Forward Madison FC has signed 27-year-old forward Wojciech Wojcik, the club announced in a press release Tuesday. Wojcik, who scored seven goals in 2019 for Hartford Athletic of the USL Championship, will fill a much-needed position for the Flamingos, who will look to improve on their sixth-in-the-league 33 goals in 2019.
Wojcik, who has produced personal-best scoring marks in the last two years, said he knows he will be measured by how well he can put the ball in the back of the net.
“As a striker, I have to score goals,” Wojcik said in a statement. “That’s what I was brought here to do, and that’s the role and responsibility that I understand.”
Wojcik was born in Poland, but grew up in Chicago, training with the Chicago Fire Academy while in high school. He started his professional career with Finnish side FC Ilves in 2014 before moving back to the Midwest, where he finished runner-up in the North American Soccer League with Indy Eleven in 2016. From there, Wojcik enjoyed successful stints with OKC Energy FC, New York Cosmos and finally Hartford Athletic, where he led the first-year USL Championship club in scoring in 2019.
Wojcik is set to fill a striker position help briefly by US National Team prospect Mason Toye, who didn’t find his stride in Madison before jumping to Minnesota United and finding great success there. After his departure, Forward Madison didn’t have a single, go-to up-top striker.
Head coach Daryl Shore said Wojcik’s signing represents Forward’s next step on the journey to a USL League One title.
“Although we did well in our first year, we owe it to our fans to try to win a championship in 2020,” Shore said in a statement. “Wojciech is a seasoned professional who will add a physical side to our game and help us score more goals than last season.”
For Wojcik, who has kept track of the Flamingos from afar, the chance to play in front of Forward Madison’s fans was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“I was able to follow Forward Madison for all of last year, and it was great to be able to see masses of people coming to the games,” Wojcik said. “It’ll be a fun and exciting time in 2020.”
Forward Madison FC opens the season March 28 at Richmond Kickers, with its first home match of the spring set for April 11 against Toronto FC II.
