Massimo Ferrin knew he wanted to play for Syracuse from the moment he stepped on campus. Playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference had always been a goal of his, and SU was the closest ACC school to his hometown of Mississauga, Ontario.

The forward was offered a spot on the SU roster but not a full financial scholarship. Instead, he opted to play at Alabama-Birmingham.

“Things didn’t exactly work out perfectly,” Ferrin said. “… little bit disappointing on both sides, because it was my first choice to come here.”

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Two years later, Ferrin starts for the team he missed out on after high school, following his transfer from UAB this summer. In two years with the Blazers, he tallied eight goals and two assists and was named Alabama-Birmingham’s 2017 Most Valuable Player. It wasn’t the start to his college career he’d hoped for, but Ferrin’s finally starting for the Orange (3-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast), and his teammates all think his best soccer is ahead of him.

“He’s a very good player, he’s gonna be a very important part of us moving forward,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said. “But I also think he can be better for us.”

Massimo notched an assist on Syracuse’s season-opening road trip and scored his first goal for the Orange in its ACC-opener against Notre Dame. He’s tied for third on the team in shots and is producing early on in a similar role as SU midfielder Hugo Delhommelle played last season.

“When you’re a really good player you can kind of adapt to anything,” Raposo said. “So whether it was at UAB, at Vaughan, or here, I knew he was gonna do well for us.”

Raposo, Ferrin, and Kamal Miller all played at Vaughan, a soccer club based out of Ontario. Miller’s a year older, so from ages 14 to 16 Ferrin competed with older players to team with him, which allowed Ferrin to showcase his skill set in front of college coaches. Raposo, meanwhile, is younger than Ferrin, so he played with the older group while Ferrin played with players his own age.

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The three of them make up a group of seven Canadian players, all from the Toronto area. Tajon Buchanan and Simon Triantafillou played on Sigma FC, a club in Ferrin’s hometown of Mississauga.

“He was one of the few players from that (younger) team that got called up to participate in games with us,” Miller said. “So a lot of the guys my age got to know Mass and helped him become the player he is today.”

For the other 19 players on the roster, Ferrin was an unknown. A lot of his teammates thought he was more of an introvert when they first met him, Miller said. Earlier in the season, Ferrin kept to himself and played video games in his room. That has changed though, as SU is now more than a month into play since the start of preseason and Ferrin is adjusting to the team.

Off the field, Ferrin has quickly become a favorite among his teammates, new and old. He’s one of the most outspoken players against running, dramatically exaggerating his sighs for comedic effect when told to run laps. Other times, he’ll jokingly mutter “oh my God,” under his breath, just loud enough for his teammates to hear and laugh at.

“A lot of the guys (thought) at first, ‘Oh he doesn’t talk much,’” Miller said. “But now, everyone knows.”

On the field, it’s only a matter of time before they see his best.

“He just has to get comfortable,” said Miller, “and then he lets it all loose.”

Published on September 16, 2018 at 10:36 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34