Kene Eze (born January 21, 1992) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for FC Motown in the National Premier Soccer League.

Kene Eze
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-01-21) January 21, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Sayreville, New Jersey
United States
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
FC Motown
Youth career
2010–2012 WPU Pioneers
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Jersey Express 10 (7)
2015 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2 (0)
2016–2018 North Geelong Warriors FC 23 (13)
2019– FC Motown 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 September 2019

Career

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College and amateur

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A native of Sayreville, New Jersey, Eze attended Sayreville War Memorial High School, where his 106 career goals set a school record.[1]

Eze played four years of college soccer, beginning at William Paterson University in 2010 to 2012 and finishing in 2013 at Rutgers University.[2]

Professional career

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On January 21, 2014, Eze was selected 60th overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC.[3] Eze was not signed by Toronto, instead joining USL PDL club Jersey Express for their 2014 season.[4] On January 27, 2015, Eze signed with USL club Pittsburgh Riverhounds.[5]

Move to Australia

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In March 2016, Eze relocated to Melbourne, Australia where he signed for National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 club North Geelong Warriors FC. Eze scored two goals on debut for the Warriors in a 7-1 routing of Shepparton South SC in the 2016 FFA Cup. Eze went on to also score on his league debut for North Geelong, netting the second in a 2–0 win over Goulburn Valley Suns FC.[6] He grabbed his second league goal, and fourth overall, in an emphatic 7–2 win over Bendigo City FC in Round 7 of the NPLV2 season.[7] Eze continued his good goalscoring form, grabbing a hattrick in a 5–2 win over FC Clifton Hill at Kevin Bartlett Reserve in Round 5 of the 2016 FFA Cup.[8] He was then selected in "The Corner Flag"'s Team of the Month for April in his conference.[9] Eze grabbed another hattrick for the Warriors in a 3–0 win over table-toppers Whittlesea Ranges FC at Epping Stadium in Round 23 of the NPLV2.[10]

Eze re-signed with North Geelong for the 2017 National Premier Leagues Victoria season in December 2016.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Kene Eze - 2010 Men's Soccer, William Paterson University. Accessed August 15, 2016. "Hometown: Sayreville, N.J.High School: Sayreville War Memorial... His school's all-time leading scorer, he also was an all-county and all-division pick in 2008 and 2009... Also a second-team all-state honoree as a junior, he scored 106 career goals"
  2. ^ "2019 Men's Soccer Roster". Rutgers University Athletics.
  3. ^ "SuperDraft: Reds Draft Striker Kene Eze | Toronto FC". Archived from the original on 2014-01-27.
  4. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  5. ^ "Riverhounds Re-Sign Vincent, Add Eze - United Soccer League". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  6. ^ Kounelis, Jordan. "NPL2 Wrap: Round 5". MFootball. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  7. ^ Jukić, Ante (10 April 2016). "NPL2: North Geelong's press too much for Bendigo to handle". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  8. ^ Lim, Jordan. "Warriors twice forced to comeback against Clifton Hill". The Corner Flag. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  9. ^ Gojszjk, Mark. "NPL2 West Team of the Month: April". The Corner Flag. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  10. ^ Reserved, Copyright The Corner Flag © 2015 All Rights. "Four points separate top four as Eze sinks Whittlesea – The Corner Flag".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Gojszyk, Mark. "Warriors' top-flight prospects boosted with Eze recommitment". The Corner Flag. Retrieved 26 November 2016.