David and Drew Stern are not the only twins on the Richard Montgomery High School Varsity soccer team. In fact, just a grade below the Sterns are Andre and Andrew Lakuna.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the duo have moved from America to South Africa and back due to parent’s job transfers. Being the only siblings in their family, the two are extremely close at school, on the field, and at home. “Because we’re twins, we’re really close and nothing really gets in between us, not even soccer,” said Andrew. “We like to have a lot of fun. We always get along with no real problems or fights and we always try to push each other.”

The twins, with their close relationship, also have strikingly similar names. “The reason they gave us alike names is because they wanted to give us the same name,” said Andre, “and Andrew in French is Andre.”

Not only do they value each other, but they value their family here in Maryland as well. Andre stated, “We have a lot of cousins everywhere. Family is very close to us, so we try to keep them in contact. Family is really important to us and so there are no problems with any of our cousins.”

Starting soccer at the age of nine, Andrew and Andre have grown and developed a strong passion for soccer.

“We’ve been playing since we were nine or eight so it’s been a long time. We didn’t want to play it at first but then from there it went on and we started to love it and take it more seriously,” said Andre. Andrew added “It was our dad who started to force us into it. We were kids and we just played with our toys but our parents said ‘you need to be more active,’ so they signed us up for soccer.”

Now, years later, the twins are in high school. After a brief stint on the junior varsity team, the coach considered them good enough for varsity and added them to the roster. Andre and Andrew believe the hardships in their transition to be rewarding. Andrew stated, “In varsity, it’s been a long process, it’s been intense and it’s because we try to win games and be serious. At practice we like to have fun but we are serious on the field because we want to get good results. I take our matches seriously. I started in JV and played three games when the coach pulled me up and I really thank him for that chance. In varsity, I felt the pressure all the time and I was nervous, but I still stayed there because I wanted to work hard for soccer.”

Being twins on the varsity soccer team, they also add a unique atmosphere to the team as a whole. When asked about his relations with his brother on the field, Andre said, “It’s makes me feel more at home on the team; I’m more comfortable on the field. Our chemistry and relationship has improved a lot too. Every game we get better and it’s just a comfortable feeling and no pressure.”

Andre and Andrew have both been ambitious in soccer, feeling accomplished over their tournaments and striving to pursue soccer in college. However, they still value their family, friends, and religion above all.  “All I want people to know about Andre and I is that God and family is everything. It’s given us a lot. We’ve gone through some hard times but we’re still really grateful and we’ve enjoyed a full life, said Andrew. “God has always been there and so has our family. Before soccer we value our family and God.”