Drago Dumbovic
Drago Dumbovic
Title: Head Coach
Phone: 989.964.7313
Email: ddumbovi@svsu.edu
   2003 2004
2005
 2006  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Totals
GLIAC
0-8 5-3 6-2
5-3
4-3-1 9-6
10-1-2 8-6-1 5-8-2 8-2-3 60-42-9
Overall 5-10-1 9-4 8-5-1
12-7
9-6-1 10-9-0
14-3-3 9-8-1 6-8-2 10-4-5 92-64-14

Drago enters his 11th season as the head coach for Saginaw Valley State University's women's soccer team.  In 2012 he helped lead the Cardinals back to the GLIAC Postseason for the first time since 2010, advancing to the Championship Game.  Senior Captain Charley Porter wrapped up a solid career at SVSU becoming the first women's soccer player to be honored as All-American.  Sophomore Annie Aubrey joined Porter in receiving All-Region accolades after leading the Cardinals with five game winning goals.

In 2011 his lady Cardinals compiled a 6-8-2 record. In 2010 he helped guide SVSU to its seventh straight winning season, finishing with a 9-8-1 overall record, and qualifying for the GLIAC Tournament for the seventh straight season.  He led the Lady Cardinals to a school-record 14 wins in the 2009 season, a second-straight appearance in the GLIAC Championship Match, and the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, where SVSU fell to #24 Quincy University in the first round.

Under his guidance, the Cardinals have turned around a program that went 0-8 in conference play in 2003. In 2008, the Cardinals advanced to the GLIAC championship match. Coach Drago's determination improved the team's record the following year in a spectacular turnaround, to 5-3 in the GLIAC, and SVSU has enjoyed five straight winning seasons since then. 

As coach Drago said, "I have been blessed with great athletes throughout the years. The attitudes and knowledge that come with leaders and captains was, and is, the fuel that gives us the strength to believe that winning the National Championship is our destiny".

"Although our team's defense is the heart and soul of our team, we are very much committed to playing an exciting offensive style of soccer. Skill, speed and power is the sign of our team. High pressure and high intensity is what we are all about."

SVSU has traditionally had the toughest schedule of all teams in the GLIAC, as Coach Drago's approach is to play the very best teams in the country to prepare the team for the National Championship. In the 2007 season, the team was ranked 3rd in the region and 23rd in the nation. The Cardinals finished 2007 with a 9-5-1 mark and were 4-3-1 in the conference. SVSU made the second round of the GLIAC Tournament, defeating Ferris State in a home game before they hosted the semifinal round.

The Cardinals placed four student-athletes on the All-GLIAC teams in 2006, highlighted by Stephanie Roy being named First Team All-GLIAC. Roy also was named to the NSCAA Great Lakes All-Region team becoming the first female soccer player to earn that honor at SVSU. Saginaw Valley State finished a school-best third in the conference standings in 2005 and started the season 6-0 in the GLIAC before finishing 6-2. Three Cardinals were named to the All-GLIAC team under Drago's direction in 2005. The 2004 squad finished the year 9-4 and had a 5-3 record in the GLIAC. Over the past three seasons, SVSU soccer has enjoyed their best stretch in school history compiling a 29-16-1 overall record and a 16-8 GLIAC record.

Drago started his professional career of 24 years in his beloved country of Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb, where he was part of one of the best teams in club history. Drago came to the United States in 1983 and became an immediate fan favorite with his extraordinary skills and love for children and his community.

Drago was head coach of the Detroit Rockers from 1999-2001 and served as an assistant coach for the Rockers during the 1998-99 campaign.

Drago played professional soccer from 1983 to 1999 for several teams, including the Detroit Rockers and Detroit Neon. He was named an all-star six times and set several new league records during his playing career. He also won an NPSL Championship with the Detroit Rockers in 1992.

Drago has also worked as a volunteer for various children's programs and charities around the country, and has also appeared at more than 300 schools around the country as a motivational speaker.

Other accomplishments include:

  • Owner of DragoSportsPlex indoor soccer facility (Midland, MI)
  • Director of prestigious Drago's Soccer
  • Director/Coach of Vardar North soccer club
  • Director/Coach of Saginaw Township Soccer Association youth programs
  • Director of SVSU summer soccer camps
  • Columnist (Midland Daily News-2005, Ponytail-2007)