Union trade Pfeffer to Colorado
Zach Pfeffer, who was signed at 15 as a homegrown player with the Union in December 2010, had a natural reaction when he heard he had been traded to the Colorado Rapids to complete a draft-day deal.
Zach Pfeffer, who was signed at 15 as a homegrown player with the Union in December 2010, had a natural reaction when he heard he had been traded to the Colorado Rapids to complete a draft-day deal.
"When I first heard about it, I was a little disappointed," Pfeffer said Friday in a phone interview. "Obviously, being from this area and playing with the hometown team, I wanted to assert myself and make a name and a solid impact, and I wanted to build off last year."
On Thursday, the Rapids traded the No. 2 overall selection in the MLS SuperDraft to the Union for general allocation money and a player to be named later. The Union selected Georgetown center back Joshua Yaro with the No. 2 pick. Pfeffer turned out to be the player to be named later.
In his first four seasons, Pfeffer appeared in just nine Major League Soccer games for the Union. But he took advantage of extended playing time this past year. He appeared in 21 games, making 11 starts and had two goals and one assist.
Pfeffer, 21 and a graduate of Upper Dublin High School, found out about the trade on Thursday, and now that the news has settled in he is anxious to prove himself to his new team.
"You realize this is a business, and I am looking forward to joining the Rapids, getting a fresh start and a new environment, meeting new teammates, and I think it is a good opportunity for me," he said.
Pfeffer will be in Colorado with another former Union player, goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
"I have already been in touch with him," Pfeffer said of MacMath. "He is a good friend of mine, and it will be good to be there with him."
As fate has it, Pfeffer won't play at the Union's Talen Engery Stadium this season. The teams play just once, and that game is at Colorado on May 28. No doubt Pfeffer will have that one marked.
That is far ahead. For now, Pfeffer said he is hoping to build off last season.
"I got the minutes, and I thought I made a solid impact," he said. "I hope to keep the momentum going this year."