Joseph Ngwenya (born March 30, 1981 in Plumtree) is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Career

College

Ngwenya attended the Mzilikazi High School in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

, leading them to the 1999 Zimbabwe National High School Championship, before moving to the United States in 2000 to attend and play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

. He led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in scoring with 21 goals and 14 assists and was named a First Team All-American in 2003. During his college years he also played in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

for

Cape Cod Crusaders Cape Cod Crusaders were an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when ...

who he led to a PDL title, scoring with 17 goals in 13 games.

Professional

Ngwenya was drafted third overall of the

2004 MLS SuperDraft The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the youngest athletes in Am ...

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. In his first year with the Galaxy, he played at both forward and midfield and finished the year with four goals in 22 games, most of them coming off the bench. In his second year, he was bothered by injury did not score a goal or an assist. Ngwenya was involved in a 4-person trade on May 12, 2006, which sent him to the Crew, for whom he would play 20 games and score five goals in 2006. In the period following the 2006 season, Ngwenya went on trial at

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

in the Spanish first division, but failed to earn a contract. He was traded to

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

during the 2007 season for

Alejandro Moreno Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera (born July 8, 1979) is a Venezuelan former footballer who played as a forward, and who is currently a television commentator for ESPN FC, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America. Moreno won three MLS Cups during his ...

. Ngwenya scored the game tying goal in the 2007 MLS Cup Final which Houston won 2–1 at RFK Stadium. Following the 2007 MLS season, Ngwenya joined German second division team

Alemannia Aachen Alemannia Aachen () or ATSV Alemannia 1900 is a football in Germany, German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's 2. Bundesliga, second division, ''Alemannia'' enjoyed a three- ...

for an opportunity to train and tryout with the Bundesliga club. On January 21, 2008, Ngwenya was signed by Austrian Bundesliga club

SK Austria Kärnten SK Austria Kärnten was an Austrian association football club, from Klagenfurt, Carinthia. History The club was formed on 1 June 2007 and took over the license of ASKÖ Pasching to play in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. SK Austria took o ...

. After Kärnten dissolved his contract in summer 2008 he gained the chance to train with the first squad of

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

for three weeks. On July 23, 2008, Ngwenya appeared in the unofficial T-Home

German Supercup German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

for

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

. After going almost a year without a club on April 6, 2010,

announced that Ngwenya would be evaluated on a one-week basis for consideration of a return to the team. The Dynamo recognized the need for help at the forward position after

Brian Ching Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years. Ching's professional career began when he was the 16th ...

sustained a hamstring injury in their home opener against Real Salt Lake. He agreed terms with Houston on April 12, 2010. Ngwenya remained with Houston for the 2010 season but was not tendered a contract for 2011. He entered the

2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 8, 2010 and December 15, 2010. The Stage 1 Draft of the Re-Entry Process took place on Wednesday, December 8, at 2 p.m. ET via teleconference. The Stage 2 Draft took place on Wednesday, D ...

and was selected by

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

with the first pick. He spent the 2011 season with D.C. United, scoring zero goals in 16 games. At season's end, the club declined his 2012 contract option and he entered the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Ngwenya was not selected in the draft and became a free agent. Ngwenya signed with

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

on April 11, 2013. It was announced on November 5, 2013, that Ngwenya has signed a contract with USL Pro club the Pittsburgh Riverhounds for the 2014 season.

International

Ngwenya was named in

's squad for the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, and started against

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and his first home game against

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Honors

Cape Cod Crusaders

Champions: 2003

Los Angeles Galaxy

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

MLS Cup:

Western Conference Championship:

Houston Dynamo

MLS Cup:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Western Conference Championship:

References

External links

*
Coastal Carolina bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngwenya, Joseph 1981 births Living people Zimbabwean footballers Zimbabwe international footballers Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's soccer players Cape Cod Crusaders players LA Galaxy players Columbus Crew players Houston Dynamo FC players SK Austria Kärnten players D.C. United players Richmond Kickers players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Antalyaspor footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Austria Zimbabwean expatriate footballers LA Galaxy draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Süper Lig players USL Championship players Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in Austria Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Zimbabwean expatriate sportspeople in the United States Association football forwards All-American men's college soccer players Alumni of Mzilikazi High School