Senior Zachary Lieu did not win a game on his club team for three years during his middle school years, but his heart stayed with soccer.
Despite this losing streak, Lieu continued to play with his club team. Eventually, the team got the coaches they needed and started winning again. Lieu and his teammates ended up reaching the National Cup tournament in Chicago over the summer.
“My biggest accomplishment in my soccer career is winning the Midwest Regional of the National Cup this summer in Chicago,” Lieu said.
Lieu’s parents got him involved with soccer at 4 years old, and those 13 years have been the most fun of his life, Lieu said.
His inspiration for playing came from his older sister.
“I started playing because my older sister, Emma, played, and I look up to her in everything I do,” Lieu said.
Now, for Lieu, it is the teammates who keep him playing, both on club soccer and high school soccer.
“It is really the people that keep me motivated,” Lieu said. “For as long as I have played, I have made some lifelong friends and some of the greatest mentors I know.”
Another one of Lieu’s inspirations is the late Baldwin track coach Ed Helbig, whose motto of “get one day better every day” inspired many students, including Lieu.
“Since before and after his passing, I’ve applied it to everything I do – whether it’s music, soccer, track, or school – and it has made me that much better,” Lieu said.
He played as a goalkeeper until seventh grade, but now he plays top line on offense on the high school team. This season so far, he has three goals and five assists.
To his teammates, Lieu is a key player on the team. Junior Carter Banderinko admires Lieu’s motivation.
“His work ethic – once he sets his mind to doing it, he gets it done,” Banderinko said. “I think he has potential to be one of the best in the section.”
Senior Gavin Ries also sees Lieu as a key player both on and off the field.
“Zach impacts the team with his impressive speed, skills, and leadership. He is always giving 100 percent intensity on the field,” Ries said. “He is very smart with everything he does and knows what to do whenever he is told to help.”
Lieu also participates in the National Honor Society and choir, he works at Silk Road, and he stays busy academically. Soccer is his escape, he said.
“When I play, I leave whatever it is that’s bothering me in the locker room before I step on the field. Those things will be there when I get back,” Lieu said.
Lieu does not plan on continuing soccer after high school. He intends to study biology on a pre-med track to become a pediatric surgeon.
“I fell in love with soccer the second I started playing, but there’s always a time to hang up the boots,” Lieu said.
