COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – It’s been almost 18 months to the day since the Colorado Rapids acquired forward Danny Mwanga from the Portland Timbers in exchange for a 2015 first-round SuperDraft selection. And for that year-and-a-half, Mwanga hasn’t produced a single goal, recording a sole assist in just seven MLS starts since coming to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park last February.
In Mwanga’s defense, he hasn’t had much of a chance to shine, and for that reason the Rapids are in the process of finalizing a loan spell for the former No. 1 overall SuperDraft selection that would send the 23-year-old to the NASL’s New York Cosmos, likely until the end of the season.
Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni told reporters on Tuesday that he felt the move could help Mwanga restore some of the confidence he’s lost over the last two seasons.
“The only real growth is in games,” Mastroeni said on Tuesday. “Danny’s still a young player who’s had some success in the league, but he hasn’t had a lot of games as of late. And I think if we’re really going to push the envelope here, really make it competitive [and] a fight for every position, we have to start getting players in games.”
Ever since he netted seven MLS goals in 2010 after being selected with the top pick in that year’s draft, Mwanga has been on a downward spiral that has spanned three years and also featured a mere eight league goals in that spell.
Playing time has also dwindled slowly but steadily for the Oregon State University product. After racking up over 1,500 regular-season minutes in 2011, Mwanga slipped to under 1,200 minutes played in 2012, 556 last season and is on pace for less than 400 this year.
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For the talented Congo-born striker, who hadn’t played for the Rapids since coming on as a substitute in a 2-1 loss at Portland on July 18, the focus is purely on getting him minutes and goals so he can ultimately deliver those in Commerce City.
“I think this is a great competitive environment for him to continue building his own brand,” Mastroeni said, while adding that Mwanga’s loan is expected to continue through the end of the NASL season in early November. “Goalscorers need to score goals. Whatever that takes.”
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
