A Father’s Homecoming, A Son’s Dream: Nurry Family’s Journey to Jeju

Rowyn Nurry faked a shot from the left side of the offensive zone, cut into the teeth of the England defense and leaped over a defenseman while contorting his body and firing on the cage.

The result? The first goal of the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship for one of the youngest players on the U.S. roster.

As Nurry, 19, trotted off the field, the crowd atop the hill at Gongcheonpo Training Center continued cheering. Among them were his mother, Sarah, his father, Jonathan, and his three siblings, Hailey, Brennan and Dylan — all dressed in red, white and blue.

“Getting all six of us here was a challenge,” said Jonathan Nurry, who spent four days in Seoul before reuniting with the team on the way to Jeju Island. “Being able to share this together with our whole family here, it’s a bit surreal.”

For all the families that made the trip to Jeju, enduring multiple flights and layovers, watching the U.S. U20 team in Korea has been an unforgettable experience. However, the moment takes on more significance for the Nurry family, namely Jonathan and Rowyn.

Jonathan Nurry was born in Seoul, South Korea, but was dropped at an orphanage when he was a baby. While he has few memories of his time there, he said he is eternally grateful for the American family that brought him and his brother to Philadelphia when he was 6.

In the decades since Jonathan Nurry arrived in the United States, he had only visited Korea once — a trip that was cut short because of political turmoil. Once he found out that his son had made the U20 team, he knew he had to make it a homecoming.

“It felt like closing the loop and bringing [Rowyn] back to where not only I was raised, but where our ancestors lived on Jeju Island,” Jonathan Nurry said. “As a father, I will treasure this.”

Rowyn Nurry said he’s determined to flip the script on his father’s Korean experience.

“My father said that growing up in Korea, he didn't have a lot of great memories,” he said. “Being able to bring gold to him and our Korean heritage would mean so much.”

Rowyn Nurry and his siblings have always been proud of their heritage, even if they were disconnected from the country itself. Sarah Nurry has Irish heritage, making her children Irish-Korean, a combination she and her husband refer to as a “superpower.”

The Nurry family embraces its identity in many ways, but the Korean cuisine might be its favorite tradition.

“We eat it once a week at least,” Rowyn Nurry said. “There’s this Korean restaurant by our house and we’re the number one customers. We go there all the time.”

Jonathan Nurry had no idea that lacrosse would bring his son even closer to that heritage when he gave him a stick at age 2. He had played sparingly growing up and thought his children might be similarly interested.

Rowyn Nurry was quick to find a passion in the game, so his father helped create Brotherly Love Lacrosse Club to help him develop. Playing for Brotherly Love got him the necessary recruiting attention and led to his eventual commitment to Cornell, the defending national champions. He was a two-time USA Lacrosse high school All-American at Salesianum (Del.) and recently completed a post-graduate year at Loomis Chaffee (Conn.).

He and his father talked so much about lacrosse as he was growing up, his mother had to set boundaries.

“My mom doesn't even let us talk about it at dinner because we love lacrosse so much,” Nurry said.

Nurry was hesitant try out for the U.S. U20 team, but his father encouraged him to take advantage of the opportunity. A year later, he was named to the roster as one of four players without college lacrosse experience. Jonathan Nurry booked the trip using the travel points he had saved, and the dream has become a reality.

“It really resonates with me,” Jonathan Nurry said. “It almost feels like I'm putting all the pieces together. I can't believe that we're here playing a game that I introduced him to for the United States.”

In two weeks exploring Jeju Island, the Nurry family has had plenty of Korean barbecue (enough to the point where they began looking for burgers), swam in the Korea Strait and interacted with native Koreans — some that have mistaken Jonathan Nurry and begun to speak Korean.

However, their journey is not yet complete. There is one more box to check in the Jeju Island itinerary — winning a gold medal.

Rowyn Nurry and the U.S. will take on Canada in the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. local time (12 a.m. U.S. Eastern).

“It's been a wonderful experience, no doubt about it,” Jonathan Nurry said, fighting back tears.

“Just waiting to get gold,” Rowyn Nurry said. “Then, it’ll be even more full circle.”