Stefan Subkovic competes for the ball with a Bethel competitor during a home game.
USAO Men’s Soccer (3-3-2, 0-0 SAC) will face conference rival NAIA-ranked No. 14 Mid-America Christian University (MACU) Evans (4-1-2, 0-0 SAC). ) are preparing for the match. ) Tuesday, October 1st. The two teams have played each other the past three years, with MACU coming out on top with three wins and two draws. Two of USAO’s losses came in the 2022 and 2023 SAC Championship matches. Senior defender Stefan Subkovic was an important part of the team that endured these painful losses during his time as a draw.
Although the recent rivalry has favored MACU, USAO has historically been more successful with an 11-8-4 record since 2008. Subkovic was adamant the Drovers would break a three-year drought and defeat their conference rivals.
“We know their weaknesses, so with our coaching we will be able to beat them and win the SAC championship,” Subkovic said.
Savkovic, born in Gornji Milanovac, Serbia, has appeared in 58 games over the past three seasons. He also received Academic All-SAC selection in 2022 and NAIA Scholar-Athlete Honor Award in 2023.
Initially, Sapkovic said he had no interest in coming to America to continue his career as a soccer player. He had hoped to play in Europe, but his father’s wishes and a scholarship offer from USAO led him to make the big leap to the United States. The transition to a new country was not easy for him either.
“I had to leave my family and friends. I came here to play soccer. I didn’t like the culture, I didn’t like what Coach Hampton wanted from us, I didn’t like the system in the United States. I didn’t even know how it worked,” Sapkovic said.
He added that the culture of his homeland of Serbia helped him become a strong and well-disciplined person in USAO Soccer.
A big contributor to his success thus far has been men’s soccer head coach Jimmy Hampton. The coach offered Subkovic a scholarship in 2021, and their journey has been monumental for Subkovic throughout his career.
“Coach Hampton developed me into a grown man because he taught me how to be tough, how to be strong, how to act under pressure, how to be responsible, how to coach. , how to be honest, how to read the game and how to do things that are good for me,” Subkovic said.
Subkovic also thanked his teammates and other coaches for his experience with USAO thus far. After finishing my college career, I plan to use my bachelor’s degree in business administration to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. He also said he would not be opposed to continuing his soccer career professionally if given the opportunity.
Prior to the matchup with MACU, the Drovers will play Nelson University (NU) at home on Saturday, September 28th at 6:30pm following the women’s game at 4pm.
Jordan Prewitt is a fifth-year English major at Oklahoma College of Science and Arts.
