By Marin Murray.
Former Abilene High student, Bernard Kamungo, class of 2021, made his professional soccer debut for FC Dallas on September 17, after signing a four-year contract with the club.
“I couldn’t be happier than making my pro debut,” Bernard said. “It was an unforgettable day for my career.”
Kamungo’s contract was signed in late August with the options for 2026 and 2027 after playing for the club’s second-tier team for the past year.
“Playing professional soccer was my childhood dream,” Bernard said. “I’m living it right now, but I still push for more.”
Kamungo left Abilene High a few months shy of graduating, after his older brother signed him to participate in North Texas FC’s annual open tryouts. After the tryouts, Kamungo was invited to the team’s preseason training, where he was then offered a contract.
“I had seen that I had the potential to be a professional soccer player,” Bernard said. “So I knew that I had to take that step forward.”
It also happened that Bernard left Abilene High in the middle of his senior soccer season, where he was on pace to lead the Eagles to a district championship with his remarkable ability to find the back of the net in nearly every game.
“It was bittersweet,” former head soccer coach Kyle Riese said. “We knew how important he was. We knew he was our goal scorer, so we were sad to see him go but also we were so happy for him.”
In just his one and a half seasons with North Texas FC, Bernard scored goals and shattered records at an unprecedented rate. He became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals, scoring 16 of them during the 2022 season. He was named to the 2022 MLS Next Pro Best XI after recording a team high of 2033 minutes played.
“It’s been a great experience playing with such a talented young group,” Bernard said of his former team. “It’s an honor to hold that record.”
Riese has gotten the opportunity to watch his former athlete play on a number of occasions and described the growth that has already occurred in Bernard’s short time with the FC Dallas organization.
“It’s so cool to see him out there with all of the other pros,” Riese said. “He’s been more confident, like with his ability and what he can do. He’s confident and knows that he can hang with the pros.”
There’s no doubt that he will continue to hang with the pros, as Bernard’s journey from high school to America’s top professional soccer league, the Major Soccer League, only took about 20 months, a short period of time for that level of development. But even in that short amount of time, the former Eagle has learned lessons that will last him beyond his professional career.
“I’ve learned that every step you take, you get closer to your goal,” Bernard said. “Never give up because you never know how close you are to achieving your goal.”
