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Arsene Oka saw years of civil war tear the Ivory Coast apart and jeopardize his career in soccer. He came to New England to allow his skills to flourish in a peaceful environment.

Soccer is larger than life in the Ivory Coast. It has the power to unite people from all ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds. It can bring different regions of the nation together.

It can even stop a war.

"If you play soccer in the Ivory Coast, you have that kind of power," Oka said. "It doesn’t matter if you have money or not, every Saturday or Sunday people go to the stadium to see a team. It’s like going to church."

The Civil War that had gripped the nation since the 1990s was put on hold last summer when the Ivory Coast National Team qualified for the World Cup - the first time in the country’s history. This unity spilled over into politics as peace began to settle in all over the country.

"Everyone was behind this team," Oka said. "It doesn’t matter, North people and South people were together for this team. Soccer is a symbol for unity in the Ivory Coast."

Naturally, Oka’s goal is to win the MLS Cup this season with the Revolution - just like every other player in the league. But the team accomplishment would move Oka, a former member of the Ivory Coast’s youth national teams, even closer to his ultimate goal of being a part of the country’s full national team.

"If I can help win this Cup it would be good for the team and for me, too," he said. "I want to make the World Cup team. I need to win something this year to prove myself."

Growing up in the southern part of the country, Oka was fortunate enough to escape most of the war that was raging in the north. He did, however, see violence firsthand when his countrymen lashed out at the French embassies in the South.

Oka’s soccer development also suffered because of the division within the nation, when the level of competition was reduced during the conflict.

"Because of the war, the north team was not anymore in the championship," he said. "This is not good for soccer in the country."

Arsene Oka in reserves action against Kansas City. Photo: Tony Biscaia

Oka signed with the Revolution last year. He escaped the violence and was able to focus on developing with his new team.

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said Oka’s experiences in the Ivory Coast have made him a hungrier player. His energy is apparent every day in practice even though the fans have not seen much of it on game days.

Although Oka scored three goals in the Revs’ preseason this year, he has only logged 10 minutes of action during the regular-season, and he has not scored a goal or recorded an assist. But he is starting to display some fireworks in the MLS Reserve Division.

In Sunday’s 3-0 victory over the Wizards’ reserves, Oka notched two goals to lift the Revs to their third win of the reserve season.

While Nicol was impressed with Oka’s skills on Sunday, he needs to see results like that from the reserves on a daily basis to show they are improving.

"It’s all consistency," Nicol said. "If a guy is doing something well and he’s doing it twice in the game for 90 minutes, you need more of it. That’s the gauge for us."

In Oka’s first games in the United States, he said he felt like something was missing. It wasn’t the home cooking or the hot temperatures; it was the stadium packed to capacity with fans.

While soccer is like a religion for the fans in his home country, it has not yet reached the same level of popularity in the United States. Unlike the sold-out fields in the Ivory Coast where soccer was everything, most of the American stadiums Oka played at were only half-filled with fans as the sport continues to grow and take a foothold in this country.

Oka has gotten used to the smaller crowds on game days, but he still loves it when the fans fill the bowl at Gillette Stadium and on the road.

"Now I realize that it doesn’t matter if the stadium is full or not, I have to play my game and have fun," he said. "But when we play and there is a big crowd, it’s wonderful."