All-area boys soccer MVP: Mijatovic leads York in lone varsity season

ELMHURST – Stefan Mijatovic has been torn between two sports in recent years, but dedicated some time to soccer this fall to York’s benefit.

Mijatovic, who has also competed globally in taekwondo, came out for the Dukes’ soccer team this fall after not playing the previous two years. His return included 24 goals and seven assists to lead the Dukes’ attack.

“I was actually really excited that everything was going the way it was,” Mijatovic said. “I knew that if I worked hard it would pay off.”

York coach Markus Roy knew Mijatovic was talented, but wasn’t sure what to expect from him this season.

“He played his freshman year and he scored some goals and took a couple years off,” Roy said. “This summer he came out for summer camp so we knew he was a good player. He was really great for us. He did even more than we expected.”

During his time away from soccer, Mijatovic focused on taekwondo, even competing in the U.S. Open Taekwondo Championships in February. He trained as a part of Team Force, a traveling team based in Illinois.

As successful as Mijatovic was in taekwondo, including being a silver medalist at the 2012 AAU Nationals, soccer was always his preferred sport. His father, from Yugoslavia, played soccer professionally in Germany and got him into the sport at a young age.

“I always wanted to play soccer, but my dad thought that I had a chance for taekwondo,” Mijatovic said. “He actually came to all my games when I was a kid and he taught me everything. When I was a kid we would go to the park everyday and just kick a ball.”

Mijatovic wasn’t entirely away from soccer when he was training for taekwondo. He kept playing soccer in some small leagues and joined club team Inter FC before his senior year in preparation for rejoining the Dukes.

Taekwondo helped make Mijatovic a tough, physical player once he returned to soccer. Once teams realized he was York’s top attacking threat, teams would frequently double team him and his sparring skills gave him an advantage.

“It helped a lot,” Mijatovic said. “It helped my agility and how physical I was and jumping for balls in the air.”

His impact on the team wasn’t just on the field. Roy named him one of the team’s captains.

“Most players aren’t captains with one year of varsity, but he was a good leader for us,” Roy said. “He has speed, quickness and a lot of players have trouble getting him off the ball.”

There was a sad ending to Mijatovic’s season at York. After colliding with a player going for a header on a corner kick in a match against Hinsdale Central on Oct. 14 he suffered a concussion and wasn’t able to return to the playoff opener against Wheaton Warrenville South seven days later. York lost 2-0 in overtime.

“It was kind of sad that I couldn’t play the last few games,” he said. “I was really disappointed. I felt like I let my team down, but we had a good year and had a lot of fun.”

Mijatovic hopes to return to the field in college and has had talks with some schools so far.