Zachary Robert Loyd (born July 18, 1987) is an American former professional

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. He played for

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

and

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

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 ...

and represented the

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is a member of FIFA sinc ...

. Loyd is currently the head coach for

Lone Star Republic The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

in the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American for-profit soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The leagu ...

Career

College and amateur

Loyd is the one of four sons of Alan and Kathleen Loyd. Loyd grew up in

Verdigris, Oklahoma Verdigris is an incorporated town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States, in the Tulsa metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territ ...

, attended Verdigris High School and played college soccer at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

(UNC) from 2006 to 2009. While at UNC, Loyd scored 7 goals and recorded 10 assists. Loyd also garnered a spot on the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

College Cup All-Tournament Team his junior year. Loyd assisted

Brian Shriver Brian Patrick Shriver (born August 5, 1987, in Clearwater, Florida) is a former American soccer player. Career Youth and college Shriver was an All-state performer at Clearwater High School, where he served as team captain for three years an ...

for a game-winning goal against No. 1 Wake Forest in the national semifinal, advancing UNC to the College Cup final to face Maryland. During his college years Loyd also played for

Carolina Dynamo Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...

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 ...

. At the

2010 MLS SuperDraft The 2010 MLS SuperDraft was the eleventh annual MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 14, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America, NSCAA Conv ...

Combine, experts praised Loyd's efforts, saying, "If Tchani was the best player at the combine, Loyd was the second most impressive. His ability to play well at whatever position he was put in showed off all of his many qualities, including a good passing touch, hard-nosed defending, a good ability to read the game, and surprising pace." "He's just a good all-around player, and the scary part is, he didn't really play much at what is probably his best position, defensive midfield," said another MLS head coach. "In our league, where you have the salary cap and the small roster, finding a player who can help you at a variety of positions is like finding gold."

Professional

Loyd was drafted in the first round (5th overall) of the

. He made his professional debut on April 10, 2010, in a game against

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

with Loyd playing all 90 minutes of the 2–2 draw. During the

2010 MLS season The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 15th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 32nd with a national first-division league. Negotiations between the league an ...

, Loyd appeared in 24 matches and started 19 of them. Loyd was named to the MLS Team of Week 1 of the 2011 season for his performance against the Chicago Fire. He scored his first MLS goal on June 25, 2011, during a 4–0 win against the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. The goal came off a corner kick from Daniel Hernandez. Loyd scored FC Dallas' opening goal for the

2012 MLS season The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 17th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 34th with a national first-division league. The Montreal Impact became the ...

, in a match against the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. Loyd spent his early years with Dallas primarily as the starting

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. In his later years, he primarily played more as a center back. After an injury cut short his 2016 season, Loyd was selected by

in the 2016 expansion draft. After being put on the season-ending injury list in August 2017 the option on his contract was declined at the end of the 2017 season. His only game for Atlanta came in the

US 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 ...

International

On January 22, 2011, Loyd made his international debut in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, where he started at the

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

position. The game ended in a 1–1 draw with Loyd playing 73 minutes. He was named Man of the Match.

Personal life

During his time at North Carolina, Loyd majored in exercise and sport science, and planned a career as a teacher and coach after soccer. Loyd has three brothers, two of whom played at

Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...

. He married professional soccer player

Casey Nogueira Casey Nicole Loyd (; born February 23, 1989) is an American former professional soccer midfielder. She played collegiately for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where she won two national championships. She played professionally for the Los Angele ...

, whom he met when they both played soccer at North Carolina, on October 13, 2012. The couple coach Vickery United, a youth soccer team for refugees in the

North Dallas North Dallas is an area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas (United States). The phrase "North Dallas" is also sometimes used to include any suburb or exurb north of Dallas proper within the metropolitan area. The majority ...

neighborhood of

Vickery Meadow Vickery is an ethnically-diverse neighborhood consisting almost exclusively of apartment complexes in Northeast Dallas, Texas, United States. The Midtown Improvement District states the neighborhood is bounded by Northwest Highway, Royal Lane, ...

Honors

University of North Carolina

College Cup All-Tournament Team (1): 2008 *

Final Four Appearances (2): 2008, 2009

FC Dallas

Western Conference Championship (1):

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 ...

* Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield (1):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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 ...

(1):

References

External links

*
North Carolina bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loyd, Zach 1987 births Living people People from Rogers County, Oklahoma American men's soccer players Soccer players from Oklahoma North Carolina Fusion U23 players FC Dallas players Atlanta United FC players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players United States men's international soccer players FC Dallas draft picks Men's association football defenders All-American college men's soccer players American soccer coaches United Premier Soccer League coaches