Zachary Zandi (born July 18, 1996) is an American soccer player who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the USL Championship.

Early life

Zandi played youth soccer for West Chester United and Penn Fusion Soccer Academy before joining the Philadelphia Union Academy, and attended Henderson High School. Zandi was a part of Philadelphia Union's under-17 team that won the 2012

Generation Adidas Cup The Generation Adidas Cup (previously known as the SUM U-17 Cup) is a competition run by Major League Soccer for all U-17 MLS academy teams. As part of the Homegrown Initiative, the Generation Adidas Cup focused on player development while provi ...

College career

Zandi played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

for

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, where in four seasons he made 63 appearances, scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists, leading the team with seven goals scored in 2018 and receiving Big East honors throughout his collegiate career. In 2016, Zandi notably helped the Wildcats reach their first NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament in program history.

Club career

Early career

Zandi joined

Reading United AC Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus ...

in 2016 while in college where he made 24 appearances, scored two goals and provided five assists in three seasons, while also making three appearances in the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

Philadelphia Union II

Zandi was acquired by

Philadelphia Union II Philadelphia Union II is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania competing in MLS Next Pro. Founded in 2015 as Bethlehem Steel FC, the team is the official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. T ...

on January 8, 2019 and made his club debut for the then

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

in their season opener on March 10, 2019, scoring a goal in his debut and earning USL Championship Team-of-the-Week honors for his performance.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks

On December 21, 2020, Zandi joined the

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The franchise is owned by Martin E ...

ahead of the

2021 USL Championship season The 2021 USL Championship season was the eleventh season of the USL Championship and the fifth season under Division II sanctioning. This was the third season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" throug ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on July 17, 2021 in a league match against San Antonio FC. The following season, Zandi scored five goals during the regular season and provided an assist in the conference semifinal to help lead the Switchbacks to their first-ever conference final. Zandi received the

number 10 jersey Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players that are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11, although in the modern ga ...

ahead of the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

and scored a goal in their home opener on March 18, 2023 against Hartford Athletic.

International career

Youth

Zandi was a pool player for the US Soccer national training center since 2010.

Style of play

Zandi has been praised for his attacking movement, combinations, and ability to create scoring chances.

Personal life

His sister, Sydney Zandi, played college soccer for the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and has played for the United States women's national under-17, under-18 and under-19 soccer teams, including representing the United States at the

2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournam ...

. His father Karl Zandi played college soccer for West Chester University and his uncle Peter played college soccer for the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Honors

Individual

*2015 Big East All-Freshman Team *2016 Big East All-Academic Team *2016 Big East Honor Roll *2017 Philadelphia Soccer Six Player of the Year *2018 All-Big East Second Team

References

External links

Profile at Villanova
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zandi, Zach 1996 births Living people American soccer players American people of Iranian descent Sportspeople of Iranian descent Association football midfielders Philadelphia Union II players People from West Chester, Pennsylvania Reading United A.C. players Soccer players from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Chester County, Pennsylvania USL Championship players USL League Two players Villanova Wildcats men's soccer players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players Zandi family (United States)