Athlete of the Week – Tim Antonov

This Q + A with AD Lyslo highlights varsity athlete and PC senior Tim Antonov.

As the varsity soccer season closes, AD Lyslo caught up with senior captain Tim Antonov to talk about his final high school season, the adjustments he made this year, and the legacy he hopes his class leaves behind for Portland Christian soccer.

Tim, first off, congrats on being named Jersey Mike’s Athlete of the Week. You guys finished off the season with a great win last Saturday at George Fox. How important was it for you, as a senior, to go out with a win like that? 

We came up short as a team against Grandview for the first-place game, so we knew we had to put this game away because it was our last game of our high school careers.

It was also the last game for a lot of guys on our team ever, so we had to make sure we finish[ed] on a win.

You had a new role this year as a center back, and your back line was as good as any in the league this year. What kind of adjustment was that for you, and although it wasn’t the popular move for you, did you see it benefiting you and the team in the long run?

Although I may not have scored as many goals as last year, I think it was the right move at the end of the day because we needed another center back to hold down the back line and I think if I wasn’t back there then our season would’ve looked a lot different, especially in playoffs and the Grandview games when a lot of teams played really direct and consistently played long balls over the top.

Losing that semi-final game to Grandview and, really, the Central Christian game, sent you guys into the fourth seed for the postseason. But you and your team bounced back in a strong way. How encouraging was that to see after a disappointing week at the end of the regular season? 

We lost two games we should’ve won, but we kept a positive mindset and never looked back. We made it a priority to work hard in practice, and we changed our mentality going into playoffs, and that really helped.

Winning first team all-league this year must feel good. What kind of goals did you have going into your final soccer season, and did you accomplish those goals? 

One goal I had was definitely getting first team all-league, and I wanted a double-digit scoring season on top of that, but I stepped into a new role this season so I couldn’t accomplish that, but first team all-league was definitely up there.

Your senior class has played a lot of games together and grown into a group that has left PC soccer in a good spot. Is it surreal to think these four years have gone by really fast? 

Yes. I still remember my freshman year like it was yesterday – winning league, going undefeated in the regular season, and playing with my brother, too. These last four years truly did fly by, and we made a lot of memories I’ll remember forever. It was fun while it lasted, so although it’s over, we had a good run.

Every senior class wants to leave its legacy at PC. Do you guys feel like you’ve left the program in good hands moving forward with all the young players coming back next year? 

Yes, especially stepping into a new captain role. It was my priority to leave a mark on the younger generation and both push them on the field and off of it as well.