Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus San Diego State on September 25, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 2
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vs San Diego State
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Marina Nesic plays against Iceland with Serbian national team in 2007.
Nesic Departing for Serbia to Train with National Team
5/10/2011 9:59:05 AM | Women's Soccer
Marina Nesic is one of the best student-athletes on the Grand Canyon University campus.
She certainly is the most accomplished internationally.
Nesic, the 5-foot-3 junior-to-be midfielder for the GCU women’s soccer team, was named First-Team All-Pacific West Conference and PacWest Player of the Year in 2010 after playing in just eight games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In one of those games, she scored a national single-game high and PacWest record five goals, and was named PacWest Player of the Week for her efforts. She tied for the conference lead in both goals and points, and tied for fourth in the conference in game-winning goals and fifth in conference in assists.
She was named to the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Performance Subaru Women's NCAA Division II All-West Region First Team and the 2010 Daktronics NCAA Division II Women’s West Region Second Team.
Perhaps more impressively, Nesic has played for the “A” national team in her native Serbia since Oct. 29, 2005. She has played in 20 international games against teams such as Italy, France, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, as well as three qualification rounds for the European Championship and one qualification round for the World Cup. She is a starting midfielder/wing and, at 22, the youngest player on the team.
She will return to Serbia this month to train and play friendly matches against Romania (May 19) and Greece (June 16) with the team. Serbia is attempting to qualify for the final tournament of the European Championship in 2013. It is in Group 6, which includes the favorites, England and the Netherlands, as well as Croatia and Slovenia. Its schedule includes games against England (Sept. 17), the Netherlands (Sept. 21), Slovenia (Oct. 22), Croatia (Nov. 19), England (Nov. 23), Croatia (June 16, 2012), the Netherlands (June 20, 2012) and Slovenia (Sept. 19, 2012).
“She deserves to succeed because she is dedicated and talented,” said Dusan Gelic, the women’s teams secretary for the Football Association of Serbia. “She had bad luck due to injuries four years ago…But I’m sure she will make an excellent career soon."
From October 2004-February 2007, Nesic played for the U19 Serbian women’s national team. She played in 45 international games, including those in the qualification rounds in Portugal in 2004, Austria in 2005 and Norway in 2006. In Portugal, Serbia defeated the host country and Ireland and tied Finland, and made it through as the second team in its group. Nesic scored two goals in those three games.
“Marina is a hard-working player with an excellent soccer background and outstanding playing skills,” said Elvar Grettarssone, one of Nesic’s former coaches. “She is very quick on her feet and it doesn’t matter if it is her left foot or right -- she can shoot with both. In my opinion, Marina is one of the best players who ever played in our league. It is great to watch her challenge and confront one on one.
“Marina is a hard team worker and a good friend to her teammates. Every team can be proud to have her on their squad. I am.”
From September 2003-August 2007, she played for ZFK Sloga Women’s Football Club in Belgrade. She was a starting midfielder and scored 30 goals in 60 games played. She was team captain from 2006-07 and Most Valuable Player in 2006.
From August 1998, when she was just 10 years old, to September 2003, Nesic played for FK Radnicki Men’s Football Club in Koceljeva, Serbia. She was the only girl on the team and in the region, and was team captain from 2001-03. She played in 60 games, including 20 in which she was named Player of the Game. She attributes her skill to the experience of playing with FK Radnicki.
A business administration major and Dean’s List student, Nesic expects to graduate from GCU in 2012. She graduated from her high school, Nada Dimic Zemun in Belgrade, in 2007 with an accounting degree and a 4.95 grade-point average on a 5.0 scale. The native of Koceljeva, Serbia has been GCU’s intercultural director since August 2009 and currently serves on Student Leadership.
She certainly is the most accomplished internationally.
Nesic, the 5-foot-3 junior-to-be midfielder for the GCU women’s soccer team, was named First-Team All-Pacific West Conference and PacWest Player of the Year in 2010 after playing in just eight games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In one of those games, she scored a national single-game high and PacWest record five goals, and was named PacWest Player of the Week for her efforts. She tied for the conference lead in both goals and points, and tied for fourth in the conference in game-winning goals and fifth in conference in assists.
She was named to the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Performance Subaru Women's NCAA Division II All-West Region First Team and the 2010 Daktronics NCAA Division II Women’s West Region Second Team.
Perhaps more impressively, Nesic has played for the “A” national team in her native Serbia since Oct. 29, 2005. She has played in 20 international games against teams such as Italy, France, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, as well as three qualification rounds for the European Championship and one qualification round for the World Cup. She is a starting midfielder/wing and, at 22, the youngest player on the team.
She will return to Serbia this month to train and play friendly matches against Romania (May 19) and Greece (June 16) with the team. Serbia is attempting to qualify for the final tournament of the European Championship in 2013. It is in Group 6, which includes the favorites, England and the Netherlands, as well as Croatia and Slovenia. Its schedule includes games against England (Sept. 17), the Netherlands (Sept. 21), Slovenia (Oct. 22), Croatia (Nov. 19), England (Nov. 23), Croatia (June 16, 2012), the Netherlands (June 20, 2012) and Slovenia (Sept. 19, 2012).
“She deserves to succeed because she is dedicated and talented,” said Dusan Gelic, the women’s teams secretary for the Football Association of Serbia. “She had bad luck due to injuries four years ago…But I’m sure she will make an excellent career soon."
From October 2004-February 2007, Nesic played for the U19 Serbian women’s national team. She played in 45 international games, including those in the qualification rounds in Portugal in 2004, Austria in 2005 and Norway in 2006. In Portugal, Serbia defeated the host country and Ireland and tied Finland, and made it through as the second team in its group. Nesic scored two goals in those three games.
“Marina is a hard-working player with an excellent soccer background and outstanding playing skills,” said Elvar Grettarssone, one of Nesic’s former coaches. “She is very quick on her feet and it doesn’t matter if it is her left foot or right -- she can shoot with both. In my opinion, Marina is one of the best players who ever played in our league. It is great to watch her challenge and confront one on one.
“Marina is a hard team worker and a good friend to her teammates. Every team can be proud to have her on their squad. I am.”
From September 2003-August 2007, she played for ZFK Sloga Women’s Football Club in Belgrade. She was a starting midfielder and scored 30 goals in 60 games played. She was team captain from 2006-07 and Most Valuable Player in 2006.
From August 1998, when she was just 10 years old, to September 2003, Nesic played for FK Radnicki Men’s Football Club in Koceljeva, Serbia. She was the only girl on the team and in the region, and was team captain from 2001-03. She played in 60 games, including 20 in which she was named Player of the Game. She attributes her skill to the experience of playing with FK Radnicki.
A business administration major and Dean’s List student, Nesic expects to graduate from GCU in 2012. She graduated from her high school, Nada Dimic Zemun in Belgrade, in 2007 with an accounting degree and a 4.95 grade-point average on a 5.0 scale. The native of Koceljeva, Serbia has been GCU’s intercultural director since August 2009 and currently serves on Student Leadership.
GCU Head Coach Stevie Gill already is counting the days until Nesic returns to campus in August. Last season, the Antelopes finished with a record of 11-5-1 overall, 9-4-1 in the Pacific West Conference, and were ranked No. 9 in the West Region in both the final regular-season NCAA Division II poll and the final regular-season National Soccer Coaches Association of America vote. They finished in second place in the PacWest.
The 11 wins are the second most in the 15-year history of the women's soccer program, and the team's .688 winning percentage is a school record.
“Dobra, which is what I nicknamed her, is an excellent player that can turn around a game by herself,” he said. “With a great work ethic like Marina’s, she will excel in anything that she chooses to do in life. She has all the tools needed to become a great international player and was instrumental in our success last year even though she only played eight games due to an unfortunate injury.
“I’m looking for big things from Marina in her junior year and I’m sure that she will not disappoint.”
The 11 wins are the second most in the 15-year history of the women's soccer program, and the team's .688 winning percentage is a school record.
“Dobra, which is what I nicknamed her, is an excellent player that can turn around a game by herself,” he said. “With a great work ethic like Marina’s, she will excel in anything that she chooses to do in life. She has all the tools needed to become a great international player and was instrumental in our success last year even though she only played eight games due to an unfortunate injury.
“I’m looking for big things from Marina in her junior year and I’m sure that she will not disappoint.”
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