There aren’t many players who have a career path like Charlotte FC’s Patrick Agyemang.
In his final match before leaving for his first competitive games with the U.S. men’s national team, the 24-year-old striker scored one of his trademark goals, sneaking behind a defense and finishing first time.
While he impressed USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino with a goal against Venezuela in a January friendly, his MLS performances, most recently highlighted by the goal and 2–0 Charlotte FC win over FC Cincinnati on Saturday, set him up for even more success.
Not only is he heading into the Concacaf Nations League camp as a fresh face, but he enters in strong form and won’t have insurmountable competition, with Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi missing the camp due to injury.
“It’s cool [to go into camp after scoring a goal]; it’s something I ideally wanted. In the first few games, I didn’t get a goal or assist or anything, so to have this heading into [USMNT] camp is cool,” Agyemang said after Saturday’s match. “At the end of the day, I always back myself no matter what, so even if I hadn’t scored, I would still be ready to go.”
Long Journey Leads to MLS Success, First Competitive USMNT
However, his journey to MLS and the national team is seldom paralleled. Growing up as the son of Ghanaian immigrants just outside Hartford, Connecticut, soccer was always a significant part of his life, as his parents handled multiple jobs. Yet, despite thriving in high school and local soccer, he never got a call from a top NCAA school when college came around.
He signed on with the NCAA DIII program at Eastern Connecticut State before quickly impressing and catching the eye of DI program, Rhode Island, where he moved for his final two years of college soccer.
With 19 goals and 12 assists in 37 matches over three seasons with Rhode Island, MLS clubs began to look at him, with Charlotte FC eventually trading up in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft to select him 12th overall. Since then, he’s quickly climbed through the club’s system, pushing past his time with MLS Next Pro side Crown Legacy FC and establishing himself as the first team’s talismanic attacking force.
