PDL Feature
Friday, May 24, 2013
Coming off a sophomore year in which he scored four goals and added four assists, Butler’s Zach Steinberger returned to the Michigan Bucks in the PDL this summer aiming to continue to improve his game and build up for a big junior year.
As it turned out, his first game of the season for the Bucks couldn’t have gone any better. Scoring a hat trick, and adding two assists, in Michigan’s 5-0 win against the Chicago Inferno, Steinberger helped the Bucks get off to a flying start in their defense of the PDL regular-season championship, and earned PDL Player of the Week honors.
We got the chance to talk with Steinberger about playing for the Bucks, the U.S. Open Cup and the goals for this PDL season.
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USL: When you’re going into a game, do you ever envision a game going that well for you personally?
Steinberger: No, I mean for me personally I always try to go out and play my best, do the best for my team, but I never really expected to come out the first game of the season and do that well. I’m just happy that I did, so we can get our team off to a good start.
USL: This is the second season you’ve been with the Bucks. What was it that made you decide to get involved with the club originally?
Steinberger: I know my coach at Butler University, Paul Snape, he played there when he when he was playing in the PDL, so he had the connections and he told me that it was a good franchise and club, so I came up here last summer and fell in love with the organization and the coaches and the players. That’s why I decided to come back this summer.
USL: What is it about the environment there, and the level of coaching and quality of play, that brought you back?
Steinberger: The coaches are probably the best coaches I’ve ever played for. They really understand the game, they understand how to manage their players. The owner, Dan Duggan, he treats his players really well, he does everything he can for us, so that’s what I respect, the organization and the way they handle their players.
USL: You’ve seen some of your teammates from last season, most notably Scott Caldwell, get to move on to MLS. Is that a big selling point for the Bucks, that they have a history of producing players who go onto the professional ranks?
Steinberger: Of course, you look at the history. I don’t think the Bucks have gone one year without producing an MLS prospect and draftee, so I think it’s a huge selling point as a player, coming from an organization that has had such success in producing players that play in MLS.
USL: I don’t know if you were paying attention to the Open Cup [on Tuesday], but one of your Butler teammates, Brandon Fricke, scored the game-winning goal for Des Moines to get them into the third round. Obviously you had a great run last year, getting to the fourth round. What’s that like to experience, and what would you tell Brandon ahead of next week’s game with Sporting Kansas City?
Steinberger: It’s awesome. Butler is like a family, we live together all-year round, we’re a really tight-knit group, so when I heard he had scored the goal for the third round, I was really impressed, I was really happy. I’m going to talk to him in a little bit, and I’m going to tell him to do it for Butler, do it for all the kids who have never been able to play against an MLS team, show them the quality that not only Butler players have but also any player in college has. Any player in college wants to show the quality they have against an MLS team.
USL: The Bucks had a great regular season last year, but you got eliminated by the eventual champion FC London in the PDL Playoffs. Is there a certain amount of thinking where you’re trying to set that straight, as it were, and not only make the playoffs, but make a run to the final four or even the national championship this year?
Steinberger: Last season we had an unbelievable run in the regular season, I think we only lost one game, and that’s something we’d like to replicate because it was such a successful season. But then, you know, we beat FC London twice in the regular season, and then we lost when it mattered, so this year because we got knocked out of the Open Cup early, we really want to set our focus on winning a PDL Championship, and that’s where we have set our goals.
USL: You mentioned earlier that you couldn’t remember the Bucks not having guys getting into MLS, getting drafted. Are you hoping that a couple of years from now that’s going to be you?
Steinberger: Yeah, that’s always been my dream as a kid growing up, going and playing in MLS, maybe getting a chance to play in Europe if I can. That’s the dream, and I would love to capture that dream.