Shaka Bangura

Shaka Bangura
Personal information
Full nameShaka Bangura
Date of birthFebruary 9, 1986
Place of birthKissy, Sierra Leone
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Atlanta Silverbacks
Number12
Youth career
2005–2009Montreat College
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008Atlanta FC6(2)
2009Fredericksburg Gunners18(12)
2010Puerto Rico Islanders14(0)
2011Richmond Kickers19(4)
2012Anagennisi Dherynia10(1)
2013Samut Songkhram2(0)
2014Barito Putera3(0)
2014–Atlanta Silverbacks7(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 October, 2014.
† Appearances (Goals).

Shaka Bangura (born February 9, 1986 in Kissy[1]) is a Sierra Leonean footballer who currently playing for Atlanta Silverbacks in the North American Soccer League.

Career

Youth and College

Bangura moved to the United States from Sierra Leone when he was a small child, settling in College Park, Georgia. He attended North Clayton High School, where he scored a total of 58 goals and was named to the All Region Team every year.[2] He then earned a sports scholarship to attend Montreat College in North Carolina. At Montreat he consistently made All Conference first team in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). His first year at Montreat he was named freshman of the year and was also named the conference player of the year in his sophomore and junior year and during his senior year he won the golden boot award [3] He finished his college career having scored a total of 58 goals in four years.

During his college years Bangura also played with Atlanta FC in the National Premier Soccer League in 2008, and with Fredericksburg Gunners in the USL Premier Development League in 2009.[4]

Professional

During the 2010 pre-season Bangura joined the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USSF D2 Pro League.[5] He made his professional debut on April 21, 2010, in a game against NSC Minnesota Stars.[6]

Bangura signed with Richmond Kickers of the USL Pro league on March 15, 2011,[7] and scored the winning goal on his Kickers debut, a 2-1 win over Charleston Battery on April 23.[8] After the 2011 season, Bangura signed with Anagennisi Dherynia in the Cypriot First Division.[9] In 2013 Bangura sign with Samut Songkhram in the Thai Premier League. where he help the team survived relegation. one of his brightest moment came against Chainat, were he single handed defeat the Chainat. Later the week he made the Thai premier League all team. In 2014 Bangura was invited for a tryout with Persija Jakarta. Bangura was impressed with two goals in two games but was not award a contract. After the two games many teams in the Indonesia Super League were interested. Bangura decided to sign with Barito Putera. where he played 6 games with 4 goals and 2 assists in the Inter Island Cup.

Honors

Puerto Rico Islanders

References

  1. ↑ Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Soccer Continues Offensive Streak With A 4-1 Win Over Montreat
  2. ↑ Sierra Leonean soccer gems in the diaspora
  3. ↑ Montreat College Athletics - 2008 Men's Soccer Roster: Shaka Bangura
  4. ↑ USSF Division-2 Pro League
  5. ↑ PR Islanders FC (2010-04-14). "Lista de jugadores de los Puerto Rico Islanders" (in Spanish). PR Islanders FC. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  6. ↑ http://ussf.demosphere.com/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::73193+Elements/Display+E+47107+Stats/+1634152
  7. ↑ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4166599
  8. ↑ http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/stats/2011/2175600.html
  9. ↑ "Δεύτερη μετεγγραφική περίοδος / ενημέρωση". http://www.sigmalive.com/. Retrieved 18 February 2013.