club roster 2009 season stats GP Goals Assists 15 0 2 name: Dema Kovalenko position: M height: 5-8 weight:160 Birthdate: August 28, 1977 Hometown: Rochester, NY last club: Real Salt Lake (MLS)

Regular Season Stats

full bio l year-by-year stats l video highlights

year	club	gp	gs	min	g	a	sht	sog	fc	fs	c	ej
2009	Los Angeles	15	15	1,237	0	2	11	2	19	11	2	1
Career		235	212	19,049	37	40	323	145	376	386	55	6

Most Recent Video Highlights

date	clubs	video description
11/08/08	Real Salt Lake @ Chivas USA	Dema Kovalenko goal
05/31/08	Quakes @ Real Salt Lake	San Jose Earthquakes @ Real Salt Lake: Dema Kovalenko Goal 05/31/08
09/15/07	Red Bulls @ Fire	Kovalenko and Van den Bergh Pre-Game Interviews

Acquired by Los Angeles

From Real Salt Lake in exchange for allocation money and a conditional pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft on January 20, 2009.

MLS Highlights

2008: Acquired by Real Salt Lake in February, Kovalenko appeared in 22 games during his only season in Utah, making 19 starts and tallying a goal and two assists. He made his debut for the club as a second half substitute against Chicago on 3/29 and earned his first start in RSL's next game at Chivas USA on 4/5. He scored his only goal of the year in a 3-1 win over San Jose on 5/31 and collected both of his assists in a 4-0 home win over D.C. United on 4/12. Kovalenko helped lead Real to the postseason for the first time in club history and scored a goal as RSL eliminated Chivas USA in the Western Conference Semifinals before they were eliminated by New York in the Conference Final.

2007: In his first full season with the Red Bulls, Kovalenko had two goals and an assist in 19 games. He missed time due to a strained groin and facial injuries suffered in an automobile accident, but managed to score goals at D.C. United (6/10) and Kansas City (6/2), while tallying an assist against Real Salt Lake on 5/5.

2006: One of Bruce Arena's first signings with the New York Red Bulls, Kovalenko made his debut for the club in a friendly against Barcelona. He tallied his only assist on the season on 9/23 when he set up Amado Guevara for a goal in a 4-3 loss to D.C.

2005: In his final season at D.C. United, Kovalenko appeared in 26 games, making 23 starts for the club, tallying four goals and four assists. He scored a goal in three straight games between 8/6-8/13, with United winning all three games. He had two assists in United's 4-3 win over Chicago and also added assists against Colorado and Chivas USA, giving his team a 5-0-1 record in games that he had a goal or an assist.

2004: Kovalenko won his first MLS Cup championship, helping D.C. United defeat Kansas City 3-2. Named to the MLS All-Star Team, he had two goals to go along with a career-best 10 assists, tallying in consecutive 1-1 draws in May. He recorded his only multi-assist game of the year on 7/3, setting up two of United's six goals in a 6-2 win over the MetroStars. He became the first player ever to be sent off in the MLS Cup when he was shown a red card in the win over the Wizards for an intentional handball.

2003: Appeared in and started 26 games during his first season with D.C., scoring six goals for his new club. Four of his six goals came during a five-game stretch in July and August, with United going 4-1-0 in those five games.

2002: Appeared in 23 games during his final season with the Fire, starting all 23 and tallying a goal and eight assists to earn a spot on the MLS All-Star Team. He scored his only goal in a 5-1 win over Kansas City on 8/14.

2001: He was named to the MLS All-Star Team for the first time in his career, scoring eight goals and adding seven assists in 25 games with Chicago. He was the Fire's second leading scorer and scored in three consecutive games in June, helping the Fire to a 2-0-1 record in those contests. He added a goal and an assist in the postseason, appearing in all six of the Fire's games before they were eliminated by the Galaxy.

2000: Played in a career-best 31 games, making 28 starts for the Fire while tallying a personal-best 10 goals to go along with five assists. He had a pair of multi-goal games, scoring twice against Columbus on 7/8 and then again against Colorado on 9/3, helping the Fire to win each match. His 10 goals were the second most on the club while his three postseason goals were third on the club. He added two assists in seven postseason games as the Fire reach the MLS Cup for the second time in three years, only to fall 1-0 to Kansas City, in a game that Kovalenko played the full 90 minutes in.

1999: As a rookie with the Chicago Fire, Kovalenko appeared in 11 games, making one start. He made his MLS debut on 4/3 at Miami and then earned his first start on 9/26 at San Jose. In between, Kovalenko scored three goals, tallying his first goal in a 5-0 win over Colorado on 8/8 and adding tallies against Dallas and the MetroStars.

Career Highlights

2005-06: Kovalenko returned to his native Ukraine, saw limited action with Metalurh Zaporizhya in the latter half of the team's 2005- 06 campaign before returning to MLS in August 2006. 2001-02: Spent part of the MLS offseason on loan with St. Pauli in the German Bundesliga, appearing in five games before returning to the Fire in advance of the 2002 season.

College Highlights

Played three years at Indiana, appearing in 57 games while tallying 45 goals and 15 assists. He was an All-American in 1997 and 1998 and was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy each season while helping the Hoosiers win the NCAA Championship in 1998. In 1996, he was named the Big 10 Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Conference Team as he scored 10 goals and added two assists in just eight games before suffering a season ending injury.

Personal

Kovalenko immigrated to the United States from his native Ukraine in 1992, settling in Rochester, N.Y. before attending Indiana University. Growing up in Kiev, Kovalenko played for Dynamo Kiev, who are the top club in the Ukraine. While at Indiana, he was one of three Ukrainians, along with Aleksey Korol and Yuri Lavrinenko who helped lead the Hoosiers to the 1998 NCAA Championship.