1. Zach Thornton was born on October 10,1973 and is an American soccer player who is goalkeeping coach for Chicago Fire FC.
24 Facts About Zach Thornton
1. 2.
Zach Thornton was the starting goalkeeper for the Fire when it won MLS Cup '98 in its inaugural year.
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The youngest of four siblings, Thornton began playing soccer at age five and lacrosse a year later.
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Zach Thornton was a three-sport star in soccer, lacrosse and basketball at The John Carroll School.
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Zach Thornton attended Essex Community College before completing his education at Loyola College in Maryland.
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Zach Thornton was named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 40th Anniversary Men's Soccer Team on September 1,2020.
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Zach Thornton spent six years with the Fire, an automatic starter throughout his time there, and frequently at the top of MLS goalkeeping charts.
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In 2004, Zach Thornton signed a six-month contract with Portuguese club Benfica.
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Zach Thornton didn't get a single first-team match with them and re-signed with the Fire late in the MLS season.
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Zach Thornton did not get any playing time, as his former backup Henry Ring had taken hold of the position in Zach Thornton's absence.
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In 2005, Zach Thornton reclaimed his spot in the Fire's net missing only a few matches due to injury.
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Zach Thornton was traded to Colorado Rapids on March 2,2007, where he was a backup behind Bouna Coundoul during the 2007 season, before he was waived at the end of the year.
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Zach Thornton was picked up by New York Red Bulls as the team's reserve goalkeeper for 2008 behind Jon Conway.
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Zach Thornton was traded to Chivas USA on August 2,2008.
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Zach Thornton and enjoyed an impressive first two seasons with the team, ultimately winning the 2009 Goalkeeper of the Year Award.
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Zach Thornton was injured during the 2011 season with Chivas USA and lost his starting role.
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Zach Thornton was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.
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Zach Thornton backed up Kasey Keller at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
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On December 22,2009, Zach Thornton received another call up to play a friendly against Honduras on January 23.
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Zach Thornton returned to his alma mater as a part-time volunteer goalkeeping coach for the Loyola University Maryland men's soccer program on July 5,2012.
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Zach Thornton was appointed Associate Head Coach with the Villanova University men's soccer program on January 17,2013.
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In 2015, Zach Thornton was hired as Goalkeeping Coach for MLS franchise DC United.
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Zach Thornton was named goalkeeping coach for Houston Dynamo on January 13,2022.
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Zach Thornton joined Chicago Fire FC as goalkeeping coach in December 2022.