North Lauderdale’s Shanyder Borgelin steps up for Inter Miami II, Haiti national team
The first time Shanyder Borgelin played in a Haitian national team jersey was Nov. 3, 2018. He was 17 years old and representing Haiti’s Under-20 team in a regional tournament against Bermuda. He came off the bench late in the second half and scored in stoppage time in the 4-0 Haiti victory.
His father Samson, who was watching from the stands at the IMG Academy field in Bradenton, began to weep. Samson isn’t one to cry, said his son, but after his long, arduous journey from a Haiti orphanage to pastor to vice mayor of North Lauderdale, the father was overwhelmed seeing his youngest son score for the island nation he loves so much.
Shanyder signed with the Philadelphia Union Academy shortly thereafter, and is now, at age 20, the leading scorer for Inter Miami’s reserve team, Inter Miami II, with 14 goals in 22 games. He is the third-leading scorer in the MLS Next Pro league. He also was recently promoted to Haiti’s senior national team.
“It’s great to be back home, playing 10 minutes from where I grew up,” Borgelin said. “It’s a blessing to be close to my family again and the big Haitian community in South Florida. And to play for Haiti, a country going through so much right now, it brings so much pride to my family and the country. Soccer is the only thing that brings them joy right now.”
Samson Borgelin, who is running for mayor of North Lauderdale, was rescued to an orphanage by Canadian missionary foster parents Bob and Vera Stewart in Les Cayes, Haiti, after his mother died from complications during childbirth and his father died when he was 9 years old.
“My dad had nobody, so the only thing he could trust was God and he placed all his faith into God,” Shanyder said. “He has no memory of his Mom. He had a pretty rough upbringing, had to figure out life on his own, and when he was in his mid-20s he got to come to the United States and was blessed to make an amazing family. He always gives credit to God for bringing him all this way.”
Shanyder said his family’s faith molded him as a person and soccer player. When his mother Dorothy was six months pregnant with him, the doctors told her there were complications that would put the baby’s life and hers at risk and suggested an abortion. But the Borgelins clung to their faith and opted to go through with the pregnancy.
“God blessed me to be born normal, and ever since then my dad said this is my testimony and soccer is something that God has given me, so every time I play is a blessing,” Shanyder said.
He played youth soccer at European FC in Davie, Weston FC and then got a scholarship to play at Plantation American Heritage High School. He played one year of high school soccer before moving to the Philadelphia Union Academy.
Borgelin, a 6-5 center forward, was always taller than the other kids on the field and had a knack for scoring goals. He dabbled in basketball, football and tennis. His older brother, Shamyr, played basketball at Miami Christian and briefly at Florida Gulf Coast University, but Shanyder stuck to soccer.
“With Caribbean people soccer is the sport that’s always in your blood, around your house, so it became my passion,” he said.
Borgelin said it took a few months to become familiar with Inter Miami’s system, but he has been in good form the past few months. He scored a hat trick against New England, had the lone Miami goal in a 1-1 tie with Columbus, and scored the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory over Toronto on Tuesday.
“I had to start on the bench and earn my spot, it was tough, but perseverance always wins,” he said.
Inter Miami II plays its regular season finale Sunday on the road against the Chicago Fire and is vying for a playoff spot.
Darren Powell, the Inter Miami II coach, is encouraged by Borgelin’s progress: “He’s grown a lot over the course of the season. His game’s matured and he has, as well. Technically his positional understanding, his timing in the box, is getting better. He’s arriving in dangerous areas of the box, and that has improved a lot. The most important thing is having good character, and he certainly has that, the willingness to learn. He’s still got a lot of growth to do, but he’s on a good pathway.”