ATTACHED AT THE HIP
Elon women’s soccer twin freshmen Maya and Jenna Abousaab’s journey continues at Elon
By Daniel Schulman | Published on Oct. 20, 2023
Jenna (left) stands with her twin sister Maya (right) on Rudd Field. The two are both players on the Elon University Women's Soccer team, and are one of just 18 pairs of twins in NCAA Division I women's soccer.
One of the perks of being on a college sports team is that your teammates are built-in siblings. Elon women’s soccer twin freshmen Maya and Jenna Abousaab, however, have already been teammates for life, on and off the field.
Born in Wyomissing, Pa., the Abousaab twins have been by each other’s side since day one. They grew up together, they went to school together, they share the same interests, and most importantly, they share a love for soccer together. That passion for soccer has been the start of a 13-year journey playing side by side, which has led them to Elon.
It all started when Maya and Jenna attended their older sister Layla’s soccer game. Maya said they developed a passion for the game together from a very young age.
“We found a soccer ball so we just kicked it around,” Jenna said. “That started the next 13 years of our lives playing soccer together and here we are continuing that in college.”
The twins found their passion for soccer after attending their older sister Layla’s game at a very young age, then finding a spare soccer ball and playing with it.
While they both ended up at Elon, that wasn’t the Abousaab twins’ plan at first. Each twin had a very different recruiting process, according to Jenna, as they each suffered a major injury in high school. Maya’s injury kept her out for the duration of her junior year, with Jenna’s injury occurring at the end of her junior year. This led to a different recruiting process with different timelines.
“We’re very independent of one another, but this was our mutual decision,” Jenna said. “We both just fell in love with the school [Elon].”
While they had different timelines, Maya said that some of the schools they were looking at happened to overlap, including Elon.
“For a long time, we were going to go to a different school. We thought that even though we’re so close, we wanted to go separately because we thought that dividing and separating at college for undergrad would be the best,” Maya said. “But then as time went by, we were like, we can’t leave each other because we make each other better, so the schools that offered us together, we looked at more and it ended up being the best option here.”
Jenna Abousaab gets ready to send a cross to the middle of the box during Elon's match against Hampton on Sept. 28.
Maya (left) and Jenna (right) celebrate following Elon's 9-0 victory against Hampton on Sept. 28. It was the first regular season match both had appeared in at Elon.
Maya Abousaab passes the ball during Elon's match against Hampton on Sept. 28.
While each twin had to spend a large chunk of time on the sidelines with their injuries, they had gone almost two years without sharing the field together. In order to help fill that void, each sibling turned to something else off the field as they were recovering from their respective injuries – community service.
While they each focused on a different project, both twins focused on giving back to their community as they anxiously awaited their return to the field.
“When I was injured, it was really important that I focused on something besides myself,” Jenna said. “When people are injured, it’s really easy for them to feel bad about themselves and fill themselves with all of the pain and how much it sucks. I focused on helping others since I couldn’t help myself at the time. I worked with my club (PA Classics), and I created a crossbar challenge fundraiser and ended up raising $12,000 that I donated to a food pantry and a homeless shelter.”
Maya also decided to work with a program at home, with her passion being giving back to the kids.
“When I was injured I took a different approach,” Maya said. “I coached kids to play soccer, and I just volunteered my time. I would coach them, two to five year olds. It was such a heartwarming experience. It was very rewarding because I wanted to give those kids the passion of the game and I wanted to share that with them, because this sport gave me everything.”
In addition to the work they did while injured, Maya and Jenna are both ambassadors of the SmallWorld International charitable organization, where they focus on raising money for Syrian refugees. In 2017, the twins helped build a library for Syrian refugees, which is something that stuck with them.
While the Abousaab twins were born and raised in Pennsylvania, their parents are Syrians who immigrated to the United States in the early 2000s. Maya and Jenna are both fluent in Arabic in addition to English, and often communicate with each other in Arabic in order to stay in touch with their heritage.
“Jenna and I are bilingual, we speak English and Arabic, and a little bit of Spanish, but Spanish is probably more musically because we listen to so much Spanish music,” Maya said. “We want to keep our culture here so we try to talk in Arabic as much as possible.”
While they might have the strongest and most unique bond in their family by being twins, Maya and Jenna are both family oriented and are very close with their entire family. When talking about their biggest influence, both twins mentioned each other, but were quick to point out their entire family as the reason they've both made it to where they are.
“I wouldn’t be here today without Maya, she’s the main reason that I have been playing for my whole life and I wouldn’t be who I am without her. ” Jenna said. “But that doesn’t go aside from saying that my parents did so much to get us here today… They immigrated here to give us a life that they couldn’t have, so they really did everything trying to give us the best opportunities, and they did, here we are at an amazing university playing the sport we love.”
“They came here with nothing, and they gave us everything,” Maya added.
In addition to being student-athletes, both Maya and Jenna are science majors, with both of them wanting to pursue a medical career after they graduate from Elon.
“I have always loved science,” Maya said. “I do want to pursue a medical career and so does Jenna. We both have been surrounded by medicine all our lives.”
Playing side by side for their whole lives has been something that pushes each other, both on and off the field.
“Having Jenna, on and off the field, pushes me to a limit that I can’t explain,” Maya said. “Being a twin you share a special bond that you don’t share with anybody else. When I’m down, she brings me up, when she’s down I do the same. We hold each other to high standards because we know we’re capable of that and we know our potential and we don’t let each other down, we’re there for each other both on and off the field.”
However, their focus for now is on their team, in addition to excelling in the classroom. They are both finally healthy again at the same time, and the Abousaab twins couldn’t be more excited to share the field together once again for the next four years.
Maya Abousaab (right) celebrates with teammates after Ashlee Brehio scored for Elon on Aug. 20 against Wofford.
Jenna Abousaab runs with the ball during Elon's match against Drexel on Oct. 8.
Jenna Abousaab smiles before Elon's match against Hampton on Sept. 28.
Jenna Abousaab celebrates with Lydia Totten after Totten scored a goal against Hampton on Sept. 28.
Maya Abousaab celebrates after Elon's 9-0 victory against Hampton on Sept. 28.
Jenna Abousaab waves to the Rudd Field crowd after being introduced for her first career start against Hampton on Sept. 28.
Maya Abousaab brings the ball up the field during Elon's match against Hampton on Sept. 28.
“It’s really hard to find a school that you love and to keep playing a sport in college,” Jenna said. “There’s just nothing more I could ask for than to be doing that, to be happy, and to be doing it with my best friend.”
On Sept. 28, the Abousaab twins shared the field together again for the first time in two years against the Hampton Lady Pirates. Jenna logged her first career start, playing 59 minutes and recording her first career assist, in addition to logging two shots. Maya added 38 minutes and one shot.
While they shared the field together for a stretch in the first half, it was during the second half that the twins checked into the game together, standing side-by-side.
“Sharing the field with one another for the first time in our collegiate careers meant the world to me, especially knowing how hard we worked to get here,” Maya said. “It was so amazing, and I can't wait for more moments like this where I can just enjoy the game I love with my best friend right by my side on the same pitch.”
