Former Black Stars winger Solomon Asante become the first-ever player to reach 100 games in the history of American football club, Phoenix Rising Stars FC.
On Sunday evening, the diminutive Ghanaian forward played his century of matches for the Red and Blacks to cement his legendary status at the club.
Asante joined the United Soccer League Championship team in 2018 from African giants TP Mazembe and instantly became a fans favorite by playing consistently well and constantly delivering for the club when it mattered most.
In 2019, the Ghanaian international winger Asante, broke the USL Championship record for assists (17) and combined goals and assists (39). His 22 goals scored broke a single-season club record and was just three goals shy of the league record. He was also USL’s Golden Boot Winner. This was the second time Asante had been named to the All-League First Team. He also got a First Team selection in 2018.
Asante earned his second consecutive nomination for MVP after winning the award in 2019 as he became the first player in the Championship to claim the Assists Champion award with nine helpers on the regular season. Asante also notched six goals and led the Championship with 42 chances created as Phoenix finished tied for the league-high with 43 goals.
Eventually, United Soccer Leagues announced the Phoenix Rising FC forward Solomon Asante as the USL Championship MVP for the second consecutive season. Asante also became the second two-time winner of the award in league history.
While Asante’s 2019 numbers (22 goals, 17 assists) were impossible to match due to the reduced number of matches played during COVID-19, the 2019 Golden Boot winner showed his versatility by improving on his assist-per-game numbers. Asante averaged 0.50 assists per match last season compared to a rate of 0.56 in 2020. He finished the regular season with eight goals, nine assists and 51 chances created (including playoffs). The Ghanaian is also one of only two players in league history to have notched more than 40 goals and 30 assists.
This season in 13 games played so far for the Phoenix Rising Stars FC in the USL Championship, the 30-year-old Ghanaian versatile forward has scored 8 goals, provided 6 assists with 2 Player-Of-The-Week awards and 3 Team-Of-The-Week appearances.
The Red and Blacks captain is on course to again retain the MVP award in the United Soccer League Championship should he continue playing the way he’s started the 2021 campaign for his team.
The Ghanaian is undoubtedly one of the best ever players to grace the USL Championship and has become a legend of his club, Phoenix Rising Stars FC and the USL Championship on its own after winning two con MVP of the season awards and reaching 100 games.
Asante, 30, has put up an incredible amount of performances in the league and boast of 53 goals, 43 assists and two Player-Of-The-Year awards to write his name in the history books of the competition.
