Zak Drake

Zachary Drake (born September 2, 1991) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for League1 Ontario club Alliance United FC. He plays as a full-back or midfielder.

Zak Drake
Personal information
Full nameZachary Ian Samuel Drake
Date of birth (1991-09-02) September 2, 1991 (age 32)
Place of birthOttawa, Ontario, Canada
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)Full-back
Team information
Current team
Alliance United FC
Youth career
Nepean City SC
2008Nacional AC (SP)
2008–2010Ottawa Fury
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010Holy Cross Saints17(2)
2011–2014Bethel Pilots45(7)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010–2012Ottawa Fury SC2(0)
2014–2015FCA Darmstadt
2015–2016Viktoria 07 Kelsterbach6(0)
2015–2016Viktoria 07 Kelsterbach II2(0)
2016Olympia Warriors9(2)
2016Northcote City7(0)
2017Viktoria 07 Kelsterbach7(0)
2017FC Maia
2018Las Vegas Lights6(0)
2018Vaughan Azzurri4(3)
2019–2021Oakville Blue Devils FC16(0)
2022Electric City FC18(0)
2023–Alliance United FC20(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 19, 2023

Early life

Born in Ottawa, Drake played youth soccer with Nepean City SC.[1] In 2008, having impressed on an earlier trip, he went on an extended training months-long training stint with the U17 team of Brazilian club Nacional AC (SP).[2] Afterwards, he joined the Ottawa Fury Academy.[3]

In 2010, he received a scholarship to play at Holy Cross College. After that season, he had a brief training stint with Brazilian club Cruzeiro. In 2011, he transferred to Bethel College.[2] In 2013, he was an NAIA Scholar-Athlete recipient.[4]

Playing career

In 2010, he began playing with Ottawa Fury SC in the Premier Development League.[5]

In 2014, he joined German club FCA Darmstadt.[2]

In 2015, he joined German club Viktoria 07 Kelsterbach, making six league appearances and 11 total appearances.[6][7]

In 2016, he joined Australian club Olympia FC Warriors in the NPL Tasmania.[8][9] He scored his first goal on April 9 against Clarence United,[10] which earned Goal of the Week,[11] Team of the Week,[12] and Player of the Week honours.[13]

In June 2016, he joined another Australian club, Northcote City FC of the NPL Victoria.[14]

Afterwards, he returned to Viktoria 07 Kelsterbach, playing in seven league games.[6][7]

In 2017, he joined Portuguese club FC Maia.[citation needed]

In January 2018, he joined USL club Las Vegas Lights.[15] He debuted in the season opener, before eventually leaving the club shortly after in June.[16]

In the latter part of 2018, he returned to Canada, signing with League1 Ontario club Vaughan Azzurri, scoring two goals in his debut against Ottawa South United.[17] He appeared in four regular season matches, scoring three goals, and also appeared in four playoff matches,[18] winning the League1 Ontario Championship.[19]

In 2019, he joined Oakville Blue Devils FC, playing in 14 regular season matches and four playoff matches, winning the regular season title with the Blue Devils.[20][21] He returned to the club in 2021 (the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), playing in two regular season matches and two playoff matches, helping them reach the championship final, where they were defeated, finishing as finalists.[22][21]

Ahead of the 2022 season, he played in a pre-season friendly with Alliance United FC against York United FC.[21] On March 31, 2022, he signed with Electric City FC.[23]

In 2023, he joined Alliance United FC.[24]

References