College Soccer Stories #2 - Zack Almonte

Most top athletes, whether professional or in college have played the game of their choice since they were kids. With that being said, there will always be exceptions and our athlete that we’re focusing on today fits that billing. Zachary Almonte played basketball and baseball his whole life. Eventually he focused entirely on basketball in his first year of high school at Saint Joseph’s Regional in Montvale, New Jersey. Zack was a star on the freshman basketball team and even managed to sit the bench on varsity a few times throughout the season. Basketball was only a winter sport and Zack wanted to play a fall sport. During the spring of freshman year, he was encouraged by a friend to play soccer next fall and Zack was more than willing to play. In preparation, he would kick around the ball after school with friends who would help him with his technique. Once the captain’s practices started in the summer, he would attend every single one despite not having a car and living a 40-minute bike ride away. The same pattern would follow for full practices; he’d ride to practice, work hard for 2 hours, and then ride back home. Dedication at its finest. Despite Zack not having the countless hours on the pitch like most players around him did, he held something special over the rest of them. His freak athleticism allowed him to pick up any sport and do well; his 6-foot tall stature and strong build made him a versatile athlete. It was not only that however, Zack’s will to win and drive to be successful in soccer was his standout quality and what would truly define his career to this point.

In sophomore year he primarily played on Junior Varsity in order to get a lot of minutes on the field. He was deployed at striker and hit the ground running scoring 5 goals. Any other player that was 16 years old could not match his speed and strength and as a result, he dominated. His hard work and success at the JV level did not go unnoticed as he caught the eye of the program’s varsity coach, Alex Luna. He was called up to sit on the bench for a few varsity games so coach Luna could ease him into the step up in competition. Zack had other plans though and in his first varsity game he made quite the impression. Against Paterson East Side High School, he assisted the game-winning goal after just being on the field for a few minutes. The standard that he set in this game would soon lead him on the path to becoming the eventual star of the Saint Joseph Regional High School’s soccer program.

In his junior year he was included on the varsity team full time, an impressive feat considering he started playing just a year ago. He played the center defensive mid position where he was tasked with winning balls in the air going through the middle of the park. Zack did this time and time again, using his unmatched athleticism to jump higher than any player who challenged him. It was another good season for him as he recorded 2 goals to add to his tally. There was still much work left to be done, while Zack possessed superior athletic gifts, he and his coach, Alex Luna believed that in order to become a better all around player, he must improve his technical skills. The pair worked tirelessly in the off-season to achieve that goal during the lead up to senior year, a season where Zack would truly announce himself as a player.

When senior year rolled around, his position was changed again, this time playing right back, Zack’s job was to make overlapping runs and to utilize his speed and strength on both offense and defense. Alex Luna also made him captain this season because Zack is a player who always demonstrates exemplary leadership qualities. Zack tallied an impressive number of 5 goals this season and led Bergen County in goals for a defender. When Saint Joe’s played Rutherford in the Bergen Cup, he scored 2 penalties, one in regular time and then one in the shootout. This is notable because penalties are mostly mind games between a keeper and a field player. Zack shot left during regular time and as he was walking up to take the winning penalty kick during the shootout, he questioned whether or not he should go the same way or go right this time. He stepped up and slotted home his penalty to the left again, outfoxing the keeper and winning the game for Saint Joe’s.

Another one of Zack’s most impressive performances was against Bergen Catholic High School. This game would come to define the player that Zack is, a driven warrior. During the first half of the game, Zack broke his nose, which gave him some breathing issues for the rest of the game, he carried on, refusing to let his team down. Many people in his position would have stopped playing but he was not like the others, he wanted it more than anyone else. The second half begins and Bergen Catholic are up 1-0. We come to the dying minutes of the game and Saint Joe’s has a corner kick. The cross comes in…its target is Zack…he leaps over his man to head the ball…GOAL! A thumping header from the captain brings Saint Joe’s level with Bergen Catholic. It was all celebrations from the crowd and players until they heard Zack scream out. After Zack scored, he was lying flat on the floor, not moving. He felt a sharp pain in his arm and heard a snap when he hit the ground after he scored. Zack recalls this time and mentioned that he knew right away that he dislocated his elbow. An ambulance came for the Saint Joe’s captain and took him to the hospital. The emotions a team goes through when a player is injured like that can be very overwhelming and distract the team’s mind. This proved to be true as Bergen Catholic scored in overtime over a bitterly distracted Saint Joe’s side. The team actually seemed more concerned about Zack’s health rather than the result. The news from the hospital was not good as Zack’s season was brought to an abrupt end.

The team never seemed the same after Zack’s injury. They thoroughly missed his leadership on the pitch as well as his physical presence. Nonetheless, Zack was always at every game after his injury and was Saint Joe’s biggest supporter, which shows what kind of individual he is. Once the season concluded, Zack received a plethora of awards of which included All-Conference Defender of the Year, 1st team all conference, 3rd team all county, and an honorable mention for all state. His achievements are nothing short of incredible considering he first laced up his cleats only 2 years ago. He participated in the New Jersey All Star game where he played alongside star players such as Miles Franklyn and Cole Bosch. College coaches were present at this game and all of them had their eyes peered for new talent to add to their program. University of New Haven’s coach Don Hathorn had been in contact with Zack for the past few weeks and drove down to see him in action. At the time, Zack’s elbow was still dislocated but healing with a hard cast on. He played anyway. In any game he plays, Zack will always help the opposing teams players up if they’re on the ground. He did this again at the All Star game when he helped a player up with the arm where his elbow was dislocated, a real class act. Zack met with the Coach Hathorn and signed his commitment to University of New Haven in April of 2017.

Zack chose University of New Haven not only for athletics but also for academics. Zack has always been a well-rounded student, involving himself in all areas of the school and extracurricular activities that included theater, Spanish club, and of course soccer. For New Haven in particular, Zack wanted to study sports management in order to pursue a career in sports broadcasting.

Now on August 13, 2017, it was time to go to work as preseason began. Zack continued working hard and got some minutes in preseason games against Brown University and Dean College. During the regular season Zack got minutes against Southern Connecticut, Merrimack, and LaMoyne bringing him to around 30-40 minutes in total for the season. Zack was not disheartened however, he understood that he has to up his game to a whole new level in order to compete and get more play time. While his athleticism in high school carried him a long way, his technical skills were not up to speed with the caliber of players he plays along side and against. This is what he will focus on improving. “The college game is so much faster” Zack mentioned. He will be getting as many touches on the ball as possible to make up for lost time and grow into the best player he can be. Coach Hathorn sees potential in the rising sophomore and is now extra hard on him in order to set the bar high. Now that it’s the off-season Zack and the team still practice 5 days a week at 8 A.M. every morning. They lift weights, do fitness, and work with the ball tirelessly on a strict schedule.

Zack’s work ethic will no doubt earn him a starting spot next year, especially since four seniors graduated and four other players transferred to a different school. To add to that, there are only three natural defenders (Counting Zack) in New Haven’s program. In the long term Zack wants to make the All-Conference Team and hopes to play after college. “It’s always been a long time dream of mine to play for the Red Bulls” Zack said. He also mentioned that if an opportunity of playing abroad presented itself, he’d take it, depending on the country.

We at Under the Lights wish Zack the very best in the coming seasons and in his education. Big things are just over the horizon for the New York native so we will definitely be keeping an eye out and updating everyone on his progress.

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