BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Olivet Nazarene University men's soccer head coach Kenny Huber announces on Tuesday afternoon, the signing of Austrian native Konstantin Papanikolaou. Papanikolaou will start his ONU career in the incoming fall.

Below is more information on Konstantin Papanikolaou:

• Hometown: Vienna, Austria
• Age: 19
• Height: 5′ 9"
• Weight: 163 LBS
• Position: Offensive Midfielder
• Date of birth: 09-14-2001
• Immediate family: Alexander (Father), Katharina (Mother), and Lena (Sister)

ATHLETIC HISTORY

• Konstantin started playing soccer at age 5 at his local club Team Wiener Linien (TWL).
• Konstantin competed in the 1st National Youth Division with his team.
• In the U11-U14 he played against professional youth academy teams like Austria Wien, Rapid Wien and RedBull Salzburg.
• As a striker he was a two-time high-scorer of his team and three-time best scorer in the league and was announced most valuable player in the U12.
• In the U15- U18 age category he and his team managed to win the championship(U16) and three-times in a row among the top three teams.
• He and his team competed in several international tournaments with wins against famous soccer clubs like Bayern München, Wolfsburg, Tottenham and Roma.
• Konstantin was always a starter but has been transformed to an offensive midfielder.
• At the age of 16, he played his first match in the senior-player team of TWL in Austria´s 4th Division.
• At this age he also got the offer to become a member of an academic youth team but decided to focus not only on sport but also on his school-career.
• After a high-school year New York, he joined the U19 team of SV SCHWECHAT and played against the Youth National Team of Kuwait and scored twice.
• In his first full season as a senior, he obtained a starting position in the LAC first senior team in the 5th Division as an offensive and defensive midfielder and played also in the Austrian Soccer Cup. He scored several times and his personal highlight was when he scored two times and became match-winner against SV SCHWECHAT, his former team and one Division higher, in the soccer-cup in the 5th round.
• In the 2019/2020 season, he was scouted by the SV POST senior team a semi-professional team in the 4th Division and Austria´s highest amateur league and played as a defensive midfielder.

PERSONAL/ACADEMIC INFORMATION

• Konstantin is a physically strong right footed midfielder, with excellent technique, timing and pace.
• He shows good tactical awareness and decision making, also coaching team mates.
• He possesses an excellent long pass / cross pass, allowing him to reach teammates in the attacking line.
• Konstantin has excellent technical-skills with the ball, knows how to execute a precise short-pass-game and how to open a game.
• Finally, because of his pace Konstantin understands to start attacking the free room to be reachable for passes.
• Family and friends describe Konstantin as a cheerful person who sets his goals very precisely in order to achieve them.
• He has very high social skills and his family and friends are very important to him.
• In a match he is a player who never gives up and wants to win every game.
• Konstantin will join ONU and study International Management.
• Konstantin comes from a very sportive family.
• His sister is a professional Cheerleader and winner of eight national championship titles with her team, she is European champion and part of the Austrian national team for the World-Championships.
• His brother-in-law has been recently signed as a tight end for the Arizona Cardinals through the NFL International Player Pathway program.

ATHLETIC BACKGROUND & STATISTICS

• Season 2017-2018
  • SV SCHWECHAT U19
  • 1^st Division Youth League
  • Highlights: Starting player, Scorer against Youth National Team of Kuwait
• Season 2018-2019
  • Landstraßer Athletik Club (LAC)
  • 5^th Division Austria National
  • Highlights: Starting player, Man of the match and scorer Austrian-National-Cup 5^th round
• Season 2020-2021 (current)
  • POST SV
  • 4^th Division National (semi-professional league, highest amateur league)
  • Highlights: Starting player

--ONU—

*Contact: Sam Viebrock, Sports Information Director, stviebrock@olivet.edu