With big names such as Ronnie Bouemboue, Alan Sanchez and future MLS first round pick Korede Aiyegbusi garnering attention for Pack men’s soccer last season, few noticed as junior Chris Zuerner quietly racked up 13 points.
“Last year, I kind of flew under the radar,” Zuerner, now a senior and team captain, said. “I flew under the radar to the best of my ability and let the big-name guys do what they needed to do on the field.”
He inherited the role of attacking midfielder from All-ACC four-year starter Sanchez, who had seven goals and nine assists during the 2009 campaign and now plays for Chrystal Palace Baltimore of the USSF Div. II league.
The Pack lost seven starters to graduation last year. Zuerner and fellow captain Lucas Carpenter, a senior defender, are now charged with helping guide a very young team – _ underclassmen in all – back to the postseason, where they hope to match or surpass last year’s run, which ended with a spot in the ACC final game and a first-round NCAA Tournament bye.
“Last year can’t be a one year deal,” Zuerner said. “Winning 13 games and having a great run in the ACC Tournament can’t be the exception – it needs to be the rule. There’s a lot of pressure on the freshmen, especially the ones that play a lot.
Junior midfielder Watt Williams said a lot of emphasis will fall on senior leadership, as he worries the youth-laden team’s season “could easily go either way,” depending on how quickly it learns how to work together.
“All of the older guys have really taken it upon themselves to show the younger guys the ropes, because they have to pick it up way faster than we did,” Williams said. “They’re expected to be big-name guys immediately.”
The new guys on campus will have the chance to seize the same opportunities Zuerner did – in fact, some of them already have a leg up. A Charlotte native who grew up in a family of Carolina graduates – both parents, an older sister, and both maternal grandparents attended UNC-Chapel Hill – Zuerner followed his dream of playing in the ACC and came to State as a preferred walk-on in the fall of 2007.
He earned a starting spot during his sophomore year and a scholarship his junior year. He started every game in 2009 and finished only behind Bouemboue and Sanchez in scoring.
“He worked very hard off the field to get where he is,” Williams said. “I hope he can find the net a lot for us this year.”
Zuerner picked up where he left off in 2010 with two assists in a 4-3 win against Sacramento State in the Duke Nike Classic last weekend and says he’ll continue to set up plays.
But if he happens to wind up in a good scoring position with the ball on his foot, so be it.
“I’m looking to open up goal scoring opportunities for everyone, but I won’t turn down a chance to put one in the back of the net myself,” Zuerner said with a smile.
Zuerner knows Pack nation will continue to look to the seniors, and to him especially, to spark the team when it’s low on energy, pick up valuable ACC wins and eventually go deep into the postseason again.
They’re daunting tasks, but Zuerner said he relishes them.
“It’s definitely a lot more responsibility on myself now. There are a lot of expectations, which can be stressful at times. You’re expected to produce. But I don’t mind. Pressure doesn’t bother me.”
The Pack’s push begins this Friday with a 7 p.m. match-up against No. 3 UNC. Most of Zuerner’s family will be decked out in Carolina blue – his mom is a game day decision – but it’s clear where his loyalties lie.
“I didn’t see any of this coming,” Zuerner said. “From playing four games freshman year, just trying to earn my stripes, to junior year, being an integral part of the offense – it’s been an interesting road. I’ve been so fortunate and so blessed.”
