Karl and Kenny Quist-Therson have always had a sibling rivalry but rarely got to test it out on a soccer field.
Growing up in Ellicott City, Karl, 20, and Kenny, 19, played for the powerhouse club soccer program Baltimore Armour but only shared the field in a few scrimmages.
After playing together briefly at Howard High School in 2021, Karl attended UMBC and played his way into the men’s program. Kenny, a highly-rated recruit, committed to Maryland over UMBC and others. Their days of playing together were seemingly over.
That changed this spring when UMBC announced it would play Maryland Aug. 22 in the season opener for both programs. The Quist-Therson brothers will share the field as opponents for the first and last time. The match is the second leg of a home-and-home. UMBC last played Maryland in 2021, a thrilling 4-3 Terps victory in College Park.
Karl, a senior midfielder for the Retrievers, and Kenny a sophomore midfielder for the Terps, said the impending matchup has reignited the fierce but good-natured competition between them. The moment will be made sweeter by the family, friends, former coaches and teammates, who will be in the stands at Retriever Soccer Park to cheer them on.
“We’ve been talking a bit of smack, just because it’s kind of the first time we’ve actually competitively played each other in our whole life,” Kenny said. “I feel like you always have a bit of a competitive edge with your siblings, but at the same time, it’s different because, in the back of your mind, you actually don’t want your siblings to do bad.”
When the matchup was finalized earlier this year, it took little time for it to sink in, Karl said.
“It’s excitement more than anything,” the older brother said. “Even just being able to tell my parents — I know this is something that they are obviously really, really happy about and proud of us, just to see us playing at such a high level against one another. So I think for the both of us, it’s just been a blessing.”
Siblings playing together, let alone against one another, at two local universities is becoming less common as the competition for roster spots at Division I programs increases, according to UMBC head coach Anthony Adams. Adams has coached at UMBC for more than 25 years — including one year with brothers Ryan and Taylor Calheira — and has spent decades in the Maryland youth soccer community, often encouraging young players to strongly consider local programs.
“I’m always a proponent of guys staying home,” Adams said. “Having Kenny and Karl at two local D-Is that have been very respectable it’s just more rare now because of the amount of transfers and the amount of internationals.”
The 2024 season is a major opportunity for Kenny Quist-Therson after a successful freshman campaign in which he played significant minutes for Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski. In all, he appeared in 15 games, starting nine and logging 777 minutes, good for 10th on a team that finished 4-8-3. He notched his first career goal against Michigan in the team’s Big Ten opener.
With a year under his belt, Kenny said his pregame jitters dissipate quicker, allowing him to focus on using his athleticism and skill to influence the game.
“As a freshman, he had to adjust to the speed of the game,” Karl said of his younger brother. “He’s really grown into the central midfield role.”
Ahead of the season opener, the brothers said they agreed not to discuss personnel or tactics. But, of course, being siblings, the trash talk hasn’t stopped.
“After our scrimmage against Old Dominion [on Aug. 13], I told Karl, ‘We are looking really good. I’m not looking good for you,'” Kenny said with a laugh.
“We’re both really competitive, but at times he might be a little more competitive than I am,” Karl said. “We’ve been talking all summer — who is going to get on the score sheet, who is going to win, and things like that. It’s all in good fun.”
Karl is just happy to have the chance to play on the same field as his brother one last time before his college career is over. Injuries limited the Division I offers Karl received to play college soccer, and he decided to attend UMBC as a student. However, Adams, then an associate head coach under Pete Caringi, gave Karl a chance to earn a spot on the men’s team.
“We eased him in and he gradually got accustomed to D-I soccer,” Adams said. “He’s really made the most of his opportunities.”
In his first three seasons, Karl appeared in 25 matches as a central midfielder. He has worked his way back from a quad injury suffered last year that kept him out of all but three games. Almost a year later, he said he’s healthy and ready to help guide the Retrievers, who finished 7-4-5 overall and 3-1-3 in the competitive America East Conference in 2023.
“Our team, our goal is to compete for a championship. But for the immediate future, it’s No. 1,” Karl said when asked where he ranks playing on the same field as Kenny. “It’s not very often you get to play against your little brother.”
Photo Credits: UMBC Athletic Communications and Riley Rumbley/Maryland Athletics