Luckymore "Lucky" Mkosana (born 30 September 1987) is a Zimbabwean footballer who currently plays for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luckymore Mkosana | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-09-30) 30 September 1987 (age 35) | ||
| Place of birth | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Tampa Bay Rowdies | ||
| Number | 77 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2011 | Dartmouth Big Green | 73 | (44) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011 | Michigan Bucks | 10 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 44 | (22) |
| 2013 | → Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan) | 9 | (2) |
| 2014 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 27 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | New York Cosmos | 60 | (11) |
| 2017 | IFK Mariehamn | 9 | (2) |
| 2017 | New York Cosmos | 15 | (4) |
| 2018 | Penn FC | 30 | (11) |
| 2019 | Louisville City | 16 | (5) |
| 2019– | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 60 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2022 | |||
Mkosana played college soccer at Dartmouth College between 2008 and 2011. During his time at Dartmouth, Mkosana was named Ivy League Player of the Year (2011), All-Ivy League First Team (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), Soccer America Freshman, All-America First Team, College Soccer News Freshman, All-America First Team and Ivy League Rookie of the Year (2008). He became Dartmouth’s all-time career leader with 34 career goals, breaking a record that had stood since 1953.[2] Mkosana played for USL Premier Development League club Michigan Bucks in 2011.[3]
Chicago Fire selected Mkosana in the second round (No. 23 overall) of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, but wasn't signed by the club.[4][5]
Mkosana signed with USL Pro club Harrisburg City Islanders in May 2012.[6] Mkosana became a regular goalscorer for the City Islanders over the next two seasons, scoring 20 goals and providing 4 assists during the regular season play.[7] The latter half of the 2013 season, Mkosana scored 10 goals in the 7 matches (including two hattricks) and earn USL Team of the Week honors for four consecutive weeks.[8]
At the conclusion of the USL 2013 season, Mkosana secured a loan deal to Tampa Bay Rowdies in the NASL.[7] After completion of a successful loan spell, Mkosana signed a permanent deal with the Rowdies in January 2014.[9]
On 24 November 2014, Mkosana signed with NASL club New York Cosmos.[10] His performance through most of the 2015 season earned him a contract extension in September 2015, scoring 5 goals in 19 appearances.[11] The striker scored seven goals and added one assist across all competitions for the Cosmos in 2015. Notably, Mkosana scored a 90th-minute equalizing goal against MLS club New York City FC in the U.S. Open Cup, propelling the Cosmos to an eventual win in penalty kicks.[12] During his time with the Cosmos, Mkosana helped the New York team win consecutive NASL championships in 2015 and 2016.[13]
On 30 December 2016, Mkosana signed a one-year contract, with the option of a second, with Finnish Veikkausliiga side IFK Mariehamn.[14] He would make 15 appearances for the Finnish champions, scoring 4 goals including 2 goals in the team's run to the quarterfinals of the 2016–17 Finnish Cup.[15]
After a season competing in Finland, Mkosana returned to New York Cosmos in June 2017 to compete in the 2017 Fall season.[15][16]
Ahead of the 2018 season, Mkosana returned to Harrisburg signing with the newly branded Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) in the USL Championship.[17] Despite a difficult season, Mkosana still managed to lead the team in goals, scoring 11 goals through 29 appearances.[18]
After finishing a single season with Penn FC, Mkosana moved to USL champions, Louisville City FC ahead of the 2019 season.[19][20] Traded mid-season, Mkosana scored 5 goals in 16 appearances.[21]
Despite good performances for Louisville, Mkosana rejoined the Rowdies midway through the 2019 season as part of a trade that saw Antoine Hoppenot go to Louisville.[22]
Mkosana received his first international call-up to the Zimbabwe national team for its African Cup of Nations qualifier on 9 September 2018.[23]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Harrisburg City Islanders | 2012 | USL Pro | 17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | – | 27 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 26 | 14 | 0 | 0 | – | 26 | 14 | |||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan) | 2013 | NASL | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | 2 | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2014 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 27 | 2 | ||
| New York Cosmos | 2015 | NASL | 29 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | 32 | 7 | |
| 2016 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | 28 | 4 | |||
| IFK Mariehamn | 2017 | Veikkausliiga | 9 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
| New York Cosmos | 2017 | NASL | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 2 | |
| Penn FC | 2018 | USL | 29 | 11 | 1 | 0 | – | 30 | 11 | |
| Louisville City | 2019 | USL | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | 16 | 5 | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2019 | USL | 18 | 6 | 0 | 1 | – | 18 | 6 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 215 | 59 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 231 | 65 | ||
Ivy League Men's Soccer Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Player of the Year |
|
| Offensive Player of the Year | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | |
Tampa Bay Rowdies – current squad | |
|---|---|