NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Goalkeeper Zach
Wells became the starter on the UCLA men’s soccer team
this season, with twists and turns along the way.
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Things haven’t exactly gone as planned for Zach Wells.
A broken thumb didn’t really derail him his junior year in
high school, but torn shoulder ligaments during his senior season
sure did the trick.
Before the injury, soccer powerhouse Indiana, along with Santa
Clara and the University of San Diego were recruiting Wells. All of
that quickly changed.
“While all my buddies were getting recruited, I was
sitting at home in a sling trying to rehab, just to get back to
play high school soccer,” Wells said.
His college career seemed destined for Santa Clara. Wells had
his letter of intent ready, as that university was the only one to
court him heavily after the injury.
That’s when then-UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid saw him play
during the spring of 2000. A trip to Westwood turned into a chance
to join the Bruins.
Wells came to realize that UCLA was a cookie-cutter institution
for professional and international goalkeepers, with names like
David Vanole, Anton Nistl, Brad Friedel, Kevin Hartman, Matt Reis
and Nick Rimando to its credit.
After some thought, Wells chose UCLA over Santa Clara.
“I felt kind of guilty,” he said.
Wells’ potential and natural ability are his strengths,
but even he admits that his technical abilities are somewhat
lacking.
During his redshirt year, when he was learning under Rimando,
and his freshman year, when he was backing up D.J. Countess, Wells
was coached to maintain his performance at a high level, with less
emphasis on the details of the game.
That’s where first-year assistant coach Peter van de Ven
comes in. Training is now different.
“For someone like myself, who didn’t have much
technical training in high school, I’m the type of person who
needs a repetitive workout to feel like I’ve gotten something
out of it,” Wells said.
At 6-foot-2, he’s tall enough to control the cross ball
and agile enough to avoid struggles on the ground.
“He’s just about the perfect height, really, in my
opinion,” Van de Ven said.
Midfielder Ryan Futagaki, who joined the Bruin squad in 1998,
has seen Wells progress over time.
“He’s grown as a player,” Futagaki said.
“And he still has what, two years left? If he just keeps up
his hard work every day, he’s going to be up there with the
Rimandos, Matt Reis, Kevin Hartman ““ all those
people.”
There’s no timetable set for Wells, though. In fact,
everyone says you can’t put a timetable on a goalkeeper.
A lot of times, this breed of players don’t reach their
full potential until age 32, according to van de Ven. By then,
goalkeepers who have seen everything in front of them hundreds of
times can make clean and decisive calls on the field.
“Goalkeeping is very much about experience and
confidence,” UCLA head coach Todd Saldaña said.
“We recruit guys that have great ability, but the experience
factor is huge. And that’s where bringing a goalkeeper along
in the program before he starts can be a great asset.”
Wells’ journey to become a starter wasn’t as smooth
a ride as he had predicted, though. Countess, a member of the
under-17 national team, became the starter as a true freshman,
after Rimando left a year early for Major League Soccer.
“I wasn’t really confident that I could start
yet,” Wells said. “I could deal sitting on the bench
behind a guy that was doing really well. I figured instead of
bitching and whining the whole time, why not just appreciate my
opportunity I had here and prepare myself?”
Wells could’ve transferred. After all, things
weren’t really going his way. But he never really considered
doing that. He thought about it, but never considered it.
“It was never an option for me,” Wells said.
“I always wanted to stay here, and if he couldn’t play
here, why would I want to play anywhere else?”
Countess left for the MLS after only one season, finally giving
Wells his opening.
It took a while to learn what the other players wanted from him
and what he wanted from them. The spring was spent trying to gain
that chemistry, but two key defenders, sophomores Nelson Akwari and
Alex Yi, were away with the under-20 national team at the time.
Coming into the 2002 season, Wells had something to prove. But
hamstring and groin injuries early on in the season hindered his
confidence.
Akwari was now taking goalkicks for Wells, and the injuries led
to problems with his mobility and agility. He was tentative on the
field and lacked a certain edge in terms of aggressiveness.
Very critical of his own performance, Wells feels responsible
for at least a couple of the losses this season ““ games in
which he had a chance to stop the goals that made the
difference.
“I’m not there to win games, I’m there to save
them,” Wells said. “I’m there to make sure we
have the opportunity to win.”
Finally healthy, Wells and the rest of the defense have stifled
opponents as of late. A string of three consecutive shutouts had
Wells named as part of Soccer America’s Team of the Week for
the week of Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.
“The team has been able to rally around Zach because they
have faith in him,” Saldaña said.
In danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time
since 1982, Wells is not thinking about the MLS or his future in
soccer.
He has to keep things simple and concentrate on the task at
hand. There’s a tradition attached to UCLA men’s soccer
and its goalkeeper heritage.
Wells would like nothing more than two more shutouts this
weekend to solidify the team’s chances to make the playoffs a
19th straight time.
“To be on the team that breaks that one would really
hurt,” Wells said.