Carleton’s top men’s soccer athletes Stefan Karajovanovic and Tony Mikhael have chosen to not return to the Ravens’ squad ahead of the fall season.
The two athletes made their decisions after receiving professional contract offers from the Halifax Wanderers and Valour FC of the Canadian Premier League (CPL).
The two players both experienced their first taste of professional soccer this summer after being selected as U Sports draft picks in January.
Karajovanovic, who scored 35 goals in 37 games over three seasons at Carleton, has struggled to make an immediate impact with the Wanderers. Karajovanovic has one goal and one assist in 16 appearances so far.
Karajovanovic said the numbers he’s posted don’t concern him and that playing a new position—left-wing as opposed to striker—has been the reason for his lack of goals. Still, he said he knows he needs to improve his game.
“Left-wingers don’t have as many goals [as strikers]. They should be having more assists,” Karajovanovic said. “But I know I should be getting more.”
Halifax currently sits sixth in the CPL, two positions outside a playoff spot but also two positions from the bottom of the standings. Karajovanovic said this season hasn’t been ideal for himself or the Wanderers.
“We had a bit of a struggle at the beginning of the season and couldn’t get the results we needed,” he said.
Recently, however, the Wanderers have turned things around. They are unbeaten in their last seven matches and are closing in on a top-four finish.
In Winnipeg, Valour FC and former Ravens defender Mikhael have followed an opposite path. They sit only three points outside the fourth playoff spot and won six of their first seven matches this season. They sat first in the league after eight games, but are currently struggling through a stretch of only one win in their last 11 matches.
Mikhael, who is known for his versatility and strength, said the team’s recent struggles are due to a lack of professionalism. Mikhael explained that Valour was a tight-knit unit in the Winnipeg “bubble” under which the league played for the first month of the season.
“Our staff knew exactly what we were eating,” Mikhael said. “They were constantly monitoring us, had us in the gym, had an idea of what time we were going to bed. These are things the staff had in their control that kept it professional.”
Mikhael explained that once the bubble ended at the end of July, players had more freedom.
“You can imagine that some of the decisions the guys made were a bit less healthy [or] unprofessional, maybe taking care of their bodies less,” Mikhael said.
Mikhael also said the squad became complacent after being the team to beat in the bubble.
“We had a very good pre-season and I think that’s part of the reason why the first eight games went so well,” Mikhael said. “But it almost felt like we took our foot off the gas and [thought] that it would be a walk through this season, but that wasn’t really the case.”
Despite their poor run, Valour is only one win away from a playoff spot and have played one less game than the team in fourth place, York United. They also have 10 games left to play, leaving plenty of time to claim a playoff spot.
Mikhael said his takeaways from this season are positive and that he has developed and gained experience.
With two key players gone from the Ravens squad, Carleton’s hopes for a national championship might take a hit this season. Carleton will host the national tournament in November and is guaranteed to make the final eight as a result of being the host university.
The Ravens are well known for their provincial success. They’ve finished with the best record in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) each of the past three seasons and haven’t lost more than two matches in a season since 2014, but they’ve been unable to break through on the national stage. Despite three consecutive national berths, Carleton has never progressed to the finals.
Both Karajovanovic and Mikhael said they think this is Carleton’s year to finally win it all.
No hard feelings are felt from the athletes’ departure, as the two said they are still closely connected with the team and many of the players. The two even said that Carleton head coach Kwesi Loney supported their decision to play in the CPL and wants all his players to one day play at a higher level.
Karajonavonic added that he believes a few players will get drafted into the CPL over the next few years.
Carleton still holds a special place in the hearts of Mikhael and Karajonavonic, even if they’ve since moved on.
“I love Carleton. They’re like my family,” Mikhael said. “But this next chapter is what I’ve worked my whole life for.”
Carleton will begin its quest for a national championship on home turf on Friday, as the season kicks off with a match against the Queen’s University Gaels at Ravens Perch.
Featured image provided by Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Wanderers.
