One play former midfielder Divin Fula Luzolo made last season sticks out to his teammate and roommate, former midfielder Brendon Creed.
After former forward and midfielder Joonas Jokinen drew a foul during the Owls’ 3-1 win against the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Oct. 17, Fula Luzolo set up for a free kick.
“Before he took it, he looked at me and told me where he was going to place the ball,” Creed said. “He told me to just make sure I was there when the ball got there, and I ended up scoring.”
In his lone season at Temple in 2017, Fula Luzolo had two goals, three assists and started all 18 games. Fula Luzolo also earned American Athletic Conference first-team honors and made the Philadelphia Soccer Six All-Star Team.
Fula Luzolo, who is from Le Mans, France, spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons at Hawaii Pacific University, a Division II school in Honolulu.
“He instantly had a positive impact when he came over from Hawaii,” Creed said. “He had played at a pretty high level in France, so he brought a lot of experience with him, and it wasn’t hard for him to adapt. He’s a really technical and skillful player, and from the first day that he trained with us that was clear for us to see.”
In 2015, he started in 16 of his 17 games at Hawaii Pacific and had three goals and two assists in 1,154 minutes. He played 1,037 minutes in 2016.
After two seasons at Hawaii Pacific, Fula Luzolo decided to transfer.
“It’s no secret that I really wanted to play [Division I] soccer,” Fula Luzolo said. “That’s a dream that a lot of people in this world have. I also really wanted to be somewhere new and see something else, and the trip from Hawaii to France was really long, and I didn’t want to have to deal with that anymore.”
Even though Fula Luzolo came from a smaller school with less than 5,000 students, Creed said he had “quiet confidence” that really stood out on the team.
“It didn’t seem like he was nervous,” Creed said. “He was quiet at first, but that’s normal seeing that he was new to Temple and Philadelphia as a whole. He came in January and around early February once he got comfortable with everyone, he was a team favorite in the locker room.”
“He’s someone I felt comfortable around pretty quickly, and living with him has been a great time,” Creed added. “He has a lot of personality, and you’re never short on laughs when Divin’s around.”
After he leaves Temple, Fula Luzolo will attend the Université du Québec à Montréal, a graduate school in Canada, in Fall 2018 to study marketing. He will also try to play soccer for the university.
“Right now, I’m really focused on my academics, but after that, if I have the chance to play at a professional level either in the states or in Europe, then I’ll try to pursue it,” Fula Luzolo said.
Be the first to comment