Nikola Paunic

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Nikola Paunic
Nikola Paunic (photo by Djuradj Vujcic) - WC.jpg
Paunic captaining TFC Academy in 2012
Personal information
Full name Nikola Paunić
Date of birth (1993-10-13) October 13, 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Podgorica, FR Yugoslavia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2003–2009 Serbian White Eagles
2012 Toronto FC
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2011–2012 Toronto Varsity Blues 22 (1)
2013–2014 South Florida Bulls 40 (1)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2009–2011 Serbian White Eagles 4 (0)
2014 K-W United 8 (0)
2015 Orange County Blues 4 (0)
International career
2012 Canada U20 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nikola Paunic (born October 13, 1993) is a Canadian former soccer player.

Contents

University career

Paunic played two years of college soccer at the University of Toronto. [1]

In 2013, he transferred to the University of South Florida. [2] [3] In his debut season with the Bulls, he was named twice as the American Conference's defensive player of the week. [4] He also helped South Florida win the American Conference title by defeating the University of Connecticut in a penalty shootout. [5]

In his second season, he was named the conference's defensive player of the week in October. [6] Once the season concluded, he was named to the conference all-tournament team. [7]

Club career

Early career

Paunic played his youth career with the Serbian White Eagles and would play with both the team's senior and reserve teams in the Canadian Soccer League. [8] In 2011, while playing with Serbia's reserve team in the league's second division, he was nominated for the defender of the year award. [9] In 2012, he joined TFC Academy's senior team in the league's first division, where he was named team captain. [2] Paunic helped the academy side secure a playoff berth. [10] Once the season concluded, he was nominated for both the defender and rookie of the year award. [11]

Paunic was selected to represent Toronto FC in the 2013 Dallas Cup. [12] He played in the tournament, where he appeared in a match against Tigres UANL. [13] He also played with Toronto FC's reserve team in the MLS Reserve League. [14] [15]

Paunic also appeared for USL PDL side K-W United FC in 2014. [16] [17] In his debut season in the PDL circuit, he helped the team secure a postseason berth by finishing second in their division. [18] Their playoff journey ended in the first round after a defeat by Des Moines Menace in a penalty shootout. [19]

Orange County

On January 20, 2015, Paunic was selected 74th overall in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by Vancouver Whitecaps FC. [20] [21] After he wasn't signed by Vancouver, he joined United Soccer League side Orange County Blues on June 2, 2015. [22] [23] The club would secure a playoff berth by clinching its conference title. [24]

International career

In 2012, Paunic was called to a camp for the Canada men's national under-20 soccer team in Florida. [25] Several months later, he was selected to represent the Canada U20 team in the Marbella Cup. [26] [27]

Managerial career

Paunic became a coach for the Stella Rossa Football Club Academy in the Ontario Academy Soccer League. [28]

Personal life

Following his retirement from competitive soccer, he transitioned into the culinary realm by operating a family-run restaurant that serves Serbian cuisine. [29]

Honors

Orange County Blues

South Florida Bulls

References

  1. "Nikola Paunic - Men's Soccer - University of Toronto Athletics". www.varsityblues.ca. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 Vujcic, Djuradj (2 September 2013). "Paunic joins NCAA's University of South Florida Bulls". RedNation Online. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  3. "Nikola Paunic - Men's Soccer - USF Athletics". gousfbulls.com. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  4. Johnston, Joey (12 September 2013). "Future schedules take shape". The Tampa Tribune .
  5. 1 2 "Huskies Fall 6-5 in Penalty Kicks". Hartford Courant . 18 November 2013. pp. C3.
  6. "Miami announces a 10-person hall class". Port Charlotte Sun. 7 October 2014.
  7. "USF men fall in AAC final to Tulsa". The Tampa Tribune . 17 November 2014. p. 11.
  8. Adamson, Stan (6 December 2018). "Where Are They Now…….CSL players moving up". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  9. "Sports briefs - Turnbull nominated". Brantford Expositor . 10 November 2011. pp. B1.
  10. "Toronto Croatia kicks off CSL title defence Oct. 14 at Centennial Stadium". Etobicoke Guardian . 11 October 2012.
  11. Rowaan, David (21 February 2019). "Toronto FC Academy well represented in CSL award nominations". Waking The Red. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  12. Rowaan, David. "Toronto FC Prepares for Dallas Cup". Waking The Red. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  13. Rowaan, David. "Toronto FC hold their own at Dallas Cup". Waking The Red. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  14. Bankes, Dave (23 June 2012). "Reserves Leave It Late In Draw | Toronto FC". torontofc. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  15. "Nikola Paunic | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  16. http://www.uslpdl.com/home/808431.html [ dead link ]
  17. "2014 Stats | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  18. Bryson, Mark (23 July 2014). "KW United FC hits the road looking to tame a Menace: We're deep enough as a squad that we have the opportunity to be successful in Des Moines.United head coach Stuart Neely". Waterloo Region Record . pp. C10.
  19. Brown, Josh (30 July 2014). "United FC shooting a little bit higher". Waterloo Region Record . pp. E3.
  20. "Vancouver Whitecaps FC select five players in final two rounds of 2015 MLS SuperDraft | Vancouver Whitecaps FC". Archived from the original on 2015-01-21.
  21. Kingston, Gary (21 January 2015). "Whitecaps nab SFU senior in SuperDraft". The Vancouver Sun . pp. C13.
  22. http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210125658 [ dead link ]
  23. "Blues Sign Paunic, Add Depth To Defense". USL Championship. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  24. 1 2 Brannick, Chris (4 October 2015). "Konig leads Energy into playoffs". The Daily Oklahoman . pp. B13.
  25. Rowaan, David. "Canada's Mens U20 hold camp in Florida". Waking The Red. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  26. Weber, Marc (10 October 2012). "Canada's U20 men beat U.S. at Marbella Cup". The Province .
  27. Fletcher, Duncan. "Canada releases Under 20 squad for Marbella Cup". Waking The Red. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  28. "FC Stella Rossa - Our Coaches". www.stellarossafc.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  29. Doss, Suresh (17 January 2019). "You can find the 'Serbian grill queen' of Toronto at Bonimi". CBC News . Retrieved 13 August 2025.