Shortly removed from the women's team losing Michelle Cooper to the professional ranks, Duke men's soccer bids farewell to its own star forward.
Sophomore forward and top goal-scorer Shakur Mohammed will forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility and declare for the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, per a team release Tuesday. He leaves Durham with 13 goals and nine assists to his name in 37 total appearances, 35 of which were starts.
A native of Kumasi, Ghana, Mohammed finished the 2022 season atop Duke's scoring charts, including crucial goals in wins against Louisville, Wake Forest and Notre Dame. With the offseason departure of prolific striker Thorleifur Ulfarsson to the Houston Dynamo of the MLS the season prior, head coach John Kerr relied on Mohammed to assume the scoring burden. With his increased responsibility, the sophomore helped the Blue Devils to an ACC regular season championship, a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and a quarterfinal finish at the NCAA tournament earlier this month, alongside an undefeated regular season for the first time since 1982.
Mohammed started every game of the 2022 season up front, finishing fifth in the conference in total goals, fifth in points and second in game-winning goals, of which he scored six. He was also a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, earned places on the All-South Region First Team and All-America First Team, was named ACC Freshman of the Year in 2021 and earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year distinction in 2022.
Mohammed also signed a deal with Generation Adidas, a joint venture between Adidas and the MLS to provide 11 promising young players with salaries independent of their prospective teams to encourage their development. He is the second Blue Devil in as many years to do so, following Ulfarsson in 2021.
The MLS SuperDraft, in which Duke had two top-15 selections last year, will take place Wednesday at 5 p.m.
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Andrew Long is a Trinity senior and recruitment/social chair of The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously sports editor for Volume 119.