Winnipeg Footballer-Turned-War Hero Signs With Electric City

A League1 Ontario champion is headed to Peterborough for 2023, providing a new level of reassurance to Electric City FC’s backline.

ECFC announced the signing of Winnipeg-raised Svyatik Artemenko last night, who is trading in his Guelph United kit for the the black and yellow of Peterborough’s finest for the upcoming campaign.

Artemenko, 23, was a stand-out over his past two seasons with League1 Ontario. Being one of Guelph United’s first signings back in 2021, he was the club’s starting goalkeeper through their inaugural season in which he won not only the Premier division, but was also named GUFC’s U-23 Player of the Year and League1 Ontario’s West Golden Glove.

In early 2022, Artemenko travelled to his native Ukraine to sign with FC Podillya in Ukraine’s second division after a short training stint with Chornomorets FC. Unfortunately, his hopes of pro play were cut short not 24 hours after he signed his contract due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shortly thereafter, Artemenko would enlist and serve with the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine where he replaced his keeper gloves for a rifle during a four-month deployment. He wrote his about experiences in a memoir piece for Maclean’s Magazine.

He would eventually reclaim his place on Guelph United FC’s roster upon his return to Canada, making his 2022 season debut during the Royal City’s Canadian Championship match up against the Halifax Wanderers that May.

Following the conclusion of the L1O season, he would once again suit up with a CPL side, having been one of Valour FC’s first-ever emergency goalkeepers in the league’s launch year. This time he landed with York United on a short-term contract after Niko Giantsopoulos left the season prematurely due to injury.

Artemenko joins the fledgling expansion side for their second season and is looking to fill the boots of Guyana national and former TFC keeper, Quillan Roberts, who signed earlier this month with Ole Academy in New Zealand.

ECFC now looks to improve on their 2022 season record of 8W-6D-7L. Despite having outdone long-standing L1O opponents like FC London and Master’s FA, the club did not fare as well as their inaugural season cousins in the Simcoe County Rovers.

However, with some of their recent signings like former WFC2 forward Filip Rakic and Mount Royal Cougars all-star Ethan Keen, the lightning bolts may be brewing a championship-worthy team for their fans this year.

The 2023 League1 Ontario season is set to kick off on April 12th alongside its three counterpart leagues in League1 BC, the newly announced League1 Alberta Exhibition series, and Premiere Ligue de Soccer du Quebec (PLSQ). Electric City FC will begin their campaign at home against Milton’s Scrosoppi FC on April 15th.

Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques