Jeff Zaun

Infobox Football biography
playername= Jeff Zaun
fullname =
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1971|4|2
cityofbirth = Orange, New Jersey
countryofbirth = United States
height = height|ft=6|in=0
position = Defender
youthyears = 1989-1993
youthclubs = Rutgers University
years = 1994-1995
1996-1998
1999
1999
2000
clubs = North Jersey Imperials
MetroStars
Chicago Fire
Lehigh Valley Steam
Long Island Rough Riders
caps(goals) =
35 (0)
01 (0)
manageryears = 1994
1999
2001-
managerclubs = Drew University (assistant)
Lehigh Valley Steam
Rutgers University (assistant)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Jeff Zaun (born April 2, 1971 in Orange, New Jersey) is a retired U.S. soccer defenderwho is currently an assistant coach with the Rutgers University men’s soccer team. He played professionally in Major League Soccer, USISL and the USL A-League and coached one season in the USL A-League.

Youth

Zaun played soccer at Holy Cross High School where he was a 1986 and 1987 New Jersey first team All State player. [ [http://www.tntseekthru.org/lancersoccer1/HOLY%20CROSS%20SOCCER%20RECORDS04.pdf Holy Cross High School Soccer Records] ] He finished high school at Shawnee High School where he was the 1988 New Jersey Player of the Year. In 1999, he was named by "The Star-Ledger" as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1980s. [Jandoli, Ron. [http://web.archive.org/web/20030110132039/http://nj.com/hssports/ledger/index.ssf?/hssports/century/stories/bsoccerdecades.html "The Century's Best -- Boys Soccer: Top 10 Players of each decade"] , "The Star-Ledger", November 7, 1999, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 10, 2003. Accessed September 11, 2008.]

He then attended Rutgers University where he played on the men’s soccer team from 1989 to 1993. In 1990, Zaun became critical to the team after starting sweeper Alexi Lalas was diagnosed with an abscessed appendix. While Lalas reclaimed his starting position later in the season, Zaun had staked a claim as Rutger’s sweeper of the future. That year, Rutgers went to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship where it finished runner-up to UCLA. [ [http://www.scarletknights.com/soccer-men/history/final4-90.asp 1990 Final Four] ] Rutgers inducted Zaun into its Hall of Fame in 2006. [ [http://www.scarletknights.com/history/hof-06.asp Rutgers Hall of Fame] ]

Professional

Zaun began his professional career with the expansion North Jersey Imperials of the USISL in 1994. On February 6, 1996, the MetroStars selected Zaun in the 4th round (39th overall) of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. He spent three seasons in New Jersey, but saw time in only four games in 1998, his final season. The MetroStars waived Zaun on February 25, 1999. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E2D9173CF936A15751C0A96F958260&sec=&spon= February 25, 1999 Transactions] ] On March 1, 1999, the Chicago Fire claimed Zaun off the waiver list. He played one game for the Fire before being waived on April 2, 1999. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E7DF1239F931A35757C0A96F958260 April 2, 1999 Transactions] ] He then moved to the Lehigh Valley Steam of the USL A-League for the remainder of the 1999 season. The Steam folded at the end of the season and Zaun played one more season, with the Long Island Rough Riders in 2000. However, he suffered a career ending injury and retired.

Coach

After graduating from Rutgers in 1994, Zaun briefly coached as an assistant with Drew University. He returned to coaching in 1999 when he was a player/coach with the Lehigh Valley Steam of the USL A-League. Following his retirement from playing professionally, Zaun joined the Rutgers University soccer team as an assistant coach. [ [http://scarletknights.com/soccer-men/coaches/zaun.asp Rutgers Coach Profile] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.metrofanatic.com/team/player.jsp?ID=15 MetroFan profile]