Michael Rory Zaher (born September 24, 1985, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player.

Career

College and amateur

Zaher attended

Bishop Gorman High School Bishop Gorman High School (commonly referred to as Gorman or BGHS) is a four-year private, Roman Catholic college preparatory school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school is administered by the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. The school opened i ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, 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 College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 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 St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, which UCLA lost 2–1 to

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

. 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 USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, for

Boulder Rapids Reserve Colorado Rapids U–23 were an American soccer team based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado. Originally founded in 2000 as part of the development system for the Colorado Rapids, the team played in the Premier Development League, ...

and the

San Fernando Valley Quakes San Fernando Valley Quakes was an American soccer team based in Calabasas, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when ...

Professional

Zaher was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 MLS Superdraft by Canadian

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. However, his rights were traded to

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

for an undisclosed pick, and he was officially signed to the development roster on 17 April 2008. He made his professional debut for DC on 19 July 2008, coming on as a second-half substitute for Bryan Namoff in a

SuperLiga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...

game against

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

, and made his first MLS appearance came on August 20, 2008, starting against

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

. On March 16, 2009, Zaher signed a developmental contract with the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. 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 The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

side

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

on March 23, 2010. After two years with Charleston, Zaher signed with USL side

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

on November 28, 2011.

Personal life

In 2006, Zaher played the male lead in the JoJo music video "

Too Little Too Late "Too Little Too Late" is a song by American singer JoJo from her second studio album, '' The High Road'' (2006). It was written by Billy Steinberg, Josh Alexander and Ruth-Anne Cunningham, and produced by the former two with Da Family Records ...

Honors

;D.C. United *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

;Charleston Battery *

Champions:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Regular Season Champions:

References

External links

Charleston Battery bio

MLS player profile

Daily Bruin (UCLA newspaper) profile

Evenison interview

Far West selection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaher, Mike 1985 births Living people American men's soccer players Colorado Rapids U-23 players San Fernando Valley Quakes players D.C. United players San Jose Earthquakes players Charleston Battery players Rochester Rhinos players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) UCLA Bruins men's soccer players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Second Division players USL Championship players Toronto FC draft picks Bishop Gorman High School alumni Soccer players from Nevada Sportspeople from Las Vegas Men's association football defenders