Second-year defender Maksim Kalina went from playing soccer in Canada to now thriving for the University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team, scoring seven goals this season.
Kalina was raised in Calgary, Alberta, where he learned the game of soccer from a young age.
“I started playing at around five years old,” Kalina said. “As soon as I moved to Canada, my dad got me straight into soccer.”
Kalina climbed the ladder of Canadian soccer throughout his youth. Once Kalina reached high school at University Hill Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia, he secured a spot in the player development program for Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy, a Canadian MLS club.
Kalina was recruited to Rhode Island in 2025 and made his debut for the Rams on Aug. 21, 2025, against Iona University.
Kalina found that the style of play in Canada was drastically different from playing in America.
“It was definitely a lot different,” Kalina said. “We had a lot more technical, shorter players and it was definitely a less physical game.”
In his freshman campaign, Kalina appeared in nine matches, while starting five. He missed significant time on the pitch last season after suffering a high ankle sprain against Bryant University on Aug. 26, 2025.
“We missed him for about half the season because of the ankle,” Rhode Island head coach Gareth Elliott said. “Any time you get injured in a short college soccer season, it’s very frustrating, and I thought he dealt with that very maturely.”
Kalina returned to action on Oct. 4, 2025, against St. Bonaventure University and appeared in the final seven matches of the season for Rhode Island.
Kalina came into this season healthy with more experience under his belt, looking to help Rhode Island compete for an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.
“I had a really good preseason and felt good going into the year,” Kalina said. “My biggest thing this year is to stay healthy, which luckily I have been staying healthy throughout the year.”
Kalina leads the team with seven goals entering this year’s postseason. He scored his first collegiate goal on Sept. 12 against Central Connecticut State University.
Kalina caught fire toward the end of the regular season with back-to-back braces against Fordham University and La Salle University.
“He’s a good finisher,” Elliott said. “He’s got a nose for the goal, and when he gets chances, he can score goals. We like having him, and we think he is a threat because he can create chances and score goals himself.”
Kalina and the Rams currently sit in third place in the A10 and have punched their ticket to the A10 Tournament for the first time since 2021.
“One of our main goals that we wanted to set in preseason was that we wanted to host a playoff game,” Kalina said. “Everything is in the control of our hands, so we just need focus and hopefully win the A10.”
Kalina and the No. 4 Rams will host a playoff game on Friday when they take on No. 5 Davidson College at the URI Soccer Complex at 7 p.m.
“Having the coaches trust me even though I’m one of the younger players means a lot to me,” Kalina said. “We’ve never really had this feeling of being this close to achieving something really good for the program.”
