University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana UnLimited: Ruthny Mathurin's Journey of Hope and Pride
3/31/2023 1:00:00 PM | Soccer, Louisiana UnLimited
Ruthny Mathurin never expected to play soccer on the world stage. But after a pair of wins for her Haitian National Team in February, the soon-to-be junior for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Soccer team will don her countries colors in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, set for this summer in Australia and New Zealand.
Haiti, which will be in Group D with England, Denmark and China in the ninth edition of the international championship which begins July 20, will make its first-ever trip to the 32-team event and is the second Caribbean nation to be included in the field.
To be part of a trailblazing achievement is a sense of pride for Mathurin and her teammates, who have been together on the national team since the age of 12 with their first international competition coming in the U-15’s.
“I never expected to play for my country,” said Mathurin. “We have a lot of talented kids, who could do better. This sport makes us happy. With all of the problems that we have (as a country), when we play, everyone is happy to watch and support us.”
The problems that have plagued the island nation it shares with the Dominican Republic have been well-noted throughout its history. Extreme poverty, numerous coups, political corruption, assassinations and natural disasters – the devastating 2010 earthquake which claimed the lives of over 300,000 people being the most noted – have left a stain on the country.
The 2010 earthquake devasted her hometown, Gressier, located just over 12 miles from the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince, with nearly 50 percent of the buildings in the town destroyed. Her family was one of the unfortunate ones as they lost everything.
Much of the country, which is led by acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry following the 2021 assassination of then-Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, is run by gangs. While the constant turmoil puts an unwanted strain on the nation, the story of Mathurin’s – and her Haitian teammates – historic achievement is one of inspiration.
One of 10 teams battling for the final three spots in the 2023 field, Haiti needed a pair of wins to qualify. After a 4-0 victory over Senegal in a playoff match in New Zealand, the Haitians earned their spot in the field with a historic 2-1 win over Chile.
Mathurin’s tenure with the Haitian National Team began at 12-years-old when she started playing soccer. A year later, the youngest of four children left her mother, two brothers and a sister to attend Academie Camp Nous – the training center of the Haitian Football Federation – where she would have to grow up faster than most kids while helping provide for her family.
She would eventually gel with her new teammates, with many of them currently sprawled out across the globe competing in France, Portugal, along with some at universities across the United States, but like most experiences when leaving home for the first time – and at an early age – it was a process. That process, which consisted of a lot of tears being shed early on, has over the years blossomed for Mathurin and her teammates into much-needed national heroes.
With the process comes a familiarity of Mathurin and her teammates as they continue to get closer to their appearance on the world stage.
“We've been together since 12-years-old, like babies,” said Mathurin, “so we know each other and that helps us on the field.”
The opportunity to compete against the world’s best got off to a rocky start for Haiti with losses to both the United States and Jamaica in the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Championships. But a 3-0 win over host Mexico helped the Haitians to a third-place finish and a chance to qualify for the World Cup.
“It's exciting, honestly. We lost in July to Jamaica (4-0) and that was the first chance we had to make it,” said Mathurin. “It was a hard time for us, because many believed we were not that good and we're not going to make it. We were down, but we're human and we let it go. We came back and said we were going to do it for our country, for ourselves and our families and no matter what, we're going to make it.”
Competing on the international stage, the thought of playing for a team outside of her native country was not in the plans for Mathurin. But a trip to the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Championships, played in Houston, Texas, would provide an opportunity for Mathurin to continue her soccer career and eventual landing spot in Louisiana.
Her teammate on the Haitian National Team, Chelsea Surpris, was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Texas before launching her collegiate coaching career at Louisiana in 2019 under former head coach Lance Key.
With the opportunity to continue her playing career along with receiving a college education, Mathurin immediately received support from her family. Mathurin then accessed social media platforms to learn as much as possible about Louisiana, the Lafayette and Acadiana area and the University.
In order for Mathurin – and most international students – to be accepted, she had to pass the English Equivalency Exam. But only able to speak minimal English, the Creole and French speaking Mathurin needed time to pass the test before eventually overcoming the odds and enrolling at UL in 2021.
Mathurin’s start in her new country had its share of obstacles. A new team. New faces. A language barrier. Not able to communicate with her family, who she has not seen in nearly three years, due to the violence and instability in her native country.
All things that would break a person.
But with a vibrant smile and a tenacity to succeed, Mathurin overcame her early adversity thanks to something she gained while growing up with her Haitian teammates … a sense of family.
“When I first came here, I didn't want to talk because I didn't know English that well,” Mathurin said. “I didn't have a lot of friends, and even with my teammates, I didn't want to talk because I didn't want them to make fun of me. I had some teammates that wanted me to talk. They didn't care if I messed up ... they wanted to help me and wanted to make me comfortable.”
In her two seasons for the Ragin’ Cajuns, Mathurin has excelled on the soccer pitch after earning All-Sun Belt Conference honors twice. Mathurin began her career as a freshman in 2021 on the Ragin’ Cajuns back line before being moved up front by current head coach Chris McBride during her sophomore season in 2022.
“Being a soccer player, as long as I am helping the team it is fine,” Mathurin said. “If the coaches put you in a position on the field, they see something that I can give.”
Mathurin has thrived in her career at Louisiana – on both the pitch and the classroom. Thanks to her host family, she has grown accustomed to the Louisiana lifestyle, especially the cuisine. And thanks to her Ragin’ Cajuns Soccer family, the language barrier has gotten less difficult while her love of music makes her break out in a dance.
Her eventual dream is to have an Academy in Haiti where she would help future students become successful in Athletics.
And while communicating with her Haitian teammates across the globe through social media, Mathurin remembers the path she has endured in her 23 years of life with incredible optimism.
"One of the things that makes our team go forward is to remember where we come from,” said Mathurin. “We talk about the hard times ... and the good times ... that we have faced. In every important competition we have to play, it's always that motivation.”
