On May 9, Houston Dynamo traded for Joseph Ngwenya to help an anemic offense come to life. It's taken a month, but Ngwenya's impact has been made, scoring three goals in three games and leading the Orange's charge up the Western Conference standings.
For Ngwenya, he just wants to help out whenever he is on the field.
"I've been trying to step on the field and help out as much as I can just by working hard," he said. "The last three games I've been lucky to score goals. I just want to continue working hard and helping the team win."
Ngwenya has been a nice addition to the Dynamo lineup since the trade that sent Alejandro Moreno to Columbus. He has started the last five games and has been an asset to the team.
"(Ngwenya has been a) huge lift. He's a great player. His speed is an asset. He's just playing unbelievable right now," said midfielder Chris Wondolowski. "He's part of the reason we are on a three-game winning streak right now. We had a little problem finding the back of the net, and he's been helping us find it."
When Ngwenya arrived, the Orange were in the middle of a slow start. Houston had just defeated Colorado before the trade, but Dynamo finished the month of May with a 2-5-1 record and six goals scored. But, since the beginning of June, Houston has turned that around, winning its last three games by identical 2-1 scores and climbing from fourth in the West to as high as second. They currently are in third.
Against Colorado on Thursday, Ngwenya scored the first goal of the game in the third minute, and following the game, head coach Dominic Kinnear recognized Ngwenya for his hard work, saying Ngwenya was the best player on the field that night.
Even though Ngwenya didn't score in his first three games with the Orange, defender Wade Barrett said Ngwenya didn't start off slowly.
"I don't think Joseph started off slow," Barrett said. "He didn't score any goals in a few games, but nobody was scoring goals in those first couple games. He's been very good for us from day one. Obviously, the goals he has scored have been very big, and they have helped to secure wins. Him scoring goals has been big for us, but he's been good for us since the first day he came."
With Dynamo missing Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark and Dwayne De Rosario in the attacking end of the field due to their Gold Cup obligations, the lift Ngwenya has provided was much-needed.
But, for Ngwenya, it's been the whole team that has stepped up. Even though he has scored in three consecutive matches, Ngwenya isn't looking to slow down and relax anytime soon.
"We miss those guys for sure," Ngwenya said. "Guys have stepped up in every position. It's a team game, and guys have stepped up. Everybody is stepping up and working hard as a team. That's the key -- to work hard as a team and keep working.
"When I started, I wanted to work as hard as I can and hopefully it would work out in the end. That's what I did was keep working. I can't say that now that I have scored three goals I can relax and quit working. I just need to keep working and keep the goals and the wins coming."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
