CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Twins Mark Rowan and Ben Rowan can't seem to spend too much time together. Mark's wife was his first roommate who wasn't Ben. 

"It feels more like home when Mark is on the field and I am on the field," said Ben. "That's just what I'm used to. If he's on the field, it kind of gives me a sense that everything is how it should be."

"I never felt lonely," said Mark. "Even freshman year."

The Rowans return to the home pitch on Saturday when the Yellow Jackets host Ashland in a G-MAC rematch at 7:30 p.m. EDT.

They grew up playing soccer together, pushing each other to be better every day. When it came time for college, there was no question whether they knew they wanted to continue to play together. 

The twins wanted to go to a Christian school with a solid engineering program as both were pursuing the career at the time. When it came to Cedarville, the clear biblical integration struck them, despite having visited other schools. 

"After Cedarville I remember talking about the biblical foundation of it and how we were very impressed with their explicit, unashamed presentation of the Gospel," said Mark, who has since switched his major to pre-med.

To top it off, the recruiting process was smooth. Head Coach Brett Faro was able to offer them both spots on his team before a lot of other schools were able to since Cedarville is Division II. 
 

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The Rowans grew up in North Carolina with two older brothers, two younger brothers and one younger sister.

But, despite the distance, they had grandparents in Ohio to make it feel more like home. They also roomed together for the first three years of school. 

"[Our family] was excited because they knew it was close to family and they'd be able to come up pretty often," Mark said.

"I know mom and dad were excited we were coming to the same school because if they were trying to come to games, they wouldn't have to come to both," said Ben.  

The twins' parents both attended Christian universities but were not thrilled with their experiences. They did not push their children any direction in terms of which school to go to.

Spending so much time together obviously lends itself to some frustration every once in a while, especially on the pitch.

"Obviously we'd get tired of each other, and sometimes that would show up during soccer," said Ben.

"I think I'm always the person on the field most willing to tell [Ben] when he's messing up," Mark laughed. 

The end of this season will mark the end of both Mark and Ben's careers. They say this season has been the most fun yet.

"I've gotten to the point where I'm just trying to enjoy playing instead of worrying about playing time and doing well, because this is my last year," said Mark. "I think that's made it more enjoyable and I also think the team this year is just really good which has been fun."

"Soccer means a lot," said Ben. "I think about it a lot during the day. I always come to training like, 'Okay, here's somewhere where I get to just work hard and try to get better."

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