Maksym Kowal

Maksym Danylo Kowal (born June 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward.

This article is about the Canadian soccer midfielder. For the Ukrainian goalkeeper, see Maksym Koval (footballer).
Maksym Kowal
Kowal in 2019
Personal information
Full name Maksym Danylo Kowal
Date of birth (1991-06-04) June 4, 1991
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward, midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Greifswalder FC
Number 19
Youth career
USC Karpaty
Erin Mills SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Buffalo Bulls 68 (8)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Des Moines Menace 10 (1)
2013 Toronto Lynx 11 (2)
2013 Barnstaple Town
2013–2014 Tiverton Town
2014 Carlton Town 10 (1)
2015 Widzew Łódź 0 (0)
2015–2016 Raków Częstochowa 13 (2)
2016 → Olimpia Zambrów (loan) 13 (1)
2016–2017 ŁKS Łódź 25 (4)
2017–2018 Tasman United 18 (6)
2018 North Wellington AFC 18 (23)
2018–2019 Canterbury United FC 14 (6)
2019 Vaughan Azzurri 14 (14)
2019 FC Ukraine United 4 (2)
2020 Atlético Ottawa 3 (0)
2020–2022 Germania Halberstadt 16 (1)
2022–2023 Greifswalder FC 27 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 2, 2023

Early life

Kowal was born in Toronto, Ontario, growing up in nearby Mississauga, Ontario and is of Ukrainian descent.[1] He began playing youth soccer with USC Karpaty, later moving to the Erin Mills Eagles at U14 level.[1]

Club career

College and Semi-pro

Kowal attended the University at Buffalo beginning in 2009 and played for the soccer team.[2] During his college tenure he played in the USL Premier Development League with Des Moines Menace and Toronto Lynx.[3][4]

England

In 2013, he went abroad to England, first joining non-league club Barnstaple Town F.C.[5] Afterwards, he joined Tiverton Town F.C. He then joined eighth tier Carlton Town F.C.[6]

Poland

In 2015, he joined Polish second-tier club Widzew Łódź in the I liga, however, due to procedural reasons with having arrived from a non-professional club, he was unable to be registered to be eligible for league matches.[7][8] Widzew was relegated at the end of the season and went bankrupt and was relegated to the fifth tier, and subsequently, in July 2015, Kowal joined tird-tier club Raków Częstochowa in the II liga.[9][10] In February 2016. he joined Olimpia Zambrów on a six-month loan.[11][12] The following season he joined ŁKS Łódź helping them win promotion that season.[13][14][15]

New Zealand

In 2017, he joined ISPS Handa Premiership side Tasman United in the New Zealand first tier,[16] being recommended by a friend who played in the league.[17] In the offseason, he joined North Wellington AFC in New Zealand's second tier Central Premier League, where he helped lead the team to the league championship[18] and won the Golden Boot as the league's top goalscorer with 23 goals,[19] while also adding another three goals in the 2018 Chatham Cup. He was also named the league player of the year.[20] In September 2018, he then returned to the top tier for the new season, joining Canterbury United.[21]

Canada

In 2019, he returned to the North American continent to play in League1 Ontario with Vaughan Azzurri. He featured in the 2019 Canadian Championship against HFX Wanderers FC.[22] In July, he scored a hat trick against Durham United FA in 21 minutes.[23] In his debut season with Vaughan he finished as the league's top goalscorer, winning the Golden Boot,[24] as well as being named league MVP.[25] In late 2019, he played in the Canadian Soccer League with FC Ukraine United.[26][27]

On August 10, 2020, Kowal signed with Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa.[28] He made his debut in Ottawa's inaugural match on August 15 against York9, coming on as a substitute and playing out a 2–2 draw.[29]

Germany

On October 27, 2020, Kowal joined German club Germania Halberstadt in the fourth tier Regionalliga Nordost.[30][31] A day later, he made his debut for the club scoring a goal against Chemie Leipzig. He celebrated the goal by taking off his jersey, which earned him a second yellow card, resulting in him being ejected from the match.[32][33] He then had to return to Canada, due to travel issues, before returning to Germany, however, the season was suspended soon after for the remainer of 2020, due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.[34]

In July 2022, Kowal joined newly promoted side Greifswalder FC in the same division.[35]

Personal life

Born in Mississauga, Ontario in Canada, Kowal's family has Ukrainian origin, although his parents were both born in Poland.[5] He holds dual citizenship with Poland and Canada.[36] His father played professional basketball professional in Poland with AZS Szczecin and AZS Koszalin.[5] He attended St. Paul Secondary School in Mississauga and played youth soccer for the Erin Mills Eagles SC, where he won the U18 provincial championship in 2009.[37]

Career statistics
As of match played May 28, 2023[38]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Playoffs Total
TierDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Des Moines Menace[39] 2012 4 Premier Development League 10110—111
Toronto Lynx[39] 2013 112——112
Barnstaple Town 2013–14 10 Western Football League First Division ????—??
Tiverton Town 2013–14 8 Southern FL - Div. 1 South&West ????????
Carlton Town[40] 2014–15 Northern Premier League - Div. One South 10121—122
Widzew Łódź 2014–15 2 I liga 0000—00
Raków Częstochowa 2015–16 3 II liga 13210—142
Olimpia Zambrów (loan) 13100—131
ŁKS Łódź 2016–17 4 III liga - Group 1 25400—254
Tasman United 2017–18 1 New Zealand Football Championship 18600—186
North Wellington[41] 2018 2 Central Premier League 182343—2226
Canterbury United 2018–19 1 New Zealand Football Championship 166—10176
Vaughan Azzurri[42] 2019 3 League1 Ontario 141420221816
FC Ukraine United 2019 N/A Canadian Soccer League 42—??42
Atlético Ottawa 2020 1 Canadian Premier League 30——30
Germania Halberstadt 2020–21 4 Regionalliga Nordost 1100—11
2021–22 15000—150
Greifswalder FC 2022–23 4 Regionalliga Nordost 27100—271
Career total 198631043221170

    References
    1. Gürtler, Tobias (1 July 2022). "Maksym Kowal kommt zum Greifswalder FC" [Maksym Kowal joins Greifswalder FC]. Greifswalder FC (in German).
    2. "Maksym Kowal". Buffalo. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
    3. "Player Spotlight: Maksym Kowal". Des Moines Menace. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
    4. Rollo, Phillip (September 15, 2017). "New Tasman United strikers Maksym Kowal and Kieran Smith report for duty". Stuff.
    5. Juźwiak, Krystian (October 29, 2017). "W Widzewie był, w ŁKS-ie grał, teraz Nowa Zelandia. Maksym Kowal dla 2x45: Widzew nie potraktował mnie poważnie" [He was in Widzew, in ŁKS, now New Zealand. Maksym Kowal for 2x45: Widzew did not take me seriously]. 2x45 (in Polish).
    6. "Maksym Kowal zawodnikiem Widzewa" [Maksym Kowal is a Widzew player]. Łódźki Futbol (in Polish). March 12, 2015.
    7. Tomasik, Piotr (March 24, 2015). "Asior z Anglii nie może grać. Kolejna przeszkoda na drodze do Ligi Mistrzów" [Asior from England can't play. Another obstacle on the way to the Champions League.]. Weszlo (in Polish).
    8. Derdzikowski, Bartłomiej (March 24, 2015). "Maksym Kowal w Widzewie nie zagra. Kolejna wpadka działaczy" [Maksym Kowal will not play in Widzew. Another failure by activists]. Sport PL (in Polish).
    9. "Raków pozyskał kolejnego Kanadyjczyka" [Raków recruited another Canadian]. Wyborcza (in Polish). July 9, 2015.
    10. Częstochowa. "Maksym Kowal napastnikiem Rakowa" [Maksym Kowal is the Forward of Raków]. rakow.com (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-12-25.
    11. "Kolejni zawodnicy dołączają do Olimpii" [More players join Olympia]. Olimpia Zambrów (in Polish). February 26, 2016.
    12. "Maksym Kowal wypożyczony do Olimpii Zambrów" [Maksym Kowal on loan to Olympia Zambrów]. 90 minut (in Polish).
    13. "Maksym Kowal odnalazł się w Nowej Zelandii" [Maksym Kowal found himself in New Zealand]. Łódzki Futbol (in Polish). 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
    14. Walczyk, Jerzy. "Maksym Kowal, napastnik ŁKS: 'Idziemy do drugiej ligi'" [Maksym Kowal, ŁKS forward: "We're going to the second league"]. Sport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-12-25.
    15. "ŁKS Łódź Piłkarze - ŁKS Łódź". 2016-11-25. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
    16. "New Tasman United strikers Maksym Kowal and Kieran Smith report for duty". Stuff New Zealand. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
    17. Balcerski, Jakub (September 26, 2020). "Ostatni strzelec gola w derbach Łodzi. Do ŁKS przeszedł z Widzewa. "Ten dzień zapamiętam jeszcze na długo"" [The last goal scorer in the Łódź derby. He moved to ŁKS from Widzew. "I will remember this day for a long time"]. Sport.pl.
    18. "North Wellington Streak to Capital Premier Title". Capital Football. July 9, 2018.
    19. "Taking Home the Silveware". Independent Herald. September 5, 2018.
    20. "Awards Night Shines on 2018 Season Success". Capital Football. October 2, 2018.
    21. Piotrek (September 14, 2020). "Maksym Kowal: Gola z meczu derbowego zapamiętam do końca życia" [Maksym Kowal: I will remember the goal from the derby for the rest of my life]. ŁKS Fans (in Polish).
    22. "Canada - M. Kowal - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
    23. "London's Kovacevic And Vaughan's Kowal Win 2019 League1 Ontario MVP Awards". League1 Ontario. October 2, 2019.
    24. staff, League1 Ontario (2019-08-27). "Kowal, Kovacevic Win 2019 League1 Ontario Golden Boot Awards". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
    25. Thompson, Marty (October 28, 2020). "L1O MVP Maksym Kowal signs with German side VfB Germania Halberstadt".
    26. Adamson, Stan (September 15, 2019). "Ukraine United Defeat Kingsman 5-1 Sunday". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
    27. Jacques, John (August 10, 2020). "Atletico Ottawa Fills Roster With Six Player Signings". Northern Tribune.
    28. "Atlético Ottawa completes roster with 6 signings, including Kourouma, McKendry". Canadian Premier League. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
    29. "Canadian Premier League". August 15, 2020.
    30. @atletiOttawa (28 October 2020). "Best of luck to Maksym Kowal on signing with VfB Germania Halberstadt. We wish Maksym the very best!…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    31. "Maksym Kowal leaves Atlético Ottawa for German side Germania Halberstadt". Canadian Premier League. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
    32. Zeißler, Nico (October 28, 2020). "Flutlicht-Pleite! Chemie Leipzig Zieht in Halberstadt mit Einem Mann Mehr Den Kürzeren" [Floodlight Bankruptcy! Chemie Leipzig is Losing Out with one more man in Halberstadt]. Tag 24 (in German).
    33. "Weltenbummler debütiert, trifft und fliegt beim Überraschungscoup" [Globetrotter makes his debut, hits and flies in the surprise coup]. FuPa (in German). October 29, 2020.
    34. "Odyssee für Maksym Kowal – Re-Start ist kein Thema mehr" [Odyssey for Maksym Kowal - restart is no longer an issue]. FuPa (in German). November 28, 2020.
    35. "Greifswalder FC verpflichtet neuen Stürmer aus Halberstadt" [Greifswalder FC signs new striker from Halberstadt]. Ostsee-Zeitung (in German). July 1, 2022.
    36. "Maksym Kowal piłkarzem Widzewa" [Maksym Kowal is a Widzew footballer]. Widzewiak (in Polish). March 11, 2015.
    37. "Maksym Kowal Profile". University at Buffalo.
    38. Maksym Kowal at Soccerway
    39. "Maksym Kowal Stats". Soccer Stats.
    40. "Maksym Kowal Stats". Carlton Town Fans.
    41. "Men's Capital Premier 2018 Stats". Capital Football.
    42. "Maksym Kowal 2019 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
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