Adjeman-Pamboe Named CAA Player of the Week

By Broadside Opinion Columnist Brendan Murphy

Senior forward Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe was named the CAA Player of the Week on November 4, after scoring three goals and two assists in his last three games, leading the George Mason University Patriots to two must-win conference victories.

The Bowie, Md. native leads the team with four goals and 12 points this season and is tied for the team lead with four assists.

The humbled, bright-smiling 21-year-old has had significant individual success this season following his transfer from St. Francis University in Loretta, Pa. in 2006.

“This year has been great. At first, I wasn’t playing because the coaches said they were holding me to a higher standard. That’s helped me in my success. I used it as motivation,” Adjeman-Pamboe said. But the true motivation behind his success is his family.

“I take a lot of pride in representing my family. My mother always tells me, ‘Son, do well and to keep focused.’ She is the biggest part of my life. She nearly passed away in ’96, so our relationship got stronger. Before games, I call her and she texts me ‘score for me son.’ But I get most of it from my mother and brother.”

Adjeman-Pamboe has a 25-year-old brother who resides in hometown Bowie. His mother lives in England and his father lives in North Carolina.

“My brother is a big part. He always comes to the games and gets mad at me. He says I should have scored two or three,” Adjeman-Pamboe said.

Adjeman-Pamboe performed much like his soccer idols this season, Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs and Barcelona’s legendary striker Thierry Henry, but the transfer to green and gold has led to a higher standard.

“I did not think I was going to play in college, so when I first went to St. Francis I had trouble handling the bigger guys,” Adjeman-Pamboe said. “Playing against 21-year-olds was much tougher. I chose St. Francis out of high school because they saw me at one of the tournaments and they asked me if I wanted to go. I thought it was a good opportunity to see if I could play Division I soccer.”

In Adjeman-Pamboe’s first season with the Red Flash, he led the team in scoring with six goals despite only starting two games. In his second season at St. Francis, he scored two goals but sat out the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

“I didn’t like the area. If you didn’t have a car you couldn’t go anywhere,” Adjeman-Pamboe said.

In his second season at Mason, his individual success launched the Patriots into a three-way tie for third place in the CAA and a chance to get into the conference tournament starting tomorrow. He intends to finish out the season strong and graduate in the fall of 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting.

“I’d like to give a shout out to all of my teams. Thanks to all of them, without them I wouldn’t have this interview. Thanks to the coaching staff, they helped me get here to this high standard,” Adjeman-Pamboe said.