Scores In His Richmond Debut
The Richmond Kickers continued to rebuild their 2013 roster with the addition of Zimbabwean international Joseph Ngwenya, and that move produced an immediate payoff early in his first USL PRO game.
Ngwenya, a eight-year Major League Soccer veteran, opened the scoring in the Kickers’ 4-1 win over defending USL PRO champions Charleston Battery, in front of 2,497 home fans at City Stadium.
Former Maryland forward Casey Townsend, on loan from D.C. United, had a pair of goals in that win. That [show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’]victory came after the Kickers opened their 21st season at home with a scoreless draw against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
“That’s a very, very strong Charleston lineup,” Cowlishaw said after the win against the Battery. “So 4-1 is a very impressive result. I think Charleston has a stronger lineup than last season, so that tells you what an impressive performance it was.”
Ngwenya played collegiate soccer at Coastal Carolina University, where he set records for goals (66) and points (164).
He was the third overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by the Los Angles Galaxy. He played in 38 games for the Galaxy over two seasons before being traded to the Columbus Crew. He played 20 games for the Crew in 2006.
In 2007, he was with the Houston Dynamo on their run to the 2007 MLS Cup championship, and scored the first goal in a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution in that title match.
He played in Austria and Turkey before rejoining Houston for 12 games in 2010. He was taken by D.C. United as the first pick in the MLS Re-Entry Draft and made 16 appearances with the Black-and-Red in 2011.
Richmond has also re-signed the club’s all-time leading scorer. Matthew Delicate will join the Kickers for his seventh season in Richmond. He eclipsed the franchise’s all-time scoring record a year ago, and now has 65 goals and 18 assists in 161 appearance.
He’s rookie professional season was 2004 with the Kickers. He spent three seasons (2006-2008) with the Rochester Rhinos. He was the 2003 CAA Player of the Year as a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Also returning for his sixth season with the Kickers is midfielder Luke Vercollone, who spent the offseason training with the MLS Colorado Rapids.
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