 Thornton in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1973-10-10)October 10, 1973 (age 51) | ||
| Place of birth | Edgewood,Maryland, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1994 | Loyola Greyhounds | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993 | Baltimore Bays[1] | ? | (?) |
| 1996–1997 | MetroStars | 6 | (0) |
| 1997 | →Imperials (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1998–2006 | Chicago Fire | 215 | (0) |
| 2004 | →Benfica (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2007 | Colorado Rapids | 1 | (0) |
| 2008 | New York Red Bulls | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2011 | Chivas USA | 60 | (0) |
| Total | 286 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994–2001 | United States | 8 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012 | Loyola Greyhounds (goalkeeping) | ||
| 2012 | Elizabethtown Blue Jays (goalkeeping) | ||
| 2013–2014 | Villanova Wildcats (associate head coach) | ||
| 2015–2021 | D.C. United (goalkeeping) | ||
| 2022 | Houston Dynamo (goalkeeping) | ||
| 2022– | Chicago Fire (goalkeeping) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Zach Thornton (born October 10, 1973) is an Americansoccer player who is goalkeeping coach forChicago Fire FC. Agoalkeeper, he spent 16 seasons inMajor League Soccer with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1996–97),Chicago Fire (1998–2006),Colorado Rapids (2007),New York Red Bulls (2008) andChivas USA (2008–11). He was the starting goalkeeper for the Fire when it wonMLS Cup '98 in its inaugural year. He,Chris Armas, andC. J. Brown are the only three Fire players to be a part of all six of the club's domestic championships from 1998 through 2006.[2]
The youngest of four siblings, Thornton began playing soccer at age five andlacrosse a year later. His father Ernest, who had endured his share of injuries while playingfootball atKentucky State College, had gently steered him away from thegridiron sport. Thornton was a three-sport star in soccer, lacrosse andbasketball atThe John Carroll School. He attendedEssex Community College before completing his education atLoyola College in Maryland.[3] At Loyola, he played both soccer and lacrosse, the latter as a third-team All-American. He was named to theMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference 40th Anniversary Men's Soccer Team on September 1, 2020.[4]
Thornton was selected in the 7th round (69th overall) by theNew York/New Jersey MetroStars in the1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.[5] With then-formerU.S. national keeper and local starTony Meola entrenched in Metro nets, Thornton played only six games during his first two seasons in MLS. In 1997, he played a few games on loan with theNorth Jersey Imperials of theUSISL, whose starting goalie was future Metro and U.S. national teamerTim Howard.
TheChicago Fire took Thornton in the1997 MLS Expansion Draft, and his career took off. Beating out Mexican internationalJorge Campos for the starting job, Zach lead the expansion Fire to that year'sMLS Cup, and was named the league'sGoalkeeper of the Year. He spent six years with the Fire, an automatic starter throughout his time there, and frequently at the top of MLS goalkeeping charts. In 2004, Thornton signed a six-month contract withPortuguese clubBenfica. He didn't get a single first-team match with them, however, and re-signed with the Fire late in the MLS season. Thornton did not get any playing time, as his former backupHenry Ring had taken hold of the position in Thornton's absence. In 2005, Thornton reclaimed his spot in the Fire's net missing only a few matches due to injury.
Thornton was traded toColorado Rapids on March 2, 2007, where he was a backup behindBouna Coundoul during the 2007 season,[6] before he was waived at the end of the year. He was subsequently picked up byNew York Red Bulls as the team's reserve goalkeeper for 2008 behindJon Conway.
Thornton was traded toChivas USA on August 2, 2008.[7] He and enjoyed an impressive first two seasons with the team, ultimately winning the 2009Goalkeeper of the Year Award.[8]
Thornton was injured during the 2011 season with Chivas USA and lost his starting role. At season's end, the club declined his 2012 contract option and he entered the2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Thornton was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.
Thornton's first cap with the U.S. national team came in 1994 in a friendly againstJamaica. He backed upKasey Keller at the1996 Summer Olympics. Thornton wasn't able to translate his success in MLS to the international level, collecting only eight caps. On December 22, 2009, Thornton received another call up to play a friendly against Honduras on January 23.
Thornton returned to hisalma mater as a part-time volunteer goalkeeping coach for theLoyola University Maryland men's soccer program on July 5, 2012.[9] He was named to a similar position on a full-time basis for both the men's and women's programs atElizabethtown College just over six weeks later on August 20.[10] He was appointed Associate Head Coach with theVillanova University men's soccer program on January 17, 2013.[11] In 2015, Thornton was hired as Goalkeeping Coach for MLS franchiseD.C. United.[12] Thornton was named goalkeeping coach forHouston Dynamo on January 13, 2022.[13] Thornton joinedChicago Fire FC as goalkeeping coach in December 2022.[14]
Chicago Fire
Individual