Zack Pope (born March 20, 1986, in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

) is an American

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

Youth and amateur

Pope attended

Stony Point High School Stony Point High School is a high school in the Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) in Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. I ...

, and 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 ...

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

on a partial soccer scholarship, graduating with a psychology degree and a minor in sociology. He was drafted in the third round (40th overall) in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft by Chicago Fire, but was not offered a professional contract with the team. He would later rejoin Chicago Fire reserves and F.C. Dallas reserves in the 2008 season; after an abbreviated stint with the

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 ...

, he joined the Aztex junior team,

Austin Aztex U23 Austin Aztex U23 was an American soccer team based in Round Rock, Texas, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the franc ...

in 2008.

Professional

Pope joined the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

expansion franchise

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer p ...

in March 2009. He made his professional debut on April 18, 2009, in Austin's USL1 season opener against

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. T ...

. He was released by the Aztex at the end of the 2009 season.Austin Announces Release Of 14 Players From The 2009 Squad
/ref> He is currently the assistant soccer coach at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX.

References

External links

*
Duke profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Zach 1986 births Living people American men's soccer players Austin Aztex players Austin Aztex FC players Austin Aztex U23 players Austin Lightning players Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players Rochester Rhinos players USL First Division players USL League Two players Chicago Fire FC draft picks Soccer players from Texas Men's association football defenders