Florida Atlantic University revitalized its men’s soccer team with a sizable class of transfers this year. One particular transfer player has made an immediate impact on the team, with 10 goal involvements in only nine games. The new rising star is Mamadou Diarra. 

Diarra, a senior transfer from Southwestern College majoring in business analytics, has scored six goals and assisted a teammate four times so far in his Owl career. He was born in Mali, a French-speaking Western African country where he began his soccer training.

The Philadelphia Union, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team, was set to sign him professionally straight from his home country. Unfortunately, after an unexpected change in coaches, he was left unable to sign and sought out the college experience.

“They told me I was going to sign pro, but when I got here everything literally went wrong,” Diarra said.

During the Owls’ home game against Stetson University Hatters on Aug. 29, Diarra showcased his talent with a first-half hat trick prior to the game getting called on rain delay.

To make it more impressive, he did it in 45 minutes.

“He’s a special type of player that doesn’t come along that often,” said Joey Worthen, FAU men’s soccer head coach. “So we’re fortunate that he’s here.”

Worthen hopes that the Stetson game will be resumed later in the season so that Diarra gets credit for the goals. He expects Diarra to cause problems for opponents in the second half of the season as well. 

“In four years [at Southwestern] I scored 41 goals and I broke the school record, so I’m trying to do the same thing here,” Diarra said. “I’m trying to score as much as I can.”

Diarra hit the ground running toward his mission for the Owls this season. In his first five games, he had three goals and just as many assists, averaging more than a goal contribution per/each game. 

“This is his first year with us, but he’s done four years of college already as a transfer and so he’s just mature and he’s got a lot of experience… He instantly is an example and somebody that the younger guys are going to look to,” said Worthen. 

The transition to become an Owl wasn’t difficult for Diarra. He came in and worked hard to get his spot on the team. Diarra had hopes of playing D1 soccer and between his options of Florida International University and Iona University, FAU seemed to be the best home for him. 

Diarra entered FAU prepared, both athletically and socially.

“He’s a really quiet kid but he’s got a big personality,” Worthen said. “He fit in seamlessly.”

In the game against the University of North Florida, Diarra’s fifth appearance for the Owls, he won the game with a brace. The two goals he scored proved to be the only difference between the teams, with the game ending 2-0. Diarra’s bicycle kick to open the scoring brought nationwide attention. ESPN featured it in the SportsCenter Top 10. Coming off a cross by Arthur Widiez, the goal was also featured on NCAA soccer’s Instagram.

“I’m not very surprised [I did it] because I’ve scored that goal since when I was in Africa,” Diarra said. “That’s not my first time scoring that goal.”

The shock factor for Diarra was being on an NCAA page for the first time. After the game, he said the NCAA asked to tag him for a collaboration and Diarra knew that opportunity would help him.

“People will know me and they’ll know like, ‘Oh, it’s Mamadou Diarra… Oh, you go to school at Florida Atlantic University.’ People are gonna know me a lot and that’s good for me,” said Diarra. 

Diarra had been training in his home country of Mali long before he moved to Pennsylvania in 2018. He trained twice a day in the West African country, preparing for professional trials in America. He often brings a part of Mali with him on the pitch, wearing headbands and wristbands with the colors of the Malinese flag in multiple matches.

“That’s my country. I was born in Mali, like all my family… I want to go far with my country. I want to put my country on the map,” said Diarra. 

After college, Diarra hopes to represent Mali internationally by playing for their national team. But, during his time at FAU this season, Diarra said, “I want to win this. I want to win the ring. I want to be the champion and go for the NCAA tournament.”  

Before transferring to FAU, Diarra played four years at Southwestern College. Diarra steadily scored more goals each progressive season. 

In his first year, he scored three goals across the entire season. By his senior year at Southwestern, he scored 16 goals in 16 games. On top of that, he had six assists during his final season with Southwestern, making 22 goal involvements in 16 games.

“Mamadou was always the hardest working. He was always an example to everyone else here,” said Lee Howarth, Diarra’s head coach at Southwestern. “The four years that he was here, he was always the guy that was out the most outside of practice hours, put in extra work… went the extra mile.”

Haworth heavily emphasized Diarra’s work ethic. Aside from spending time outside of practice to train, during practice, Diarra was described as the hardest working and a “good example.” 

This ethic was present during his time in Mali. He trained every day of the week—besides Sunday, which was his dedicated rest day—with a coach to continue his growth. He described morning training sessions, followed by a run in the evenings to prepare for the professional trials. 

“You gotta be prepared because you can’t just be lazy. You have to be prepared to get fit,” said Diarra. 

Alexander Tabares is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this story or others, email him at atabares2023@fau.edu. or DM him on Instagram @alextabaresof