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Seven-year-old Julia Coval needed to make a decision. Her local soccer club, KB, in her hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, didn’t allow her to play for a higher age that would aid her development.

So, Coval switched clubs and joined the youth academy of AIK, one of the most famed clubs in Sweden. Born in 2004, Coval joined the 2003 team, providing an opportunity to bolster her game. According to Calle Segerstrom, who coached Coval at AIK when Coval was 10, her drive to improve was apparent.

“She was always curious and wanted her coaches to help her understand what she could do better in different situations,” Segerstrom said. “(She was) a very dedicated player.”

Coval’s commitment to her craft led her to Gardner-Webb before transferring to Syracuse, where she is a sophomore midfielder. Before coming to the United States to play college soccer, Coval worked her way up the AIK ranks, culminating in training with the professional team, which played in the Swedish first division, the Damallsvenskan.

If a player commits to play soccer professionally in Sweden, Coval said their life revolves around it. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to focus solely on soccer at the expense of her education, which led her to find a compromise. She could come to play at a high level in the Atlantic Coast Conference while still pursuing a major in biotechnology at SU.

But Coval’s first year playing college soccer at Gardner-Webb was “tricky” and “not completely smooth,” she said. Head coach Mike Varga recruited Coval to the Runnin’ Bulldogs and in a press release on May 8, 2023, Varga predicted Coval would be a key piece of Gardner-Webb’s midfield. Less than a month later, though, he took the head coaching position at the University of Texas Martin.

Beyond Varga’s exit, Coval had to adjust to her first year in the U.S. She went from living in urban Stockholm to rural Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Coval called it “the middle of nowhere.”

The numerous international players on Gardner-Webb, some of whom also hailed from Sweden, helped Coval adjust under its new head coach. She said having people from similar backgrounds helped her have someone to talk to and navigate the school and soccer program.

When the 2023-24 season ended, Coval entered the transfer portal without losing her eligibility because Varga and Tina Murphy, who was Coval’s coach during her one year playing at Gardner-Webb, left. In the days following the season’s conclusion, she fired off a round of emails to coaches, looking for a potential new destination. But she didn’t receive any responses, so she removed her name from the portal.

In spring 2024, Coval re-entered her name in the portal, persistent in finding a new school to continue her soccer and academic career. She sent more emails to coaches and got an answer from Syracuse head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams.

Coval said the Orange’s environment mirrors how she developed as a player at AIK and in Sweden.

As Coval rose through AIK’s ranks, her small size at 5-foot-6 currently was tested. Playing against older players and up an age group for most of her development, she learned to make quick decisions to not allow herself to be outmuscled off the ball by larger opponents, Segerstrom said.

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Another opportunity to test her size came while playing at the Danderyds Gymnasium, the school Coval played for from ages 16 to 19. The team was co-ed with 20 boys and only four girls, forcing Coval to play at a high tempo and prepare for AIK’s senior team.

“Getting into that tempo also helped me transition into playing with a women’s team much better because they’re more physical than we are,” Coval said. “So I think the soccer in the school helped me a lot.”

Coval’s coach at Danderyds, Thomas Backman, noted Coval kept up with the boys’ team, even if they were faster or stronger than she was. In 2022, Coval’s efforts at Danderyds were noticed when she was honored with the Idrottsskölden, a prestigious award given to decorated Swedish athletes whenever a school believes it has a promising athlete.

To close her time at AIK, Coval’s team competed in the Swedish National Tournament, a domestic competition for the top eight clubs in the country at the Under-19 level. Entering the tournament, AIK had won the previous seven iterations.

“We had a lot of pressure, and we had to win that year to keep the reputation going that we were one of the best youth teams in all of Sweden,” Coval said.

In the final group stage game, AIK needed a result to advance to the semifinals. With three minutes left in the match, it trailed 2-0. Its winning streak was close to an end. But Coval said AIK snatched two late goals to seal a 2-2 tie and advance to the knockout stage. From there, AIK didn’t slip up again, re-claiming the trophy.

When Coval turned 19, she began practicing with AIK’s professional women’s team. Though only appearing in one game, the training environment pushed her. Outside of training, she also valued the analytical coaching and constant film review the team did.

One player Coval played with throughout her youth career at AIK was Rosa Kafaji, who now plays with Arsenal in England’s Women’s Soccer League and UEFA Women’s Champions League.

“That was so cool,” Coval said of playing with Kafaji. “Playing with her in the women’s team and practicing with her … and to see her now at Arsenal is crazy.”

Now at Syracuse, Coval says she finally feels at home in the U.S. and aims to push for a starting spot with the Orange in the coming years. Coval’s experience training with AIK and Kafaji makes her want to possibly return to the level of playing professional soccer in Europe at some point in the future once she completes her college career.

“Yeah, of course,” Coval said of returning to play at AIK or elsewhere professionally. “I think (my time at Syracuse) is a step in the right direction.”

Published on October 28, 2024 at 9:55 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu