Kene Eze (born January 21, 1992) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

FC Motown FC Motown is an American soccer club based in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 2012, the team currently fields teams in both the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two. In 2020, the team formed a U23 side that competes in t ...

in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

Career

College and amateur

A native of

Sayreville, New Jersey Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, Eze attended

Sayreville War Memorial High School Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS) is a four-year public high school located in the Parlin section of Sayreville, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone seco ...

, where his 106 career goals set a school record. Eze played four years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

, beginning at

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

in 2010 to 2012 and finishing in 2013 at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Professional career

On January 21, 2014, Eze was selected 60th overall in the

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Rounds three ...

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. Eze was not signed by Toronto, instead joining

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will feature ...

club

Jersey Express The Jersey Express are a basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. The team competes in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a member of the Black Division of the East Region. The team was formed in 2005 as the Newark Express, and ...

for their 2014 season. On January 27, 2015, Eze signed with

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

club

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

Move to Australia

In March 2016, Eze relocated to

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

where he signed for

National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 The National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria or NPL VIC) is a semi-professional association football, soccer league in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level w ...

club

North Geelong Warriors FC North Geelong Warriors Football Club, formerly known as North Geelong Croatia, is an Australian professional soccer club from the regional Victorian city of Geelong. The club currently competes in the Victoria Premier League 1, Australia's third ...

. Eze scored two goals on debut for the Warriors in a 7-1 routing of Shepparton South SC in the

2016 FFA Cup The 2016 FFA Cup was the third season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams again took part in the competition proper (from the round of 32), including the 10 A-League teams and 21 Football Fede ...

. 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 Goulburn Valley Suns are a semi-professional soccer club based in Shepparton, Victoria. The club was established in 2013 and currently competes in the Victoria Premier League 2. The Suns' home ground is John McEwen Reserve. History For the club ...

. He grabbed his second league goal, and fourth overall, in an emphatic 7–2 win over

Bendigo City FC Bendigo City FC is the elite football club based in Bendigo, Australia. Bendigo City plays out of the Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve soccer complex and holds an NPL licence for juniors, whilst the senior teams play in the Men's State Leagues. ...

in Round 7 of the NPLV2 season. Eze continued his good goalscoring form, grabbing a hattrick in a 5–2 win over

FC Clifton Hill FC Clifton Hill are an Australian association football club which currently plays in the Victorian State League Division 1, the 5th tier of Association football in Victoria and the 6th tier in Australia. They were founded in 1975. History Foun ...

Kevin Bartlett Reserve FC Melbourne Srbija (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Мелбурн Србија), commonly known as Melbourne Serbia (formerly known as Fitzroy City Srbija Soccer Club from 1991 to 2022), is a semi professional football club in Australia based in Melb ...

in Round 5 of the

. He was then selected in "The Corner Flag"'s Team of the Month for April in his conference. Eze grabbed another hattrick for the Warriors in a 3–0 win over table-toppers

Whittlesea Ranges FC Whittlesea Ranges is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburbs of Epping and Lalor, Victoria, Australia. All home games are played at Epping Soccer Stadium. Formed in 1971, the club currently competes in the Victorian State League ...

Epping Stadium Epping Stadium is an Australian soccer ground on Harvest Home Rd in Epping, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Opened in 1999 the stadium has a capacity of 10,000, with approximately 1000 seats in its sole grandstand. The venue was host to severa ...

in Round 23 of the NPLV2. Eze re-signed with North Geelong for the 2017 National Premier Leagues Victoria season in December 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eze, Kene 1992 births Living people American men's soccer players Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's soccer players Jersey Express S.C. players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Men's association football forwards People from Sayreville, New Jersey Sayreville War Memorial High School alumni Soccer players from Middlesex County, New Jersey Toronto FC draft picks USL League Two players USL Championship players FC Motown players National Premier Soccer League players 21st-century American sportsmen Whittlesea Ranges FC players