ZACH THORNTON BIO

Zach would never say so, but he truly is a living legend in us soccer. nicknamed “the big cat”, zach’s honors are countless in major league soccer, where he played for 16 seasons. he also represented the usa in international & olympic matches in the mid 1990s, and in 2004 signed a contract with portugese club benefica.

Zach was a 6x mls all-star, 3x us open cup champion, 2x goalkeeper of the year, 1x mls cup champion, and 1x mls supporters shield winner. he won the comeback player of the year award in 2009 and earned spots on the mls best xi team in 1998 & 2009. he was also team mvp for the chicago fire in 2002 and their team defender of the year in 2001-02.

simply put, zach is one of the best goalkeepers the mls has ever had. his intensity, physical size, skill, and athletic awareness on the pitch are a unique combination to the always-smiling, humble + caring personality he carries off the pitch.

zach currently is the goalkeeper coach at the chicago fire after 10 years spent coaching at the pro level with houston dynamo & dc united as well as the college level with villanova, elizabethtown, & loyola university maryland.

during his youth, zach was also a star lacrosse player earning 3rd team all-american honors in college. he believes in multi-sport development for youth athletes (versus specialization) and is proud to be a part of the ssf purpose to “empower youth athletes with skills for life + play + their future.”