Emeka Eneli

Last updated

Emeka Eneli
Personal information
Full name Chukwuemeka Somto Eneli
Date of birth (1999-10-18) October 18, 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Lansing, Michigan, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Real Salt Lake
Number 14
Youth career
2012–2017 Columbus Crew
2017–2018 Ohio Premier
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2022 Cornell Big Red 60 (20)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2020 Lionsbridge 16 (3)
2022 Flint City Bucks 12 (4)
2023– Real Salt Lake 54 (1)
2023– Real Monarchs 1 (0)
International career‡
2025– United States 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 10, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of January 18, 2025

Chukwuemeka Somto "Emeka" Eneli (born October 18, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake.

Contents

Career

Youth and college

Eneli was born in Lansing, Michigan, but moved to Dublin, Ohio was he was eight years old. [1] He attended Dublin Coffman High School, where he played one year of varsity soccer. He also played soccer with the Columbus Crew academy between 2012 and 2017, before spending a season with Ohio Premier, who he helped to the ENPL national title in 2018 and was named to the ECNL All-American and ECNL All-Midwest teams. [2] [3] [4]

In 2018, Eneli attended Cornell University graduating in 2022 with a major in Biological Engineering and a minor in Business. He played college soccer, serving as team captain in his junior and senior year. In four seasons with Big Red, including a canceled 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eneli made 60 appearances, scoring 20 goals and tallying 17 assists. In 2021, Eneli earned All-Ivy League First Team and Second Team United Soccer Coaches Men's Northeast Region honors. 2022 saw Eneli named a Second Team All-American and helped Cornell qualify for the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time in nearly three decades. [2] Eneli earned 2018 Rookie of the Year for the Ivy League Mens Soccer conference. https://cornellbigred.com/news/2018/11/14/eneli-tabbed-ivy-mens-soccer-rookie-of-the-year-four-named-all-league.aspx. Eneli finished the season second in the Ivy League in points (16) and goals (7).

Professional career

While at college, Eneli also competed in the USL League Two. He spent 2019 and 2020 with Lionsbridge FC, scoring three goals in 16 games. [5] In 2022, he spent the season with Flint City Bucks, making 16 appearances across the regular season and playoffs, netting four goals and adding a single assist. [6]

Following the 2022 season, Eneli was announced as an eligible player in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. [7] Eneli was drafted by Real Salt Lake with the 25th pick of the first round. [8]

Eneli made his MLS debut for RSL on March 25, 2023, starting in a 4–0 loss at home to St. Louis City SC. [9] [10] Eneli scored his first career MLS goal on March 9, 2024, in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids. [11] On November 2, 2024, Eneli's second goal was his first MLS playoff goal, coming in a shootout loss to Minnesota United. [12]

Personal

Born in the United States, Eneli is of Nigerian descent. [13]

Career statistics

Club

International

As of match played January 18, 2025 [14]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States 2025 10
Total10

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References

  1. ↑ Harris, Jonathan (September 17, 2018). "10 Questions With Men's Soccer's Emeka Eneli". The Cornell Daily Sun.
  2. 1 2 "Emeka Eneli - 2022-23 - Men's Soccer". Cornell University Athletics.
  3. ↑ "TBT: The Inaugural ENPL National Champions – Ohio Premier Boys ECNL U18/U19". December 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ DIRENNA, FRANK. "Soccer: Ohio Premier 19U boys capture national title". The Columbus Dispatch.
  5. ↑ "Lionsbridge FC | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com.
  6. ↑ "Flint City Bucks | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com.
  7. ↑ "MLS SuperDraft 2023 eligible players | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  8. ↑ "MLS SuperDraft 2023 Draft Tracker". mlssoccer.com.
  9. ↑ Keeley, Johnny. "Trio Of RSL Debutants Reflect On Experience | Real Salt Lake". rsl.com.
  10. ↑ "RSLvsSTL 03-25-2023 | Real Salt Lake". rsl.com.
  11. ↑ "Eneli Nets First RSL Goal in Home Loss, Gomez Also Impresses". rsl.com.
  12. ↑ Obinyan, Daniel. "Emeka Eneli: The Light in the Darkness". rsl.com.
  13. ↑ "Real Salt Lake Adds First-Round Pick Emeka Eneli To First-Team Roster | Real Salt Lake". rsl.
  14. ↑ Emeka Eneli at National-Football-Teams.com
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