Zachary Thomas Verhoven (born August 17, 1998) is a Canadian

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 who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Australian club New Lambton FC in the

NPL Northern NSW The National Premier Leagues Northern NSW (NPL NNSW) is a semi-professional soccer competition in Northern New South Wales. The competition is conducted by Northern NSW Football, one of two organizing bodies in New South Wales (the other being ...

Early life

Verhoven played youth soccer with

Surrey United SC Surrey United Soccer Club is a Canadian amateur soccer club based in Cloverdale area in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 1968. The senior men's team goes by the name Surrey United Firefighters and plays in the Fraser Vall ...

from 2003 to 2009. In 2010, he joined Surrey Guildford United SC. He also played on the British Columbia provincial team. After being part of the Whitecaps Propects program from 2008 to 2010, he officially joined the

Vancouver Whitecaps Academy Whitecaps FC Academy ( sponsor name Whitecaps FC BMO Academy) is the youth system of the professional soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It fields a men's and women's team in the semi-professional League1 ...

in September 2011. After the Whitecaps released him at the U15 level, he returned to Surrey United where he played until he reached the U18 level.

University career

In 2016, Verhoven began attending the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. He scored his first goal on September 4, 2016 against the

UNBC Timberwolves The UNBC Timberwolves are the athletic teams that represent the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, British Columbia and currently compete in the Canada West conference of U Sports. The Timberwolves field varsity teams in ...

, while also recording two assists in a 3-1 victory. On November 2, 2018, Verhoven scored two goals and added an assist in a 7-0 victory over the

UFV Cascades The UFV Cascades are the athletic teams that represent the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Abbotsford, British Columbia and currently compete in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Canada West confe ...

. With UBC, he won three consecutive Canada West Conference titles from 2016 to 2018.

Club career

In 2017 and 2018, he played with the

TSS Rovers TSS FC Rovers, commonly referred to as TSS Rovers, are a Canadian soccer team based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada that play in League1 British Columbia, the third tier of soccer in Canada. Established for the 2017 PDL season by general m ...

in the

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 ...

. In November 2018, Verhoven was selected in the second round (ninth overall) of the

2018 CPL–U Sports Draft The 2018 CPL–U Sports Draft was the inaugural CPL–U Sports Draft, held on November 12, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Seven Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams selected 21 U Sports athletes in total. The results were announced on Nove ...

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

. In April 2019, he signed a professional contract with the club. He scored his first professional goal on August 18, 2019, with a shot from just over the midfield line against York 9 FC. In his first season as a professional, he scored two goals and added three assists. After primarily playing a "super-sub" role during his two years with Pacific, he departed the club after the 2020 season, after he requested his release. In April 2021, Verhoven signed with

Atlético Ottawa Atlético Ottawa is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at TD Place. The team was founded in 2020 by Spanish club Atlético Madrid. History F ...

. During the 2021 season, he was often deployed in a more defensive right back position, transitioning from his usually midfield position, filling in due to injuries to other players. He was nominated for the Capital City Supporters Group Player of the Season in his inaugural season with the club. In January 2022, he re-signed with the club for two more season, with an option for 2024. In June 2022, he scored game-winning goals in back-to-back matches on June 1 against

Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...

and June 5 against his former club

. During his second season with the club, he suffered a couple of injuries which limited him to only 12 regular season appearances, but he did return in time for the playoffs, scoring his first playoff goal in the first leg of the semi-finals against

, as Ottawa advanced to the championship final. He departed the club after the 2023 season. On March 14, 2024, Vancouver FC announced the signing of the B.C.-born player to a one-year contract with an option for 2025. In 2025, he joined Australian club New Lambton FC in the

International career

In September 2021, it was reported that

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

were interested in having Verhoven join the program ahead of their

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

campaign.

Career statistics

References

External links

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Zach Verhoven
NPL Stats {{DEFAULTSORT:Verhoven, Zachary 1998 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Burnaby Soccer players from Surrey, British Columbia Canadian people of Fijian descent UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer players TSS FC Rovers players Pacific FC draft picks Pacific FC players Atlético Ottawa players USL League Two players Canadian Premier League players Whitecaps FC Academy players Vancouver FC players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen National Premier Leagues players University and college men's soccer players in Canada