Luis Diaz/ Contributing Writer
An FIU Golden Panther playing in the world’s highest stage. Let that sink in. That’s exactly what took place last Saturday when FIU Alumni Sean McFarlane was blessed by the opportunity to play soccer representing his home country of Jamaica. It has been a long road for the former FIU standout, a road that could probably be best described by any teenager singing their favorite song form the radio, “Started from the bottom, now we’re here.” After outperforming every single low expectation that was set out for him, he is now able to play for the national team that’s jersey most can only wear after purchasing it.
It has been a long road for McFarlane and it has led him all the way back home, with an entire country chanting his team’s name as he and his team are now one win away from playing for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. And much like the Gold Cup is to the Jamaican National team, nothing for Sean McFarlane has ever been simply handed to him. Throughout his life, he has played soccer with a chip on his shoulder, but he is pretty fast because it has never slowed him down.
Sean McFarlane was a stud when playing soccer for American Heritage High School, earning second team All-County honors his freshman and junior years and finally earning first team All-County his senior year. However all of this success went unnoticed by the Division 1 schools of the US, leading him to utilize his first two years of eligibility playing for Saint Leo University, a Division 2 school. However his talents weren’t completely brushed under the rug as he earned a starting spot on the Under 20 team for his home country of Jamaica. Finally, going into his junior year of college, was given the D-1 scholarship he’d been after, and earned a spot playing soccer with the Golden Panthers. His first season with FIU, McFarlane got playing time in 16 games and even managed to gain a starting role in five of them. But when it came to his senior year, there was no doubt that he would be the focal point of FIU’s Men’s Soccer Team’s defense. He started in all 15 games in which he played, and even managed to score 2 goals as a defender. And finally, after all the work he’s put in, he can now represent his team on the highest stage.
Sean McFarlane and the Jamaican National Team take on the Red, White and Blue U.S. National Team on Wednesday in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinals. McFarlane looks to play his first minutes representing the Jamaican National Team to help drive his team to their first Gold Cup finals match. With the Blue and Gold running through his veins, the luck seems to be on his side.
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