Exclusive: Ngoma on the Road Back to the Pitch

It was supposed to be a banner year for young forward Serge Ngoma who was under a new head coach in Sandro Schwarz and already seeing minutes with the first team. His year started brightly enough with a substitute appearance against Inter Miami in March and then a start in the US Open Cup for New York Red Bulls II. Suddenly all of the progress came crashing down when a left knee injury sidelined the Plainfield, NJ native for nearly five months.

The injury took a valuable weapon away from Schwarz and the Red Bulls while also stalling the 19 year-old’s progress as an MLS starter. It was February of 2022 that Ngoma signed a four-year homegrown player contract. Now, after recovering from such a major injury, he was rewarded with an extension and one that means he’ll become a bigger part of the team.

“You have your moments when you’re in a funk,” said Ngoma when asked about his mental state during the recovery. “I want to be playing, I want to be back with the I guys. You’re inside watching training when you just want to be on the field. More so impatience of wanting to be back but in knowing that I’m doing everything right, doing everything at 100 percent and making sure that when I do come back that I’ll be able to be the same player that I was before. I feel great now.”

Ngoma’s lost time was not abnormal for Red Bulls this season. Early in the campaign they lost Peter Stroud to a major ankle injury and dealt with absences of designated player Emil Forsberg due to a lingering foot issue. Missing time is hard enough on the team but when a young player misses time, the question becomes whether or not they’ll be able to earn their spot back with the club.

To his credit, Schwarz has always praised Ngoma’s work ethic. Preseason saw the player feature prominently and early in the season, it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before he become a major fixture on the field. Players like Cameron Harper and Wiki Carmona have been able to push through as well. There is far less rigidity on the team than in years past, meaning that the opportunity is there as long as health isn’t an issue.

“The coaching staff and everybody does a great job trying to ease me back into playing, having me comfortable and putting me in the position to succeed,” says Ngoma. “There’s not really any stress of pressure put on me, which I think is really good and super important. What they expect of me is to come in and give my all every day and earn my spot, win my spot, whatever it is. But we have a bunch of guys here that are capable of starting, scoring, doing a whole bunch of stuff.”

Since returning from injury, Ngoma has three appearances off the bench, with his time still being limited to less than 20 minutes. The team has mentioned their hesitance at throwing a player back into the mix too quickly. Still, the situations that Ngoma has found himself in haven’t been the easiest. Philadelphia, KC and Chicago all saw the team chasing the lead. Still, it is a jump into the deep end of the pool that’ll get him swimming again.

The final stretch run will not be an easy one for the team or the player. Currently the Red Bulls are in fifth place with a need to push into fourth to host a home playoff game. It is an all-hands-on-deck situation and Ngoma knows he will see more opportunities to make his mark. Those chances are not something that he takes for granted and knows that stepping onto the pitch is a privilege and a reward for all of the hard work it took to get back.

“It’s a blessing, a breath of fresh air,” said Ngoma about stepping back onto the field. “I was very happy. You see your number get put up and you get to be back on the pitch in front of the fans, in front of your family. I’ve worked really hard to get back. Worked pretty hard to be in the position to play and now I’m touching grass again, playing in front of everybody.”