ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Leah, Brynn and Maryn Jonswold didn't necessarily plan to end up in the same place collegiately.
 
But the triplets from Chanhassen High School, now each in their first year at the College of Saint Benedict, are grateful it turned out that way.
 
"We've been close our whole lives," Leah said. "We all have the same values; we treat people the same way and we never really get sick of each other. It's great to have two other people you can turn to the way we can. 
 
"I didn't think we'd all choose the same place when it came to picking a college. But Saint Ben's felt like the right fit for each of us, and now that we're here, it's such a blessing to have one another around for support."
 
Soccer played a big part in Leah and Brynn's decisions. The pair were both standouts at Chanhassen who earned spots on the All-Section 2-3A team while helping lead the Storm to a 13-2 record (the best in program history) a year ago.
 
Both are now part of a talented first-year class for the Bennies, who were off to a 6-1-1 start heading into an MIAC matchup against St. Mary's at 4 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 29) in St. Joseph.
 
"We are a young team this season but we have so much grit and determination," said Brynn, an all-state second team defender a year ago. "We don't quit and we never throw in the towel. Even when we've faced adversity so far, we haven't let it shake us. The upperclassmen are such great role models for us and they make everyone feel welcome.
 
"That community feeling is part of what drew us here in the first place."
 
But it was actually Maryn who looked at CSB first. 
 
"I came up here to visit and it felt like home right away," she said. "There were people outside doing things, taking part in community activities. I'd gone to other schools, and even though it was a nice day, it seemed like there was no one around. Here people were all over. It just seemed like a really inviting and welcoming place to be."
 
Leah and Brynn soon followed, deciding to enroll before their senior year in high school even started.
 
"The culture and atmosphere here is what sold us," Leah said. "Other schools we visited didn't really compare."
 
Leah and Brynn are now rooming together while Maryn – who plans to play on the club lacrosse team at CSB – is living with a friend from high school.
 
"Maryn didn't really want to room with us," Brynn said with a laugh.
 
"Those two can get a little loud sometimes," Maryn added.
 
"But we're just steps away and we see each other all the time," Leah chimed in.
 
When it comes to personality types, the sisters agree Leah is the most outgoing, Brynn falls in the middle and Maryn is the most introverted. 
 
Yet it is Brynn who may be the most competitive of the three.
 
"Board games can get pretty intense at times," said Maryn, who managed the girls soccer team at Chanhassen. "Brynn and Leah both really get into it sometimes, and there are times I just want the game to be done."
 
"Card games can get really crazy with Brynn," Leah added.
 
"I get pretty fired up at times," Brynn agreed. "Leah and Maryn are more mellow. But we balance each other out in some ways."
 
Leah and Brynn are each planning to major in strategic communication studies and both were involved in DECA, an international association of marketing students, as high school students.
 
"We're both interested in going into the business field," Leah said. "I really like the marketing aspect of it. That's something I've always been interested in."
 
Maryn, meanwhile, is planning to double major in accounting and finance.
 
"Math has always been my favorite subject, and one day my dad and I were talking," she said. "He told me he thought I'd make a really good accountant. So I started looking into what that job was like and I took an accounting class in high school. I ended up really enjoying it."
 
The three are the only children of Peter and Alison Jonswold, who met through mutual friends at Maynards in Excelsior. Peter, a vice president at building solutions company James Hardie, and Alison, who works in human resources at Premier Sport Psychology, encouraged their daughters to get involved in athletics growing up.
 
"My mom signed us up for every sport under the sun when we were little," Leah said. "We each did club soccer for a while. My dad was a little reluctant for us to get into travel soccer because he wanted to keep our weekends free for family time at the cabin. But once we did, the rest was history.
 
"That was the sport Brynn and I were most drawn to."
 
Peter, an Edina native, graduated from Texas Christian University, while Alison is a graduate of Minnesota-Duluth. 
 
But Brynn said both her parents are thrilled to have all three of their daughters at CSB.
 
"They didn't push us one way or another, but they were really glad we ended up here," she said. "They like the campus a lot. And it makes it easier on them to have us all in one place.
 
"They don't have three separate colleges they have to go and visit us at."