After arriving at Cleveland State University a little over a year ago, European transfer Bojan Kolevski had an instant impact on the men’s soccer program. But what’s often overlooked is how much of an impact it has had on him.

Kolevski came over from Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. His hometown is 4,947 miles away from campus, and yet, now this feels like home. But it didn’t always feel that way. 

“The first year was difficult, honestly,” Kolevski said. “It took time to get used to it, a new environment, new people, a whole new system. It’s a little bit different in Macedonia.”

Back in Skopje, Kolevski was part of the North Macedonia national team and FC Vardar for four seasons. He helped his club earn the U-17 European championship in 2016-2017 and another in 2019-2020, before he decided to come play for Coach Sinisia Ubiparipovic at a small school called Cleveland State University on Oct. 14, 2020.

For Kolevski, the move was always in the back of his mind, even if he didn’t know where he was going. 

“Since I was little, I was always looking for an opportunity outside of my country,” Kolevski said. “When this came up, I was like, ‘OK, I’m taking it for sure.’ The coach helped me a lot. He sent me a couple of videos of the games. I was like, ‘OK, I guess I am going there.’”

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“Bojan has been tremendous for us,” head coach Sinisia Ubiparipovic said. “A very, very talented player who can solve the game at any point, and not just when it comes to finishing, but I think overall his performances were great.”

“In many aspects of the game he is doing well, holding the play, combination play, finishing runs, the whole nine yards,” Ubiparipovic said. “We are looking at a complete player and we are looking forward to developing him and improving his skills even more.”    

Cleveland State has a 9-8, 8-2 league record and a chance of claiming its first Horizon League regular season championship. After tallying four goals his freshman season, Kiolevski exploded for 12 goals and four assists this season. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound forward has been lethal on the attack as his Horizon League opponents have found out first hand. 

The transfer found some similarities between the Horizon League and NCAA and his North Macedonia national team’s opposition. 

“The quality, I can definitely compare with this league,” Kolevski said. “It’s been a lot of experience. We played teams like Italy, England and players who are playing in the top leagues. It’s always good to learn from national teams that are a level above us.”

Kolevski’s comfort with the NCAA game, and more importantly his teammates, has resulted in a strong showing in his sophomore campaign, capturing Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week twice. 

“It’s been better and better,” Kolevski said. “I have such good players behind me, Jannis (Schmidt), Pablo (Kawecki), Albert (Portas), everyone. Without them, this would be impossible, honestly. When you have a good team behind you, it's easy to finish and score goals.” 

What binds this team is its camaraderie.

“We are all living together, 7-8 guys in the same building and we are almost together everyday,” Kolevski said. “We are together outside of the field, so that chemistry is just getting better and better, and of course when the wins are here it’s just building up more and more.” 

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Guiding the team is Coach Ubiparipovic, who brings a deep pedigree to the program. He was the 2006 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year with Akron, and he played for the New York Red Bulls from 2007-2010. He led the Red Bulls to the 2008 MLS Cup Final.

Having spent time in the MLS, Ubiparipovic continues to push his charges to reach their maximum potential. 

“He is pushing for everything,” Kolevski said. “He is pushing for the defensive guys to build up from the back, to defend the goal. He is pushing us to score more goals and to finish almost every play in the practice.”

Ubiparipovic has seen strong improvement in almost every category from last year as the Vikings have gone from the hunted to the hunter. 

“I think a little bit of everything to be honest,” the coach said. “Certain moments in the game where we were able to manage games better and maybe finish plays off a little better, and defend plays better at times. I think overall there has been a level of progression in every part of the game.”

The Vikings might be sitting at the top of the totem pole for now, but the results are from months and months of tinkering with the mechanics of the team. 

“I think it has been a little bit of a process in putting the team together and trying to get the right fit when it comes to, not just soccer, but personality-wise, and we are fortunate to have a group that really cares about each other, and when they are out on the field they play for one another,” Ubiparipovic said. “They want to accomplish something together.”

Cleveland State’s hopes for a regular season title are now out of its hands as it needs a loss or tie from Oakland, who travels to take on Northern Kentucky in their regular season finale on Wednesday. 

As for feeling homesick, Kolevski says he isn’t thinking too much about North Macedonia, as his parents Boban and Lolita, and sister Maria, have also made the move. 

“My sister is here, my parents are here,” Kolevski said. “I missed it in the beginning for sure, but right now it’s good. I feel like home here.”