KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kei Kamara hasn’t forgotten. He probably never will.
Back on April 24, with Kansas City and Los Angeles knotted at nil-nil, Kamara watched the scoring opportunity of a lifetime pass him by. As the ball waited on the line, begging for a simple touch, Kamara somehow found a way to flub the chance, bundling it in with his hand and spawning a flurry of online attention and the unenviable moniker of “Miss of the Century.”
“When you get an award,” he said good-naturedly, “you don’t forget about it. ‘Miss of the Century’ is always going to be there for me. You type my name on the computer, and it comes up right away.”
WATCH: Kamara flubs sitter vs. LA
Kamara will get a chance at redemption on Saturday as the Wizards travel to Los Angeles for a rematch with the Galaxy. Lost in the hype surrounding that miss and the relative anonymity of playing in Kansas City is the fact that the 25-year-old forward is enjoying the best season of his career.
Kamara leads the Wizards in goals this season by a wide margin with eight, six more than the four players tied for second, while kicking in two assists as well. He has already passed his previous career high in goals (five) from last season and figures to widen that gap even more with a third of the season remaining and Kansas City suddenly regaining their early-season form.
The versatile striker will get the chance to add to his marks in front of his family and friends at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., right next to where he played his college soccer at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
After scoring once and assisting on both of Birahim Diop’s goals against the Revolution last weekend, Kamara presents a difficult matchup for the Galaxy as he tries to put his award-winning miss behind him.
Kamara, who at 6-foot-2, towers above most of the players tasked with defending him and also possesses the speed and skill necessary to thrive in MLS, is beginning to fulfill the high expectations KC manager Peter Vermes had when the Wizards acquired him from the Houston Dynamo late last season.
“The expectation is high because we see the potential in him,” Vermes said. “We’re going to continue to try to squeeze as much out of him as we possibly can without taking steps backwards. He’s always improving.”
But growth aside, the status quo isn’t quite enough for Kamara.
“It’s still not where I want it to be,” he said.
However, it certainly has been good enough to attract the attention of Sierra Leone, who called Kamara to join the national team in their African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Egypt in Cairo on Sept. 5.
As tantalizing as a trip to Cairo to face the defending AFC champions may be, Kamara knows he can’t afford to lose focus on the present. The Wizards are fighting to stay alive in the playoff race and will need all they can get from their leading scorer in a match against the league’s best team.
“I’m just going to go [to LA] and try to find a way to get us points,” Kamara said. “That’s what we need right now.”
