« Men’s Soccer 2010

Samson Malijani

School
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Position
Forward
Major
Communications
G
3
A
1
PTS
7

Classroom

Samson Malijani has been named to the Northeast Conference Academic Honor Roll as well as being selected to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-District second team.

Character

Following the death of his parents, Malijani (age 10) was taken in by his mom’s sister, whom he said treated him like he was her own child and supported him in every facet of life. Malijani, a Zambia native, is soft-spoken, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a team leader since he was a freshman. Teammates respect his demeanor, and despite being far from home, Malijani always seems comfortable in his surroundings.

Community

Back in Zambia, Malijani got involved in Grassroots Soccer as a mentor. The group, co-founded by former FDU soccer player Ethan Zohn, teaches kids about HIV/AIDS through soccer. Malijani feels that the community needs programs such as these to help kids interact, to keep them out of trouble and to show them the importance of education and soccer. He acted as a mentor and an interpreter, telling the kids about how he was able to use soccer to get an education, which was an important message he got from his parents. He was able to travel through the country and help to educate kids.

Competition

After scoring 18 goals in his junior season, Malijani was honored with several awards, including third-team NSCAA All-American, first-team All-NEC and first-team All-North Atlantic Region. He enters his fifth year after tearing his ACL and missing the entire 2009 season. Malijani’s rate of 0.9 goals per game in 2008 ranked second in the nation and he was named Fairleigh Dickinson’s Male Athlete of the Year. He also made first-team All-NEC as a sophomore after leading the team with 10 goals.