At the end of 2014, fans and media speculated about Zach Scott’s future. At 34 years old and scheduled for offseason foot surgery, many players might have called it quits after more than a decade of pro soccer. However, that was never an option for the Sounders’ ironman.
“There wasn’t a real point where I was thinking about retiring,” explained Scott, whose career has spanned more than 300 appearances with Seattle since joining the USL Sounders back in 2002. “There are still a lot of goals that I have left and the team has left. Ultimately, I just want to continue to help.”
That said, in December he found himself only weeks away from the Expansion Draft. Knowing that his ability to play hinged on a successful recovery, he found himself left unprotected as the first round of the expansion draft began.
Following the selection of Jalil Anibaba, Sounders FC chose to protect Scott.
“As we got closer and we heard the undertones of what was going on, we felt Zach was the guy to pull back,” said Head Coach Sigi Schmid back in December. “We’re happy that Zach is still a Sounder, and obviously we want to see him finish his career here.”
The surgery proved to be a success, and now his ambitions for 2015 are clearer than ever.
The opportunity to contribute will be there, as Scott is training in Tucson ahead of his fourteenth season with the team.
“We’re really starting to ramp up game fitness and we’re going to get great chances to play some lower-division clubs and also some MLS clubs,” said Scott following the team’s second training session ahead of this week’s 2015 Desert Diamond Cup.
The team will face off against FC Tucson, Sporting Kansas City and the New England Revolution as part of the tournament. It will also participate in a friendly with NASL team Minnesota United FC.
Scott knows that small adjustments will make a big difference this season. Slight modifications with the Sounders defense, plus the additions of veteran Tyrone Mears and young left back Andres Correa, should help fortify the team’s efforts.
“Now it’s just a matter of everybody getting sharp,” said Scott. “It’s getting into the rhythm and the style that we played last year. We obviously want to win an MLS Cup so we want to keep that momentum going that we had last year.”
