Mike Zaher

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Mike Zaher

| image = Mike_Zaher_playing_with_the_San_Jose_Earthquakes-_2013-08-09_13-22.jpg

| caption = Mike Zaher playing with the San Jose Earthquakes

| fullname = Michael Rory Zaher

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|9|24}}

| birth_place = Phoenix, Arizona, United States

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}

| position = Defender

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| youthyears1 = 2004–2007

| youthclubs1 = UCLA Bruins

| years1 = 2005

| clubs1 = Boulder Rapids Reserve

| caps1 = 6

| goals1 = 2

| years2 = 2006–2007

| clubs2 = San Fernando Valley Quakes

| caps2 = 21

| goals2 = 1

| years3 = 2008

| clubs3 = D.C. United

| caps3 = 3

| goals3 = 0

| years4 = 2009

| clubs4 = San Jose Earthquakes

| caps4 = 10

| goals4 = 0

| years5 = 2010–2011

| clubs5 = Charleston Battery

| caps5 = 38

| goals5 = 3

| years6 = 2012

| clubs6 = Rochester Rhinos

| caps6 = 7

| goals6 = 0

| nationalyears1 =

| nationalteam1 =

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| medaltemplates =

| pcupdate = June 9, 2012

| ntupdate =

}}

Michael Rory Zaher (born September 24, 1985, in Phoenix, Arizona) is a former American soccer player.

Career

=College and amateur=

Zaher attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, whom he led to the Nevada high school state championship in 2002; he scored 34 goals as a senior, 25 as a junior, 13 as a sophomore and six as a freshman for a total of 78 career goals. He also led his club soccer team, Las Vegas Premier, to seven Nevada state championships.

Zaher played college soccer at UCLA, where he majored in political science. He played in 70 games over four seasons, scoring twice in the run-up to the 2006 NCAA soccer championship game in St. Louis, which UCLA lost 2–1 to UC Santa Barbara. Zaher is a former member of the U.S. U-18 National Team, was listed at #21 in Soccer America's Top 25 recruits list, is a two-time Parade All-American, was a member of the 2004 McDonald's All-American team and the 2003 NSCAA/adidas All-American team, was the Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2004, and was selected to the ESP All-Star Team in 2002 and 2003.

During his college years, Zaher also played in the USL Premier Development League, for Boulder Rapids Reserve and the San Fernando Valley Quakes.

=Professional=

Zaher was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 MLS Superdraft by Canadian Major League Soccer side Toronto FC. However, his rights were traded to D.C. United for an undisclosed pick, and he was officially signed to the development roster on 17 April 2008.http://dcunited.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20080417&content_id=151252&vkey=news_dcu&fext=.jsp&team=t103{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He made his professional debut for DC on 19 July 2008, coming on as a second-half substitute for Bryan Namoff in a SuperLiga game against Houston Dynamo,{{cite web |url=http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=07192008_HOUDC |title=Major League Soccer: Match Tracker: Main |accessdate=2008-07-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723005449/http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=07192008_HOUDC |archivedate=2008-07-23 }} and made his first MLS appearance came on August 20, 2008, starting against New England Revolution.

On March 16, 2009, Zaher signed a developmental contract with the San Jose Earthquakes.http://sjearthquakes.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20090316&content_id=226524&vkey=pr_sje&fext=.jsp&team=t110{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Zaher featured in 10 MLS games for San Jose before being released at the end of the 2009 season; he signed terms with USL Second Division side Charleston Battery on March 23, 2010.{{Cite web|url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/412377.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610063135/http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/412377.html|url-status=dead|title=Charleston adds two for 2010|archivedate=June 10, 2011}}

After two years with Charleston, Zaher signed with USL side Rochester Rhinos on November 28, 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.rhinossoccer.com/news/index.html?article_id=181 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2012-01-31 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425062426/http://www.rhinossoccer.com/news/index.html?article_id=181 |archivedate=2012-04-25 }}

Personal life

In 2006, Zaher played the male lead in the JoJo music video "Too Little Too Late".{{Cite web|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2006/dec/01/picked-out-of-crowd-player-makes-music-video-appea/|title=Picked out of crowd, player makes music video appearance|date=December 1, 2006|website=Las Vegas Sun}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/batterys-mike-zaher-cant-escape-music-video/article_4d5526b0-1c11-575e-b937-717223292ea6.html|title=Battery's Mike Zaher can't escape music video|last=Miller|first=Andrew|website=Post and Courier|language=en|access-date=2020-04-14}}

Honors

;D.C. United

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2008

;Charleston Battery

USL Second Division Champions: 2010
USL Second Division Regular Season Champions: 2010

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20100412055941/http://charlestonbattery.com/team_roster.asp?pid=3104 Charleston Battery bio]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100308000516/http://sjearthquakes.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t110&player=zaher_m&playerId=zah177980&statType=current MLS player profile]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20071128114357/http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/zaher_mike00.html UCLA bio]
[https://archive.today/20070714045243/http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2006/aug/28/soccer-team-plays-a-new-part/ Daily Bruin (UCLA newspaper) profile]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20071022032246/http://www.evenison.com/interviews/college-soccer/mike-zaher Evenison interview]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713184619/http://www.lasoccernews.com/college/ucla2.php?article_id=2420 Far West selection]

Category:1985 births

Category:Living people

Category:American men's soccer players

Category:Colorado Rapids U-23 players

Category:San Fernando Valley Quakes players

Category:D.C. United players

Category:San Jose Earthquakes players

Category:Charleston Battery players

Category:Rochester New York FC players

Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer)

Category:UCLA Bruins men's soccer players

Category:USL League Two players