Ola Kamara recorded his 50th and 51st regular-season goals in MLS during the 0-3 victory against the Montreal Impact on August 31. His performance earned him a spot on MLS Team of the Week. Kamara now has three goals in his last three matches for the Black-and-Red after being acquired from Shenzhen FC in the Chinese Super League. Outside of MLS, Kamara has had stints in Norway, Germany, Austria, and most recently China. Kamara has also appeared for the Norweigan national team 17 times in his career recording seven goals. Since making the switch to MLS in 2016, the Norweigan international has been one of the most consistent goal scorers in the league.
Kamara joined Columbus Crew SC prior to the 2016 season from Austria Vienna in the Austrian Bundesliga. During his debut season in MLS, the forward was fifth in the league with 16 goals in just 25 appearances for Columbus. Despite the Crew finishing the 2016 season in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference, Kamara proved his worth in front of goal and was always threatening to the opposition on his way to being named in MLS Team of the Week on six occasions. In his second season in MLS, the Oslo native was instrumental in helping Columbus return to the playoffs. Kamara played in all 34 regular season matches recording 18 goals and four assists while helping Columbus to a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Norweigan scored and provided an assist during the Eastern Conference Semi-Final victory over the New York Red Bulls.
Following an impressive first two seasons in MLS, Kamara was acquired by the LA Galaxy through a trade which Columbus Crew SC received USMNT forward Gyasi Zardes along with Targeted Allocation Money in exchange for the Norweigan’s services. During the 2018 season, the forward was once again prolific in front of goal. He finished the season with 14 goals and 3 assists in 31 appearances for the Galaxy. After the 2018 season, Kamara made the move to the Chinese Super League outfit Shenzhen FC.
Following a brief stint in China, Kamara returned to MLS and signed with D.C. United just before the transfer deadline ended. The 29-year-old made his debut for the Black-and-Red as a substitute during the 1-0 defeat against Vancouver on August 17. In his first full start, Kamara scored the only goal for United in the 2-1 defeat against the New York Red Bulls on August 21. Kamara collected the ball near the edge of the box and placed a perfectly curled effort into the top corner to open his account for the Black-and-Red. His goal was later nominated for AT&T Goal of the Week.
Since arriving in the district, Kamara has already scored three goals in just four appearances for D.C. United. From 2016-2018, only three players recorded more goals than Kamara (Josef Martinez, Bradley Wright-Phillips, and David Villa). The forward was named to MLS Team of the Week on 12 occasions during that span and will no doubt be a factor for D.C. United as they look to finish the season on a high note.
