Zak Drake
Zachary "Zak" Drake (born September 2, 1991) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for League1 Ontario club Oakville Blue Devils. He plays as a full-back or midfielder.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Zachary Drake | ||
Date of birth | September 2, 1991 | ||
Place of birth | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Full-back | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2010 | Holy Cross Saints | 17 | (2) |
2011–2014 | Bethel Pilots | 45 | (7) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2016 | Viktoria 07 Kelsterbach | 13 | (0) |
2016 | Olympia Warriors | 15 | (4) |
2016 | Northcote City | 15 | |
2017 | Viktoria 07 Kelsterbach | 8 | |
2017 | FC Maia | ||
2018 | Las Vegas Lights | 6 | (0) |
2018 | Vaughan Azzurri | 8 | (3) |
2019– | Oakville Blue Devils | 14 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 August 2019 |
Playing career
Early career
Early in his career, Drake grew up playing in Ottawa, Canada. He won several youth tournaments, leagues, and individual awards. Most notably, in his U-17 season playing for Ottawa Fury in the USL Super-Y League, he was awarded Team MVP and received League recognition as the top 2% of players in the league. This led to an invitation to the US Olympic Development Program.
Drake accepted a Full Scholarship to NAIA school Holy Cross, and later transferred to Bethel University for his remaining three years of eligibility. Drake lead Bethel's soccer program as captain in his senior year and they attended Nationals that year. He received awards such as All-American Awards and team leadership awards.
Drake also spent time playing in Brazil, Germany, Australia and Portugal.[1]
Las Vegas Lights
In January 2018, Drake signed with USL side Las Vegas Lights[2] and lead the team in number of interceptions per minute and tackles per minute. His percentage of duels and tackles won were among the top in the team. He was the only player with a winning record within his games played at 3W 3T 1L (including Open Cup match vs. FC Tuscan). He appeared six times for the club in league play before returning to Canada at the end of June.[3]
Vaughan Azzurri
In September 2018, Drake signed with League1 Ontario side Vaughan Azzurri.[4] Over the remainder of the regular season, Drake made 8 (undefeated) appearances, playing every minute, and scored three goals for Vaughan and subsequently helped the club win the league playoffs and earn qualification to the 2019 Canadian Championship.[5]
Oakville Blue Devils
In 2019, Drake transferred to Oakville Blue Devils, winning the League1 Ontario 2019 regular season. With the highest number of minutes for a field player, he lead the backline to a nearly undefeated season, losing only once (to his old club, Vaughan Azzurri). Statistically, Drake stood out as a strong contender for MVP, but was overshadowed by the performances of Goalkeeper Lucas Birnstingl having 10 clean sheets in regular-season play.[6]
2020 Covid-19
Due to the Pandemic, Drake has not played in any professional matches in 2020.
References
- "Zak Drake Vlogs".
- "Las Vegas Lights FC add 7 players to preseason roster". ReviewJournal.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- "Lights FC look to MLS loanees for added depth". ReviewJournal.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- "Zak Drake Twitter". 2018-09-10. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- "Zachary Drake 2018 profile". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- https://www.league1ontario.com/stats/team_instance/4487439?subseason=593811&tab=team_instance_player_stats&tool=3594406