Chivas USA Add Eriq Zavaleta on Loan from Seattle Sounders FC

Published on February 28, 2014 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


CARSON, Calif. (Friday, Feb. 28, 2014) - Chivas USA announced today the addition of 21-year-old forward and center back Eriq Zavaleta on loan from fellow Western Conference side Seattle Sounders FC. Zavaleta will join the Red-and-White as they return to Los Angeles, Calif. to wrap up the final stages of preseason ahead of the March 9 season opener against the Chicago Fire at the StubHub Center. Per club and Major League Soccer policy, terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.

Selected by the Sounders with the 10th overall pick out of Indiana University in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, Zavaleta made his professional debut last season against the San Jose Earthquakes on March 23. The young player went on to appear in five League matches, while also leading the Reserve squad with four goals in 12 Reserve League games.

"Zavaleta is a very versatile player who knows the League, and who's going to bring internal competition to our team," described Chivas USA Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. "We know Eriq very well from his time with us in the U.S. U-17 Residency Program, and what he's capable of doing not only playing as a forward but also as a center back. He is going to be a very good addition to our team."

During his final season as a sophomore at Indiana, Zavaleta started all 24 games for the Hoosiers in 2012 and led the Big Ten Conference with 18 goals, while finishing as the NCAA's third-best goal scorer that year. His stellar performance led him to claim the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Award. In his freshman campaign, the versatile player was the top goal scorer in the conference with 10 tallies in 22 games, which earned the Indiana native Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

An active member of the U.S. Soccer U-20 National Team pool, Zavaleta spent two years in the U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla., under newly-appointed Chivas USA Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. As a member of the U17s, Zavaleta helped the U.S. advance to the Round of 16 at the 2009 U-17 World Cup and won the Copa Macae in Brazil.

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