Eriq Anthony Zavaleta is an American soccer player who plays as a centre back for Toronto Football Club of Major League Soccer.
Education
Zavaleta played his freshman and senior seasons of high school soccer Westfield High School in Westfield, Indiana. He scored 25 goals and nine assists as a freshman and 20 goals and 10 assists as a senior. He also spent his youth career with Football Club Pride, Real Salt Lake, and Chivas United States of America, and was also part of Columbus Crew"s USL Super-20 championship team in 2011.
On February 7, 2011, Zavaleta signed a letter of intent to play college soccer at Indiana University.
In his freshman year with the Hoosiers in 2011, Zavaleta started 22 games and led the team with 10 goals and 5 assists and was also the team leader in points with 25.
He went on to be named College Soccer News All-Freshman first team, NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region first team selection, Soccer America All-Freshman first team and Chicagoland Soccer News Player of the Year. In his sophomore year, Zavaleta started all 24 matches and again was the team leader with 40 points, this time as he finished with 18 goals and four assists and led the team to their eighth national title in school history.
One of the four assists came in the 2012 College Cup final against northern 3 Georgetown, when he set up teammate Nikita Kotlov for what turned out to be the title-clinching goal.
He went on to be named Big Ten All-Tournament team, NSCAA third-team All-American, College Soccer News first-team All-American and the College Cup All-Tournament team
At Indiana University he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Career
Youth and college Professional On January 5, 2013, it was announced by agent Ron Waxman that Zavaleta had signed a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer, making him eligible for the 2013 Master of Library Science SuperDraft. On January 17, Zavaleta was selected 10th overall by Seattle Sounders Football Club and immediately added to the roster. He made his professional debut on March 23, 2013, in a 1–0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes.
On February 28, 2014, Chivas United States of America announced that they had added Zavaleta to their roster on loan from Seattle Sounders Football Club for one year.
On January 26, 2015, Toronto Football Club announced that they had traded a 2016 Master of Library Science SuperDraft second-round pick to Seattle for Zavaleta. On September 5, 2015, against former team Seattle Sounders, Zavaleta scored his first Toronto Football Club goal off a header to tie the game at 1-1.
International Zavaleta was part of the United States. Soccer Residency program in 2008-2009 and made 23 appearances for the United States U-17 national team during that stretch, including three appearances in the 2009 Fédération internationale de football association U-17 World Cup. Zavaleta mostly played as a defender with the under-17s.
He is eligible to play for both the United States national team and El Salvador.
Indiana University Individual.
Membership
At Indiana University he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.