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)

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

MLS Experience

2004: Though he only tallied two goals on the season, Dema Kovalenko proved to be a vital part of United's offense, quietly tallying 10 assists, tied for second most in the League, behind teammate Jaime Moreno. Four of his helpers were on game-winning goals, including the decider in United's second road win of the year against the MetroStars (10/2). Kovalenko was invited to play in a mid-season tribute match to former D.C. United star Hristo Stoitchkov in Barcelona, Spain and was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star squad, one of six members of the Black-and-Red to earn the honor.

2003: Kovalenko ignited the Black-and-Red, scoring six goals (tied with Marco Etcheverry for the team lead) in 26 games. Three of his tallies were game-winners including back-to-back spectacular strikes in stoppage time against the New England Revolution on 7/27 and 8/9. Kovalenko finished the season with the second highest shooting percentage in MLS, scoring his six goals on just 26 shots for a 23.1% strike rate.

2002: Kovalenko finished his fourth season with the Chicago Fire starting 23 games. Primarily playing up front, he scored one goal and tallied eight assists. He earned his eighth assist of the season (9/22) against the Columbus Crew on Peter Nowak's 72nd minute tally, helping the Fire clinch a playoff spot with a 2-1 win. The Ukrainian native scored his only goal of the season (8/14) against the Kansas City Wizards in a 5-1 win. Kovalenko started in the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game (8/3) at RFK Stadium in the MLS team's win over the U.S. Men's National Team, 3-2. He assisted with Josh Wolff on Beasley's 'Golden Goal' (7/13) against the MetroStars in the Fire's 3-2 OT win. In tournament play, Kovalenko scored twice, including a brilliant 25-yard volley, bringing his tournament total to three (7/10) versus Morelia in the Fire's 2-1 win in the second leg of the FC Champions Cup Quarterfinals. Kovalenko spent the early part of the season on loan to St. Pauli of the German Bundesliga.

2001: Kovalenko finished the season as Chicago's second-leading goal scorer (8) for the second year in a row. He also registered a team high four game-winning goals and seven assists. He scored a goal in his first MLS All-Star game appearance (7/28) at San Jose. Kovalenko notched a game-winning goal in the Fire's first-ever win at RFK Stadium (6/2). He had an offensive explosion at the beginning of the season, totaling three goals and five assists in the Fire's first four home games against United, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Kansas City Wizards, and San Jose Earthquakes and was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week during weeks five and seven. Kovalenko played all six MLS playoff games, logging 571 minutes, scoring one goal and tallying one assist. He scored his fifth career playoff goal in the 17th minute versus the Dallas Burn (9/29), helping the Fire to a 2-0 series-clinching win in Game 3 of the MLS Cup Playoffs Quarterfinals.

2000: Kovalenko was the Fire's second-leading scorer with 10 goals and 5 assists in 31 appearances (28 starts). He was named to Soccer America's Team of the Week three times (weeks ending 5/14, 7/9, 9/3). He notched two game-winning goals and one game-winning assist during the season. In the MLS Cup at RFK Stadium, Kovalenko played 90 minutes (10/15) versus Kansas City. He registered his third post-season goal and second consecutive assist of the playoffs in Chicago's 3-0 win over the MetroStars (9/26). He collected his first playoff assist in Chicago's 6-0 series-clinching win over New England (9/22). Kovalenko tallied his second straight playoff goal in the Fire's 2-1 loss at New England (9/19) after scoring the game-winning goal against the Revolution (9/15), giving Chicago a 2-1 victory in Game 1. 1999: Kovalenko appeared in a total of 11 matches (one start) with the Fire, scoring three goals. He made his Chicago Fire debut (4/3) against the Miami Fusion in a 4-1 win and scored his first MLS goal against the Colorado Rapids (8/8), a 5-0 Fire victory. Kovalenko played in two of Chicago's three playoff contests versus the Dallas Burn in the Western Conference Semifinals, registering his first post-season goal (10/23) in the Fire's 4-0 victory over the Burn after entering the match at halftime.

College

1998: Kovalenko helped Indiana to its fourth NCAA National Championship.

Honors