BYO born fires New England past Houston
Kheli Dube scored the winner as the New England Revolution claimed a 2-1 MLS win at the Houston Dynamo.
Shalrie Joseph put the Revolution in front in the 43rd minute, but Dominic Oduro equalised on the hour mark.
Dube earned the visitors victory in the 73rd minute and Houston finished the game with 10 men as substitute Joseph Ngwenya was sent off in the 90th minute.
The win ended a five-game winless streak for New England.
How Acquired: Selected by the Revolution in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft
Very quick and skillful on the ball ... a prolific goal scorer at the collegiate level, he transitioned well to the professional game and led all 2008 MLS rookies in goals and assists and finished 2009 as the team's co-leader in goal scoring ... likes to run at defenders, but is just as adept with his back to goal ... celebrates his goals with traditional African dances ... was one of three finalists for 2008 MLS Gatorade Rookie of the Year.
2009: Appeared in 26 MLS regular-season matches - starting 20 - and scored eight goals to share the team's goal-scoring lead with Shalrie Joseph. Four of his goals were game-winners, tying him for third in the league in that category. Made 33 total appearances (27 starts), including action in the U.S. Open Cup, SuperLiga and MLS Cup Playoffs. Notched the game-winning goal in the 55th minute of the season opener at San Jose (March 21) to give the Revs' their first win in San Jose since the 2000 season. Missed the New York (June 7) match when he traveled to Zimbabwe following his grandmother's passing. Scored his second goal – also a game-winner – against Chivas USA (July 19), snapping the Revolution's 303-minute scoreless streak, the third-longest scoreless streak in club history. Recorded his second straight game-winning goal in the 76th minute of the 1-0 win over Houston (July 25). Earned MLS player of the week honors for Week 23 when he scored all three goals in the 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake (Aug. 23), marking the first multiple-goal game of his career. Struck in the ninth, 29th and 66th minutes to record the eighth hat trick in Revolution history and the first in almost four years (Taylor Twellman, 2005). Started the Revs' U.S. Open Cup match against the Harrisburg City Islanders (June 30), suffering an ankle injury in the 63rd minute. Appeared in all four matches in SuperLiga, starting all three group stage matches. Scored two goals and two assists in the tournament, tying Kenny Mansally for the team's scoring lead. Assisted on Jay Heaps' game-winning goal in the 63rd minute of the 4-2 win over Santos Laguna (June 21), while he added the Revolution's fourth goal in the 82nd minute. Scored New England's only goal in the 1-1 draw with Kansas City (June 24), and then assisted on Kenny Mansally's game-winning goal against Atlas (June 28). Started and played all 180 minutes of the two-game Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against Chicago (Nov. 1 and Nov. 7).
2008: Made 21 regular-season appearances, including 13 starts. Scored four goals and added four assists in the regular season to lead all MLS rookies in both categories. Two of his goals were game-winners, while another was a game-tying goal. Overall, made 29 appearances, including regular season, U.S. Open Cup and SuperLiga. Made his MLS and Revolution debut in the season opener against Houston (March 29). Made his first career start on May 17 against San Jose, and six minutes into the game, scored his first career goal. Including the San Jose game, scored in three straight games: at Columbus (May 24) and against D.C. (May 29). Assisted on Steve Ralston's game-winning goal in the eighth minute before scoring a goal in the 35th minute of the 2-0 win at Houston (June 12). Missed eight matches (Aug. 9-Sept. 20) with a right adductor (groin) strain. Started all five SuperLiga matches, scoring one goal - against Santos Laguna (July 13). Made one appearance in the U.S. Open Cup, scoring in penalty kicks against Crystal Palace Baltimore (July 8). Started both playoff matches against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. Also made four appearances - all starts - in the Reserve Division, recording two assists. Started the season on the developmental roster, but was promoted to the 18-man senior roster on July 14. Was one of three finalists for MLS Gatorade Rookie of the Year.
COLLEGE: Was the 2007 Big South Conference Player of the Year and a NSCAA All-South Atlantic performer … a two-time All-Big South performer and was a member of the 2006 Big South All-Tournament Team … played two seasons at Coastal Carolina after transferring from NAIA powerhouse Lindsey Wilson … in his four-year collegiate career, appeared in 76 games, scoring 52 goals and 25 assists, which included 16 goals and 12 assists in 26 games at Coastal Carolina … missed the first five weeks of his senior season at Coastal Carolina with an injury, but still scored 11 goals.
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL TEAM: Is a former member of Zimbabwe's Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 teams … played in Olympic Qualifiers for Zimbabwe ahead of the 2004 Olympics.
PERSONAL: Full name is Mkhokheli Dube, but goes by Kheli … son of Pauline Dube and is the third of her six children, who all still live in Zimbabwe … majored in communications at Coastal Carolina … also played tennis as a child.
