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name: Kevin Novak
position: D height: 5-8 weight:150 Birthdate: September 01, 1982 Hometown: Huntington Beach, CA last club: |
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| Regular Season Stats | full bio l year-by-year stats |
| year | team | gp | gs | min | g | a | sht | sog | fc | fs | c | ej |
| 2006 | Real Salt Lake | 26 | 25 | 2,029 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 16 | 3 | 0 |
| Career | 29 | 27 | 2,250 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 29 | 20 | 3 | 0 | |
Acquired
RSL: Via signing to the Developmental Roster on 03/28/05
Biography
How it all came to be…Kevin Novak's soccer career began with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) at the young age of five. He remembers his early childhood playing AYSO in sunny southern California as carefree and fun. He continued to play with his passion and excitement for the sport growing daily. When he was 10 years-old, Novak decided to take his career to the next level by joining Wolfpack Soccer Club. Novak spent the next eight years competing for the Wolfpack while still playing for his high school team.
During Novak's high school career, he made many great strides. Novak graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., in 2000. At Mater Dei, he was a three-year letterman and a two-time All-South Coast League first team selection. As a captain his senior year, Novak was named All-Sierra League, Sierra League Defensive Player of the Year, and the coveted title of CIF Player of the Year.
Novak left Mater Dei High School and entered the next level of his soccer career at the college ranks. He had offers from many universities, but decided to stay in California and play for Loyola Marymount University (LMU) on a four year scholarship. Novak finished his career at LMU ranked second in career goals scored with 23, third in career points with 54 and tied for 10th in career assists, adding eight.
During his senior year at LMU, Novak earned his first-ever NSCAA award for his stellar offensive performance and finished the year as the Lions' leading scorer with nine goals and 19 points despite sitting out the last six games with a season-ending knee injury. He also garnered All-West Coast Conference honorable mention accolades for his performance during the first half of the season.
Novak graduated from LMU in May 2004 and was unsure of what his future held in regards to his soccer career because of his knee injury he suffered his senior year at LMU. He missed the 2004 MLS Combine and the 2004 MLS SuperDraft due to his knee injury. Novak spent his time off waiting tables at California Pizza Kitchen and trained by himself for eight months hoping to get an opportunity to showcase his talents to an MLS team and prove that he belonged in the League.
Then Novak's big break came when RSL Head Coach John Ellinger, saw him play at the Real Salt Lake open tryouts in Provo, Utah in January 2005. He was invited to attend RSL's inaugural training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., on February 1, 2005. He continued his trial period with the team in Portugal and Redlands, Calif., eventually earning a spot on RSL's roster and signing a Developmental contract on March 28, 2005.
Coach Ellinger's call…
"Kevin Novak came to our open tryout in January, and I liked what I saw. He is a versatile player who can play the midfield or forward position. He is also quick and crafty with the ball, making him extremely hard to defend because he can get behind the defender and get crosses into the box. He's someone we look to advance pretty quickly."
MLS Experience
2005: Novak played in three games, two starts…Made his MLS debut in the 2-1 loss against the Columbus Crew on 09/24…Scored his first career MLS goal in his first career start in a 2-2 come from behind tie on 10/08 @ SJ...Played 87 minutes in the 0-1 loss on 10/12 vs. COL…Novak was invited as a trialist to Real Salt Lake's inaugural training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.…He continued his trial period with the team in Portugal and Redlands, Calif., eventually earning a spot on RSL's roster and signing a Developmental contract on 03/28.
College
2002: Earned his first-ever NSCAA award for his stellar offensive performance…Finished the year as the Lions' leading scorer with nine goals and 19 points despite sitting out the last six games with a knee injury…Novak garnered All-WCC honorable mention accolades for his performance in the first half of the season…Received LMU Fall Classic and Falcon Invitational all-tournament awards, WCC Player of the Week and Player of the Month honors, as well as being named to the College Soccer News and Soccer America National Teams of the Week…Leaves LMU ranked second in career goals scored (23), third in career points (54) and tied for 10th in career assists (eight).2001: Appeared in 15 games and made 11 starts…Named All-WCC honorable mention…Finished third on the squad with seven points…Scored the game-winning goals against UC Irvine (Sept. 21) and Saint Mary's (Nov. 4)…Also had a goal in Round 1 of the College Cup against UCLA (Nov. 23)…Collected an assist on the game winning goal against UCLA in the regular season(Sept. 30).
2000: Played in 10 games and earned a start against Cal State Northridge(Oct. 29)…Finished the season with four points…Had two goals, both coming in the 3-2 win against Portland, including the game winner (Oct. 22)…Had six shots, all of which were on goal.
Personal
Son of Tim and Sarah Novak...Has three brothers, Tim, Eric and Brian, and one sister, Erin...Nickname: Kevin…Hobbies: Playing with his dog, Joey, reading, playing cards…Major in College: Finance and Marketing…Most Memorable moments: Scoring the game tying and game winning goals against Creighton, who was ranked fifth in the nation, senior year…Favorite Music: Lagwagon…Favorite Movie: Rudy…Favorite Food: Pizza…Favorite Book: The Client by John Grisham…Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld…Favorite athlete outside of soccer: Trot Nixon of the Boston Red Sox…Greatest Accomplishments: Signing with REAL for his first MLS season…Charities/Causes: Special Olympics.
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