John Jonke (born January 20, 1987, in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

) is a Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player.

Career

College and amateur

Jonke began playing soccer at the youth level during his secondary school years with St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School. In his senior year at St. Mary's Jonke was appointed team captain, and helped guide his team to the regional championship. When the season reached closure Jonke was awarded Player of the Year. In 2004 Jonke joined the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

youth academy, where he was appointed team captain and won the Heartland Division Championship. He also helped the U-19 Lynx squad reach the finals of the

Dallas Cup The Dallas Cup is an annual international football tournament for invited youth teams. The tournament was established in 1980 and is held in Dallas, Texas, with FC Dallas serving as its host club. Venues used for the tournament include the Cotton ...

where the Lynx were defeated 2–1 by

IMG Soccer Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport camps for young athletes, adult ...

. Soon after, Jonke was enrolled into the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

on a soccer scholarship. In his rookie season with the Cardinals he appeared in 22 matches and help strengthen the defence by recording eight shutouts. In his freshman season he recorded his first goal against

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, and was able to establish himself as a starter. In 2007 the

announced the signing of Jonke for the

2007 PDL season The 2007 USL Premier Development League season was the 13th season of the PDL. The season started on April 28, 2007 and ended on July 25, 2007. The league consisted of 63 teams across eight divisions. Laredo Heat finished the season as national ...

. He made his Lynx debut on May 12, 2007, against the

West Michigan Edge West Michigan Edge was an American association football, soccer team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, unt ...

. The Lynx finished the season with a 6-6-4 record, which placed the team in fourth place in the Great Lakes Division, and only missed a playoff berth by six points. In 2008 Jonke helped the Lynx reach the playoffs for the first time since 2000, but unfortunately for the Lynx the

Cleveland Internationals Cleveland Internationals was an American soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2004, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisio ...

scored a late winner to take the game 2–1, sending the Lynx home early.

Professional

The following year Jonke turned professional when he signed with

AC Oulu AC Oulu is a Finnish professional football club based in Oulu, currently playing in Finland's premier division, ''Veikkausliiga''. Formed in 2002, the club have played six seasons in Finland's highest football league Veikkausliiga and 16 seasons ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. He made his debut for AC Oulu on June 28, 2009, by scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over

FC KooTeePee FC KooTeePee was a Finnish football club. History Originally, FC KooTeePee was founded as a reserve team of Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (KTP, founded 1927). In the year 2000, it became an independent club. At that time, Kotkan Työväen Pal ...

. After a year in Finland, Jonke returned to North America in early 2010 when he signed with

Crystal Palace Baltimore Crystal Palace Baltimore was an American professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, US. Founded in 2006, the club was originally named Crystal Palace USA and was affiliated with English side Crystal Palace. The club was a member of t ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

. For the remainder of the 2010 season he signed with

Portugal FC SC Toronto is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its inceptio ...

of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

. He recorded his first goal on July 23, 2010, in a match against London City. Jonke would help Portugal qualify for the playoffs by finishing fifth in the overall standings. In the first round of the postseason Portugal faced Milltown F.C., and advanced to the next round by winning the series by a score 3-2. In the semi-finals the club faced

Brantford Galaxy Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club was a semi-professional Canadian soccer club based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, with their home venue located in Hamilton, Ontario at the Heritage Field Turf. The club competes in the Canadian Soccer League, a league ...

, but were eliminated by a score of 5–3. On March 7, 2011, Jonke signed with

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

of the second division

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. In his debut season with Edmonton, he helped the team qualify for the postseason by finishing fifth in the overall standings. Edmonton faced the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

in the postseason, but were eliminated by a score 5-0. In 2014, he signed with

Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which ...

in the newly formed

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

International

Jonke was a member of the

Canada U-20 men's national soccer team The Canada U-20 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-20s or Canada U-20s) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canad ...

squad that took part in the

2005 Jeux de la Francophonie The 2005 Jeux de la Francophonie, also known as ''Ves Jeux de la Francophonie'', ( French for ''Francophone Games'') were held from December 7–17, 2005 in Niamey, Niger. Events Sports Cultural Medal count Total Participation There were ...

tournament. He made his Canada U-20 debut on December 6, 2005, against the

Cameroon national football team The Cameroon national football team (French language, French: ''Équipe du Cameroun de football''), also known as the Indomitable Lions (French: ''les lions indomptables''), represents Cameroon in men's international Association football, footb ...

. He would also appear in two other matches for Canada in their group stage, playing against

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, and

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, losing both matches which resulted in Canada being eliminated from the tournament.

Career statistics

:''(correct as of 18 March 2010)''

Personal life

Jonke was born in 1987 to Frank and Joanne Jonke. His older brother, Frank Jr., is also a professional soccer player; he studied Major in Sports Administration alongside him at the

, and also played with him at Oulu in Finland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonke, John 1987 births Living people AC Oulu players Men's association football defenders Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian men's soccer players Canadian people of German descent Crystal Palace Baltimore players FC Edmonton players Soccer players from Scarborough, Ontario Toronto Lynx players USL League Two players USSF Division 2 Professional League players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players SC Toronto players Vaughan Azzurri players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Expatriate sportspeople in Finland