After the Chaminade men’s soccer team’s first conference game against Fresno Pacific, freshman defender Jack Williams found his mom asking Minas Karagiorgis questions about the team and how happy she was that her son was getting an opportunity to play on the team as a freshman. She was surprised when Williams explained that Karagiorgis is his 30-year-old teammate, not his coach.
“It’s weird for sure, but not in a bad way. I like having Minas on the team,” the 19-year-old Williams said. “After the first couple weeks, it felt like he was any other player on the team, and I honestly forgot that he’s a lot older than the rest of us.”
Karagiorgis is using his COVID year eligibility to play one more year of college soccer while he gets his master’s. He began his college career nine years ago at Rowan College at Burlington County, a junior college in New Jersey. He then transferred to Queens College in 2018 to play his junior and senior years in New York at the Division II level. He played a fundamental role at Queens College, starting 24 out of 30 games at center back. After he graduated, he worked for three years and now finds himself with the Chaminade men’s soccer team (0-5) to play one more year at 30 years old.
“It kind of motivates me to be honest, being the older [guy] and trying to still perform, or like playing. It’s an honor to keep playing, especially if you’re older,” Karagiorgis said. “It’s kind of a challenge for me, so I really like the challenge and enjoy.”
He has taken on the challenge of being a college soccer player again head-on. He’s had to complete three fitness tests in preseason and practiced every morning at 6 a.m. Prior to this year, Karagiorgis focused primarily on working and just playing Sunday league soccer on the side. It’s not been an easy adjustment for him to get back used to performing at the high level of college soccer. However, he believes his muscle memory will be able to help him get back to the level of collegiate soccer.
Even though Karagiorgis might not be able to play the same way he did three years ago, Chaminade soccer head coach Joshua Woodard believes that Karagiorgis has a lot of experience that can help the team on and off the field. Considering he had played four years of college soccer and played in Cyprus growing up, Woodard felt it was an easy decision to bring Karagiorgis onto the team.
“He brings a lot of experience and wisdom to the team; I believe a lot of the guys can learn from him,” said Woodard, who is 38 years old and is in his fourth year at Chaminade. “I don’t find it weird at all with him being on the team. Honestly, we connect a lot more than other guys on the team since we’re much closer in age.”
Growing up in Larnaca, Cyprus, Karagiorgis played soccer for professional team Anorthosis FC’s youth academy. This allowed him to see the level of first division professional soccer in Cyprus. Realizing that he wasn’t quite at the level to play professionally right away, he decided playing college soccer in America would be the best option instead of playing lower division soccer in Europe.
Karagiorgis has played in two matches for 24 minutes for Chaminade.
Moving to America was more than just soccer for Karagiorgis. He saw a future where he could get a degree and begin working. As an undergrad, he studied computer science, which led him to his job in New York as a management service provider at a tech company. However, his visa only gave him three years of work in America. This is what led him to get his master’s at Chaminade. One goal is clear: Karagiorgis wants to stay in America as long as possible.
“After Chaminade, I’m going to work for one year because I have one year to work here after I graduate, and then I will just do another master’s or get my PhD, just to stay longer in America,” Karagiorgis said. “I can always go back and visit my family and places I used to hang out when I was younger, but I see myself being in America, so that’s where I want to be.”
The Chaminade men’s soccer team (0-6) will next play Saturday against Biola (4-4-2). The game starts at 2:30 p.m. at St. Louis Field.