Svyatik Artemenko
Canadian soccer player (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Svyatik Artemenko (born 11 February 2000) is a Ukrainian footballer.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Svyatoslav Artemenko | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Odesa, Ukraine | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Bonivital SC | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Guelph Gryphons | 15 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Thompson Rivers WolfPack | 12 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | WSA Winnipeg | 14 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Valour FC (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Guelph United FC | 25 | (0) |
| 2022 | → York United (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | FC Berlin | 7 | (0) |
| 2023 | Electric City FC | 18 | (0) |
| 2024 | Rivers FC | 2 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Valour FC (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of May 20, 2024 | |||
Early life
Artemenko was born in Odesa, Ukraine.[1][2] At the age of two, he moved with his family to Winnipeg, Canada.[3] He played youth soccer with Bonivital SC[4] and represented Manitoba at the 2017 Canada Summer Games.[5]
University career
In 2021, he began attending University of Guelph, where he played for the men's soccer team.[6] He was named the team Rookie of the Year in 2021.[7] He helped the team win the OUA Championship and was named the OUA goalkeeper of the year and to the U SPORTS National Championship All-Tournament team.[8]
In 2023, he began attending Thompson Rivers University, where he played for the men's soccer team.[9]
Club career
In 2019, he played with WSA Winnipeg in USL League Two.[10] Also in 2019, he signed with Valour FC of the Canadian Premier League as an emergency backup goalkeeper, but did not appear in any matches.[11] He attended training camp the following years with Valour, but did not earn a contract.[12][13]
In 2021, he joined Guelph United F.C. in League1 Ontario.[14] He was named a West Division All-Star and West Division Top Goalkeeper.[15][16] In the playoff semi-final, Artemenko scored the winning penalty kick, before making the winning save in a penalty shootout against Master's FA to advance to the next round,[17] where Guelph won the championship defeating Blue Devils FC.[18]
In early 2022, he went to Ukraine to trial to earn a professional contract with FC Podillya in the second tier Ukrainian First League, earning a contract on 23 February.[19] However, the next day, Russia invaded Ukraine suspending all soccer activities in the country and Artemenko registered for the Ukrainian army.[20]
On 5 May 2022, following his military service in Ukraine, he returned to Guelph United to re-join them for their 2022 season.[21][22][23] He made his return in a Canadian Championship match against Canadian Premier League club HFX Wanderers FC.[24] In August 2022, he joined Canadian Premier League side York United FC as an emergency goalkeeper substitute for a few matches following an injury to Niko Giantsopoulos.[25]
In August 2022, he joined FC Berlin of the United Premier Soccer League ahead of the 2022 UPSL Fall season.[26]
In March 2023, he joined Electric City FC in League1 Ontario.[27][28]
In 2024, he began playing with Rivers FC in League1 British Columbia.[29] In May 2024, he joined Valour FC on a short-term replacement player contract, following an injury to their starting goalkeeper.[29]
Military career
Between the ages of 16 and 18, Artemenko trained as a combat engineer with the Canadian Reserve Forces in Winnipeg.[30]
In February 2022, Artemenko, who was in Ukraine pursuing a professional soccer career, enlisted with the Armed Forces of Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[31][32] While he was not required to enlist in the army as he was a Canadian citizen, he felt it was his duty to protect his ancestral homeland.[33] He was initially not allowed to join due to not being a Ukrainian citizen, however, the next day his application was approved as part of an International Legion.[34] His club team, Guelph United hosted a fundraiser to raise funds for the Ukrainian Red Cross in support of Artemenko's cause.[35] He returned to Canada in early May, following a two-month tour of duty.[36][37] In April 2024, Canadian sports broadcasting channel TSN filmed a documentary focusing on Artemenko and his experience.[38]
Career statistics
- As of 19 August 2023[39]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup[a] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| WSA Winnipeg | 2019[10] | USL League Two | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Valour FC (loan) | 2019 | Canadian Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Guelph United FC | 2021[14] | League1 Ontario | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2022[23] | 13 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| York United FC (loan) | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| FC Berlin | 2022[40] | United Premier Soccer League | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Electric City FC | 2023[41] | League1 Ontario | 18 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 65 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 0 | ||
- Includes appearances in the Canadian Championship.