Michee Ngalina latest to join Brendan Burke in Colorado

Michee Ngalina will be missed in Philadelphia but he’ll be joining old friends with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks next season.

Ngalina is the third player with ties to the Union to be announced as a new signing with the USL Championship club after former Bethlehem Steel head coach Brendan Burke was named head coach. Former Steel/Union II players Zach Zandi and Matt Mahoney have also been signed. Yardley, Pa. native Jimmy Ockford has also signed on with the team.

“I am excited to join the Colorado Springs Switchbacks organization and also reunite with Head Coach Brendan Burke, who I worked with at the beginning of my career,” said Ngalina in a news release. “I believe in the vision of the club and look forward to helping the team compete for a championship.”

Ngalina didn’t feature for the first team in 2020 and made just one first team appearance in league play last season. The 20-year-old had 13 goals and 4 assists in 46 appearances under Burke.

“Michee is an important signing for this club, he is a fantastic person first and foremost and a gifted athlete as well,” Burke said in a news release. ”We have worked together in the past and I know he can bring a unique skill set to the team. I am so happy to welcome Michee and his entire family into the Switchbacks community.”

Internationally, Ngalina has earned a call up from the Democratic Republic of Congo youth national teams, competing in the 2016 Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFAC) where he was the leading scorer for the Leopards’ U17 squad.