Terry Twins Play as a Team

Jim and Matt Terry are a team. You get one. You get the other. It’s been that way since they were little kids.

Not all that unusual, I suppose, seeing as how they are twins.

What is a little unusual for the Hawaii Kai pair, is that in all the time they’ve been playing soccer — and we’re talking for 16 or 17 years now, since AYSO in hanabata days — they’ve never played on separate teams.

Never. You get Jim. You get Matt. They’re a team.

It was even that way in school. “When we were little kids and went to elementary (Koko Head), we were in the same classes all the time,” Matt Terry said.

That’s true now, too. The Terrys are seniors, attending Hawaii Pacific and playing for the Sea Warriors, who defeated Chaminade 3-1, Saturday and are 5-1 on the season.

Is it a good thing, playing alongside your brother all the time? Ever get sick of each other? “People have asked me that before, and I always say, ‘He’s my twin brother,’” Jim Terry said. “It’s never a bad thing to be close to your brother.”

They play different positions, however, Matt is a goalkeeper and Jim plays midfield. So, Matt said, that has kept any kind of athletic rivalry to a minimum. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a friendly competition,” he said.

Apparently, that included the recruiting process. The two went to high school at St. Louis, which isn’t a soccer powerhouse. “When we were coming out of high school, we didn’t know if we wanted to play competitive soccer,” Matt said.

“For the most part, I was just focused on getting into schools,” said Jim. “I guess there was a feeling that if we got into schools that we really wanted to get into, we would separate. We never really talked about it.”

Matt said Gonzaga, in Spokane, Wash., and University of Portland (Ore.) offered to let them walk on as freshmen, but offered no scholarships. So, the two did what they’ve always done and enrolled together at HPU.

So far this season, the Terrys are helping lead the Sea Warriors to a hot start. Matt is unbeaten in three starts in goal. He has shut out two of those opponents and has allowed just one other goal. He has a goal and three assists while starting all six games.

They see a solid season in front of them.

“Being a senior on the team, I just want it to be really successful,” Jim said. “I think it would be really nice to have a special, special season.”

“We’re going to score a lot of goals,” Matt said. “We’re a pretty exciting team. Our goal is to win the Pac West and get invited to the (national) tournament.”