on the field,” he said.