Stephanie Bukovec (born 22 September 1995) is a footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Born in Canada, she represented the Croatia women's national team.

Stephanie Bukovec
Personal information
Full name Stephanie Cecilia Bukovec
Date of birth (1995-09-22) 22 September 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Split
Number 1
Youth career
Etobicoke SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Oakland Golden Grizzlies
2015–2016 Belmont Bruins
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Toronto Lady Lynx
2014 K–W United FC
2016 Vaughan Azzurri 6 (0)
2017 Töcksfors IF
2017–2018 PEC Zwolle 16 (0)
2018 Þór/KA 6 (0)
2019 ŽNK Split
2019–2020 AFC Ajax 0 (0)
2020– Split (0)
International career
2017– Croatia 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:22, 30 August 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 June 2021

Club career edit

In 2016, she played for Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario. During a League Cup semi-final, after her team went down 2–0 in the first half, she switched to striker, scoring two goals to tie the game, before returning to the goalkeeper position, winning the match in a penalty shootout.[1]

In July 2018, Bukovec signed with Þór/KA in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna.[2] She helped the team advance from the 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round, being named the Group 1's best player after keeping a clean sheet in all three games.[3]

In January 2019, she signed with ŽNK Split of the Croatian Prva HNLŽ.[4][5] In May 2019, she scored two goals in a 10–0 win against ŽNK Katarina Zrinski after being playing the last 30 minutes as an attacker.[6] She helped Split win the 2019 Croatian championship, breaking the long-term dominance of ŽNK Osijek.[7] In June she led the club to the Croatian Cup with her performance in the Cup Final victory against Osijek.[8]

National team career edit

Bukovec has been capped for the Croatia national team, appearing for the team during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying cycle.[9]

Personal life edit

Bukovec's father, Boris, was born in Slovenia, while her mother, Helen, was born in Poland. Her grandmother was from Dalmatia in Croatia. Her older brother Matthew played college basketball, her older sister Natalie played football in college before turning to coaching, and twin sister Sophie played professional beach volleyball.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ "Bukovec's L1 Cup Heroics Propel Vaughan Azzurri To 3–2 Win In Penalties Over FC London". League1 Ontario. 15 July 2016.
  2. ^ Guðmundur Aðalsteinn Ásgeirsson (13 July 2018). "Íslandsmeistararnir semja við markvörð (Staðfest)". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Bukovec valin sú besta í Meistaradeildinni". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 14 August 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  4. ^ Frane Vulas (15 January 2019). "U Split stiže golmanica koja barata balunom bolje od muških". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  5. ^ Vedran Babić (22 February 2019). "Stephanie Bukovec: Sa Splitom ću igrati Ligu prvaka i postati najbolja na svijetu". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  6. ^ Frane Vulas (5 May 2019). "Dosadilo joj na golu pa su je poslali u napad: vratarka Splita pola sata bila centarfor i zabila dva lijepa zgoditka". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  7. ^ Damir Mrvec (14 February 2020). "Obitelj joj je napustila Jugoslaviju, a sada postaje Hrvatica: Fale mi ćevapi, tetovirala sam orla". Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  8. ^ Vedran Babic (3 June 2021). "Herojska Stephanie Bukovec odvela nogometašice Splita do trofeja!". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Women World Cup Qualifiers Europe 2017/2018 » Teams (Croatia)". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. ^ Vedran Babić (4 April 2022). "Kanadska Hrvatica u dilemi: Ne znam za koga navijati!". Sportklub (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 April 2022.

External links edit