Bautista Samperi | Staff Writer
Up 1-0 with another half to play, the Panthers were on the verge of making history.
While the defense had been shutting down Middle Tennessee, anything could happen. The team needed to be sure.
In the 76th minute of the game, senior defender Delinda Sehlin kicks a perfect pass from midfield.
It couldn’t have fallen to a better person. Senior forward Noemi Paquin runs straight ahead, with only the goalie in front of her. She delivers a quick, snapping kick with her right foot. The ball soars over and…
Goal.
The crowd roars as the commentators make the call. “The queen of Conference USA just sent her team to the championship!”
Paquin had just sealed the deal. The FIU women’s soccer team is going to its first conference final.
The Montreal native has been on a tear in the 2024 season. FIU’s offensive star forward leads the conference in goals with 15 and won the CUSA Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year award.
But playing soccer in the U.S. was never part of the plan. In fact, it was a random YouTube video that set Paquin on her path.
Born and raised in Varennes, a suburb of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada, Paquin grew up in a sports family.
Her two brothers and father, Martin, played hockey, a sport that holds deep cultural significance in Canada. “My dad played a lot of soccer, but he stopped at some point to play hockey. I think he liked soccer a little more, though. Hockey is just more popular in Montreal,” Paquin said. “And my brother? Definitely hockey.”
Despite her family’s passion for hockey, it was soccer’s team-oriented spirit that made her fall in love with the sport. “I just focused on soccer and I loved it,” Paquin shared. “Being with a group of girls, having friends who shared that passion, I loved it.”
She continued playing throughout her childhood and high school before spending four years at Champlain College Saint-Lambert where she was named the 2019-20 RSEQ Women’s Soccer Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Canadian Women’s Soccer Team in the same season.
As her time at Saint-Lambert was ending, the idea of moving to the States and playing in the NCAA was nowhere on Paquin’s mind. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she saw the video that would change her life.
“I went on YouTube and I saw an NCAA game, I was like, wow, the level is really good. It’s really nice. I want to know more about it. And then it just happened that since then, I was like, I’m interested in going to the States.”
With her goal to reach the States now set, Paquin needed some help and guidance. In 2020, she joined Sports Ambition, an NCAA placement program for Canadian athletes. With the program’s guidance, Paquin committed in 2021 to play soccer for the Division 1 Florida International University Panthers as a psychology major.
Paquin would have to face the challenges that are all too familiar to any international student-athlete: leaving behind family, friends and her hometown.
For some, this would all be too much to handle. Not for Paquin. Her confidence and independence kept her focused on her goal and helped when she felt homesick.
“I love my family and my friends. I’m not like that person who needs to be close to home. I’m fine being by myself. So it wasn’t that hard. But of course, I’m calling my parents and my family every time I can.”
At FIU, Paquin found a second family in her teammates. While she may be closer to some, she is proud of the strong connection that unites the team. “Obviously, there’s some people that I’m closer to, but if there is one thing I’m really happy about it’s that I’m pretty good with everyone.”
She also finds the support she needs in her boyfriend, senior Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro who, like Paquin, plays soccer for FIU.
“We were both freshmen at the same time. So that’s good. That year, we were just friends, like really close friends, but then nothing really came out of it. And then we got closer and closer and it just happened.”
Her relationship with Monteiro has also helped her stay focused and push herself even further. They practice together and provide each other much-needed support by talking before and after games.
“If I played badly, he’s going to tell me. Or if he played badly, I’m also going to tell him… We’re honest, we’re trying to help each other.”
Balancing school, soccer and her personal life was not easy at the beginning, but since then Paquin has found a way to manage all aspects of her life.
“At first, it was kind of hard to adapt because it’s way more intense than what I was used to back home. So it was just like a lot,” Paquin said. “But now, I think I’m finding a really good balance. And as soon as I have a break, I’m trying to just do what I like and not think too much about what’s going on with soccer.”
An easygoing person, Paquin doesn’t let soccer run her life. She makes time for her friends, boyfriend, family and hobbies, which together help her relax and enjoy the journey.
During her free time, she enjoys shopping, traveling and jet skiing, as well as the beach and the pool. She also likes going to dinner with friends and her boyfriend.
Now at the end of her senior year, Paquin and the team are having their best season yet. The Panthers have improved their winning record in each of her four seasons at the school, and her personal numbers have gone up too.
This season, the FIU women’s soccer team finished with a record of 11-4-2 and the Panthers are looking to continue making history and win the first conference championship in program history against Liberty on Sunday, Nov. 10.
As she gets ready to finish her senior year the best way possible, Paquin has already started to think about the future and life after college. Despite having already given a big part of her life to soccer, she does not plan on slowing down.
“I think I’m definitely going to look to go pro,” Paquin said. “I think there’s going to be more opportunities now. There’s a new league in the States, and even in Canada. Women’s soccer is getting bigger and bigger.”
With the idea of going pro, she strives to play for her country’s national team.
But Paquin is focused on the now. “Obviously, if I keep doing well, of course, I’m going to try. But I don’t have high expectations towards it. Again, step by step.”
Her journey is an example of hard work and determination. The sacrifices she made, adapting to a new school and a new country, while balancing her social life, her demanding sports life as well as her school work, show her ability to manage adversity and the will to rise to every challenge.
Paquin continues to face life with the same drive and energy that has guided her since the beginning of her journey. And while life is full of mysteries and uncertainties, one thing stays true: Paquin has already made a name for herself in collegiate soccer and will continue to grow her legacy, letting nothing stand in her way.
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