Loupis enjoying his ‘football’ studies at Sydney University
Sydney University have had a remarkable second half of the season in the 2018 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition, to the point that they have gone from the cellar, so to speak, to the brink of finals football.
After a miserable start to the campaign, where the ‘students’ lost 7 of the opening 9 games, Sydney Uni have well and truly turned things around, winning 10 and drawing 5 of their next 16 matches, and are now seventh on the ladder, just 2 points behind sixth placed Dunbar Rovers, going in to the final round this Sunday.
There have been many reasons for their resurgence, and one of those has been the astute mid-season signing of attacking midfielder, Michael Loupis.
The Ray White Real Estate agent commenced the 2018 campaign on the books of the Premiers, St George City FA, and has nothing but compliments for his former club.
“Congratulations to St George City FA for winning the Premiership. I started the season with them, and had a strong pre-season, and the way they go about their business, you just knew they were going to be successful,” reflected Loupis.
“I was fortunate that Sydney University offered me an opportunity mid-year, and the coaches, Alex Epakis and Tommy Hyde, have been great in their support of me and the team. They have great tactical awareness, the training sessions are structured, and we approach each game one at a time, knowing if we all do our jobs then we will get the result.”
Loupis has been a real attacking threat for Sydney Uni on all fronts.
He has an eye for goal whenever he has possession in the attacking third, and is effective with his set pieces, offering many assists throughout the season from corners and free kicks alike.
Loupis added, “I’ve really enjoyed being part of this team, especially my combination in attack with Scott (Tonkin) and Jovan (Blagojevic). Scott is an experienced target man, and Jovan is quick and has good shot, and together we have a strong understanding of each other’s games.”
Very few teams have three strikers they can count on, but Sydney University have enjoyed the fruits of this trio, who have managed to net 35 goals between them, with a great goal-per-game ratio. Tonkin leads the way on 18 goals (22 matches), followed by Loupis on 10 (14) and Blagojevic on 7(10).
“Ever since I was young, I’ve always had a strong desire to get on the scoresheet, I have an attacking mindset and love scoring goals,” stated Loupis.
In the long term, 20-year-old Loupis wants to be the best player he can be and play at the highest level possible, hoping to win a Premiership along the way.
But in the interim, Loupis is well and truly focussed on this week’s final round clash away at SD Raiders.
“We know that we’ve had a great second half of the season, and we are focussed on doing our best on Saturday to get all three points. Then we need to rely on results elsewhere to go our way, but we can’t control that, so our mind is on the game ahead against SD Raiders as we try to hang on to the hope of playing finals football.”
So SD Raiders, you have been warned – Michael Loupis and his Sydney Uni team mates will be on the prowl on Sunday afternoon at Marconi Stadium as they attempt to keep their 2018 season alive!
