Houston Dynamo and the Columbus Crew swapped forwards Wednesday, with Joseph Ngwenya heading to the Bayou City and Alejandro Moreno moving north to Columbus.
For Dynamo, the addition of Ngwenya is an upgrade in athleticism as head coach Dominic Kinnear looks to complement veteran strikers Brian Ching and Paul Dalglish.
"We think the world of Alejandro and wish him the best with his new team," Kinnear said. "At the same time, we are excited about bringing Joseph in, as we feel he will add a great dose of danger, athleticism and depth to our offense."
Ngwenya is in his fourth MLS season. He scored four times in his rookie year with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2004, but has failed to find the back of the net in 2005.
After being traded to Columbus early last season, the Bulawayo, Zimbabwe native scored five goals. He has one assist this season.
Moreno is a two-time MLS Cup champion, having won with the Galaxy in 2002 and Dynamo last year. He's scored 23 goals in his four MLS seasons, posting a career-high eight in 2005 with the San Jose Earthquakes.
"Alejandro is a forward who holds the ball well and adds a physical presence up front," said Crew head coach Sigi Schmid. "He works very hard and helps address our needs up front. At the same time, it's disappointing losing Joseph, who provided our fans with some exciting moments over the last year. But you've got to give up quality to get quality and we wish him nothing but the best with Houston."
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
