Borce Atanasov was not on the pitch as much as everyone wanted in year one of the Vancouver Victory’s existence. He was battling some injuries that needed rest and healing. When he was able to play, he showed the kind of flash and flair that fans at Clark College have come to know him by. Against Bellingham United at the end of May 2014, he scored twice and assisted on a third goal as V2FC won, 5-1.
Bellingham head coach Lance Calloway said after the match: “…the bottom line was we could not solve the problem of Borce Atanasov, the Victory’s strong striker who just returned after being out for a month. Atanasov played a significant part in every single goal scored against us on Saturday, very dynamic. He hit two world-class goals while under heavy defensive pressure.”
We found more about Borce (“Bore-Chay”) in the Oregonian article below.
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Borce Atanasov and other Victory players were part of a Gatorade commercial shoot in 2014.
by Nick Daschel, from the Oregonian
December 21, 2012
When Borce Atanasov wrapped up his 2008 senior season at Aloha High School, he thought his days playing soccer against scholastic competition were finished.
Atanasov was OK with that. He wanted to push forward with the schooling that would someday lead to a career as a commercial airline pilot.
College soccer coaches contacted the Aloha forward. But Atanasov says, “The thought of wasting four years of my life on soccer didn’t seem too appealing.”
Four years later? Welcome to the 2012 Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges’ men’s soccer player of the year. (Update: Atanasov committed to Oregon State today.)
Atanasov still wants to become an airline pilot, and he is licensed to fly a two-seat Cessna 152. But in the interim, Atanasov had a change of heart about soccer, and thanks to a little prodding from Clark College men’s coach Biniam Afenegus, his playing career continues.
And how. Atanasov scored 26 goals this season to earn NWAACC season honors and he ended a two-year run at Clark as the school’s career scoring leader, with 42 goals. Atanasov is talking to several four-year schools and believes he’ll probably continue his college soccer career at Oregon State or Gonzaga.
“I didn’t think I’ d go this far,” Atanasov said.
Atanasov, who emigrated from Macedonia to Oregon at age 9, came out of high school soccer needing knee surgery. His knee healed, and Atanasov played soccer in Portland men’s leagues while taking classes at Portland Community College in pursuit of his aviation dream.
In about a year, Atanasov earned a pilot’s license, but other things developed. Atanasov was a late bloomer and finished growing physically, enhanced by daily workouts. In playing city league soccer, he found he could stand up and thrive against good players, competition he compared to Division I soccer.
Most of all, Atanasov was noticed. Afenegus saw him play and started a recruiting pitch.
“I definitely had to convince him,” Afenegus said. “He was content going to school and being a pilot. I told him this was a great opportunity to play in college, be part of a team and get your education.”
Atanasov decided he could put his career ambitions on hold for up to four years of college soccer.
“I had coaches come up to me in men’s league, saying “Why aren’t you playing Division II, or Division I?’ That made me think that maybe I should give it a shot,” Atanasov said.
Atanasov had a connection with Clark College, as his older brother, Alex, played for the Penguins in 2005 and 2006. So Atanasov enrolled at Clark during the fall of 2011 and immediately became a star. He scored 16 goals as a freshman and became an NWAACC first-team forward.
This fall, Atanasov couldn’t be stopped, as he scored 26 goals to earn the league’s MVP honor. Atanasov scored at least one goal in all but three of Clark’s 22 games, with a high of five goals against Southern Oregon.
“I thought it would be tough to top what he did as a freshman, because people would know about him, and double and triple-team him,” Afenegus said. “He just works so hard. He’s that rare type of player. Sometimes when players are that skillful, they don’t work that hard, but he brings it.”
Atanasov said the improvement during his sophomore was due in part to teammate Alcides Thomas, a freshman who scored 20 goals this season. Opposing defenses had to honestly play Atanasov because of Thomas’ presence.
As for the NWAACC’s top honor, Atanasov said, “It’s the biggest award I’ve won in my life. It shows if you work hard, you can achieve anything you want.”
Atanasov still wants to become a pilot, but is working toward a double major in business and marketing. He has a 3.6 grade-point average, which will come in handy when college coaches put together a scholarship package.
