Former Cardinal Standouts Playing Professional Soccer Overseas
July 27, 2009 | Men's Soccer
July 27, 2009
Louisville, Ky. - Two former Cardinals, Aaron Clapham and John Jonke, have made their way abroad to pursue a career in professional soccer. Clapham has joined Dandenong Thunder which is based outside of Melbourne, Australia and Jonke has joined AC Oulu, a team in Oulu, Finland.
Clapham, a native of New Zealand, was a midfielder for the Cardinals. He scored eight goals over his two-year career with the Cardinals. He signed during the transfer window to a one year contract with an option for an additional year.
"I've been coming off the bench since I signed," Clapham said. "Obviously it's been hard to break into a team that's been going so well."
The Thunder lead the Victorian Premier League by eight points over South Melbourne with a record of 12 wins, five draws and one loss. The Victorian Premier League is a level below the A-League, the top league in Australia.
Closer to home, John Jonke signed with his brother's team in Finland. Jonke helped lead the Cardinals' defense to four shutouts during his senior year and 12 shutouts over his final two years at U of L.
"When we suffered our first loss it was apparent that we needed a strong central defender to ensure our team's promotion," Frank Jonke said. "It just so happened that Johnny was our perfect solution in my mind, he just needed to prove that to the coaches. Since Johnny had never played professionally before he would not have to wait for the transfer market to open up in August to play (meaning he could come in and play right away)."
During his first game, John Jonke scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute to give AC Oulu a five point lead in the standings. "It turned out to be a very special debut for him," Frank Jonke said.
