‘We can read each other’s minds’: Rowan women’s soccer features three sets of twins

Tennis has the Williams sisters, hockey has the Hughes brothers, and football has the Kelces, but the Rowan women’s soccer team has circumstances that are even rarer.

The roster includes three sets of sisters — more specifically, three sets of twins.

Identical sophomores Julianna and Olivia Giordano, fraternal juniors Hayley and Jillian Jankowski, and identical sophomores Lauren and Lianna SanFelice make up almost 30% of the team’s 30-player roster, making for an unusual dynamic on a team that is 11-0-2 (6-0-1 New Jersey Athletic Conference) this season.

Playing soccer together almost their entire lives, the SanFelice twins have found that their lifelong connection has benefited them.

“We’ve been attached to the hip since we were born,” Lianna said. “Knowing that you have someone on the field that you’ve always grown up with is nice and reassuring.”

Lauren and Lianna did not start their collegiate careers together. Lauren transferred into the program from Temple. Her sister was a factor but not the main reason she decided to go to Rowan, Lauren said.

“It’s nice to not always be with each other because we’re not really dependent on each other,” Lauren said. “Now that we’re back together, it’s honestly such a great decision”

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Originally, Lianna was opposed to the idea of having her sister join her as a Prof, but, in retrospect, she said, she is happy with her sister’s decision.

“I really wanted to experience soccer and college and friends on my own,” Lianna said. “Now that she’s here, I feel like we did grow closer, and it’s everything happens for a reason.”

Like the SanFelices, the Jankowski twins also did not start together at Rowan.

“Freshman year was the first year I didn’t play with my sister my entire life,” Jillian said. “It was a big difference and it was so much more fun having her here with me because she’s honestly my best friend.”

Hayley, feeling isolated at her old college, saw the experience her sister was having at Rowan and decided to transfer.

“Seeing she was having fun playing soccer here and just the connection that we have, I kind of missed that,” Hayley said. “[Jillian] was a big influence on why I chose to transfer here.”

Unlike the other two sets of twins, the Giordano sisters had a plan to stay together in college since their high school days.

“We knew together we could accomplish a lot more than what we could accomplish separately,” Olivia said.

They have proven just how much they can accomplish together, with both Olivia and Julianna netting a goal in the Profs’ 2-2 draw against Swarthmore on Sept. 13, and again in a 5-0 win over New Jersey City University on Sept. 27. Additionally, Olivia is Rowan’s second-leading scorer with 11 goals, and Lianna is tied for the team lead with five assists.

The twin connection in all three sets has translated into their play on the field.

“As a forward and a defensive pair, you’re always kind of looking for the other on the field and you always know where they’re going to be,” Hayley said. “It’s easy to predict and work off each other.”

Jillian added that part of their ability to predict each other’s behavior when playing is because of their familiarity with the other’s style.

“We know how each other plays,” Jillian said. “She knows when to send the ball through to me, how we’re going to respond to certain situations.”

Lianna had a simpler reason for why the SanFelice twins excel when playing together.

“We can read each other’s minds off the field and on the field,” Lianna said. “We know where each other’s going. That part of being a twin helps on the soccer field.”

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Head coach Scott Leacott said their familiarity with each other also benefits the team.

“The connection was easy on the field,” Leacott said. “They’re all very good players, and they all see a ton of time on the field.”

While these connections between the twins came easily, their adjustment to the team was not without challenge. The hardest part for everyone was being able to tell them apart. Leacott said “it took a while” for him and their teammates to get the hang of it.

“It was very difficult, but now I can tell them apart very easily,” Leacott said. “They’re all different in their ways.”