From California to Armenia: Pyunik Defender Isabella Maneh Nersesyan Finds Home on the Field

At 19, Isabella Maneh Nersesyan has already played soccer in the United States, Poland and Armenia. But joining Pyunik brought the California-born defender somewhere she had long wanted to be — closer to Armenia, both professionally and personally.

Nersesyan, an Armenian-American who has represented Armenia from the U17 level through the senior national team, joined Pyunik after a stint in Poland. She initially came to the Yerevan club for the opportunity to compete in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. What she found after arriving convinced her she wanted to stay.

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“I think I came to Pyunik first because of the Champions League, and then, honestly, I fell in love with the team, with the atmosphere,” Nersesyan told The Armenian Report. “My coach is amazing, and I’m just so happy to be here.”

Her path to Armenia began in California, where she was born into a traditional Armenian family and started playing soccer at 4.

The sport was already part of the household. Her father played competitively for years and became a coach. Her brother also plays, while her mother became one of her biggest supporters and an avid follower of women’s soccer.

By 12, Nersesyan was competing in the Elite Clubs National League, or ECNL, at the highest level of girls’ club soccer in the United States. She was later selected for the U.S. Olympic Development Program and won championships in consecutive years.

At 16, she signed with Blue Heat in California, a club that has featured players who went on to the highest levels of the sport, including U.S. international Alyssa Thompson.

It was there, Nersesyan said, that the idea of making soccer her profession became more concrete.

“Playing for Blue Heat helped me realize just how much I truly love soccer and how much I want to pursue it professionally,” she said.

She also knew where she wanted that career to take her.

“My dream has always been to play in Europe and to be closer to Armenia.”

Her first move across the Atlantic came after KKP Warsaw approached her late last year. The Polish club was fighting relegation and had only seven or eight games remaining in the season.

Nersesyan accepted the offer and was placed in the starting lineup for her first match, helping KKP Warsaw earn its first victory of the season.

Her stay was short. After another four or five appearances, national team commitments took her away from the club. KKP Warsaw was eventually relegated.

Pyunik offered her another opportunity in Europe, this time in Armenia.

For her family, the decision to move to Yerevan was easy to support.

“They knew somewhere in Europe is where I wanted to play,” Nersesyan said. “When I said Armenia is where I want to be, I want to play for Pyunik, they were very excited.”

Being based in Armenia also means shorter travel and fewer time-zone adjustments for international duty. But Nersesyan is clear that securing a national team place was not behind her decision to join Pyunik.

She had already been playing for Armenia before the move.

Her first call-up came when she was just 14.

“I didn’t hesitate for even a second,” she said. “It was an incredibly emotional and proud moment for both me and my family.”

That attachment to Armenia had been built throughout her childhood. Her family returned to the country during summers, and she and her brother were baptized in Artsakh.

“Armenia is part of my identity,” Nersesyan said. “When I play for the Armenian national team, I represent my family and my culture. I have never taken that for granted.”

She scored for Armenia at the U17 and U19 levels before reaching the senior side, where she has also recorded assists.

One of her most vivid memories came in an official UEFA U17 match against Georgia, when she scored twice to help Armenia win.

“That evening, I fully understood how much joy my teammates and I had brought to our people,” she said. “We were all crying with happiness — the players and the coaching staff.”

At 16, Nersesyan made her senior national team debut.

What happened afterward stayed with her just as much as the match itself. Children approached her for autographs, forcing the teenage player to recognize that she had already become someone younger girls were watching.

“I was still a child myself,” she said. “That moment left a deep impression on me.”

“That was when I realized that when you wear the national team jersey, younger girls may be watching you and thinking, ‘I want to play like that one day, too.’”

Despite that early rise through Armenia’s national teams, Nersesyan was not selected for the latest senior squad. She told The Armenian Report she received no explanation for the decision.

She does not intend to dwell on it.

“I do what I have to do on the field, and at the end of the day, it’s the coach’s decision, whether it’s national team, whether it’s club,” she said. “Whether it’s fair, whether it’s not, it’s the coach’s decision.”

At 19, Nersesyan believes there is plenty of time to earn another call-up.

“I know that in the future, without a doubt, I’ll be there again,” she said. “I’m not too stressed about it.”

Asked whether she expects to wear Armenia’s jersey again, she did not hesitate.

“Absolutely,” Nersesyan said. “I’m only 19.”

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