SARASOTA, Fla. – If you’d told 12-year-old Donovan Parisian that one day he would be the backup to a U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper on the New England Revolution, there are plenty of reasons he would have struggled to believe you. Parisian didn’t even start goalkeeping seriously until his sophomore year of high school, and the heights of Matt Turner’s career seemed far from his reach. Now, the two train together every single day.

The Arizona native said his favorite thing about being part of this Revolution squad is the constant sources of inspiration around him. Being on the pitch with players like Turner, Carles Gil, Matt Polster, and Andrew Farrell, Parisian says they help him hold a high standard. Of course, in goal, there is no one that motivates him more than Turner.

Parisian even sent Turner a message while in high school, telling him how much he looked up to him, but little did he know that he’d be following a similar path to the player he admired. After two seasons at the University of San Diego, Parisian was selected in the first round of last year’s MLS SuperDraft by New England, the same club where Turner started his professional career back in 2016.

“I saw what he did. It’s not completely a similar story, but he never played in a big academy and I never did. He went to college. I was in college. I really wanted to be like him. And then all of a sudden, he joins the team [last August] and I'm sitting next to him in the locker room, and I start training with him,” Parisian said. “I’m sitting next to him in the locker room, he’s giving me advice, and we’re teammates.”

Like Turner, Parisian didn’t seriously take up goalkeeping until his teens. While he started playing soccer around the age of four, he spent most of his time in the midfield. His older brother was a ‘keeper and eventually convinced Parisian that he should do the same. After splitting halves between the field and the net through middle school, Parisian decided his best hopes at the high school varsity team were in goal. After missing out on varsity two years in a row, he decided it was time to get serious and start fully training as a ‘keeper.

“I started working, like actually training fully, because we never had specific training at my club, so I started training by myself and with friends. Then the next year, I made the varsity team, and I started really liking playing goalie and I started getting professional training from a coach,” he said. “At my old club, the goal box was literally dirt and rocks. Then in my senior year I joined an ECNL (Elite Club National League) team.”

Once Parisian got serious about goalkeeping, it got serious about him. After securing that varsity spot, he made an instant impact, helping his team win back-to-back state championships. His next objective: landing a spot on a Division 1 college team.

Parisian laid out a plan: email college coaches, attend college ID camps, secure a spot on a D1 roster, play two years, and try to go pro. Only a few years later, he did exactly that.

“It’s really exciting, because I look at a lot of my old high school teammates and many of them don’t play anymore. Talking to them, it just really reminds me how special it is what I do. Especially going back to college, that’s what all my teammates are there working for, for the opportunity I’m getting now,” he said.​

Parisian doesn’t take the opportunity for granted, always remembering where he came from.

“I remember watching El Trafico, LA Galaxy against LAFC, one night as a team in college. One of the guys was one of the only other professional players to get drafted from University of San Diego, and he stepped into the game. We all thought that was so cool,” he said. “Now, hopefully I make my MLS debut this season, because I know all of the boys are going to be watching the games. It would be just a dream come true, knowing the boys, my parents, and family are all watching.”

It’s that kind of sentiment that makes Parisian so easy to root for. He is an instant friend to anyone he meets and provides the Revolution locker room and staff with plenty of laughs. Off the pitch, he’s a down-to-Earth guy who enjoys a good matcha and making sourdough with his mom. On the pitch, he’s an extremely hard worker and an acrobat in the goal – mastering the art of being a professional athlete more every day.

With his first professional season under his belt – having developed with Revolution II in MLS NEXT Pro for the majority of last year, making 16 starts across all competitions, collecting four clean sheets, and even earning his first call-up to the Armenian Under-21 National Team – Parisian is feeling excited and confident for the year ahead. He admits that as someone who has always lived in a warm climate, adapting to New England was a challenge at first, but he is starting to appreciate the seasons. On the field, with Marko Mitrović now at the helm and with goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock offering daily guidance, he says he feels more supported than ever.

“The new coaching staff has been a big confidence booster for me. I get a lot of encouragement from the coaches. I feel a lot more comfortable and confident. Of course, I’m still scared to make mistakes, but something about them is that they will always just encourage me to do better next time. They’ve been a really big help,” he explained. “I’m just excited every day to live in the moment, truly enjoy myself, and be thankful for it. I get to play soccer every day and I’m with top level players. Whatever challenge or opportunity I get, I just want to be thankful for it.”