LOS ANGELES — Zack Steffen is very good at stopping penalties.
He’s done so three times during the Colorado Rapids’ run to the Leagues Cup semifinals, a run that has put the Rapids one result away from securing a berth in the Concacaf Champions Cup and, if they can beat LAFC on Wednesday, from lifting the club’s first trophy since the 2010 MLS Cup.
He denied Andres Guardado in a group match against León then gobbled up a Salvador Reyes shot to preserve a win for the Rapids. He stopped Igor Lichnovsky’s shot that would’ve sent América to the semifinal as the fifth and final taker of the shootout. That’s not even getting into the Man of the Match performance against Toluca - a game the Rapids were able to win without the shootout - or his superb performances against four consecutive Liga MX teams in this competition.
Steffen has been a goalkeeper for two decades now, but still, he said. It’s ‘nerve-wracking’ as the clock begins to tick toward a penalty shootout after 90 minutes of Leagues Cup play. He quiets that voice inside his head, though, prays to the Lord he can save at least one penalty, and embraces the competition of the shootout.
“When the shooter is walking up for the ball, I’m trying to get out of my head and not think,” Steffen said in an interview with LeaguesCup.com. “I kind of stay loose, look at him and see if he’s going to give me anything, give me any tells as to what side he’s going to go. When he steps up to the line, definitely some jilters are going through me, and I’m just trying to stay light on my feet, agile. Get big. Sometimes I jump up and down so I can look intimidating to the shooter.
“Then, once he starts running I kind of look at his body, see if there’s any last tells and for the most part - we do some research - but for the most part you pick a side and go all out. You time it. The timing is the hardest part. You don’t want to go too early because obviously it lets him know where we’re going to go. For us goalkeepers, timing on when you’re going to jump and sell yourself is the hardest part.”
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Zach Steffen is not very good at taking penalties
Well, maybe that’s not fair. After all, his record is one for one. Yes, that’s right. Steffen says the penalty he converted in the 10th round of the quarterfinal shootout against Club América was the first one he’s ever taken.
He wasn’t required to shoot, given that there were two more kicks left. After he went in the 10th round, his opposite number Luis Angel Malagon went as well and missed, giving the Rapids the win and the place in the final four.
“When my coach was reading off the kick-takers I wasn’t really paying attention,” he says. “I was trying to get in my zone.
“I’ve never shot a pen before, so I was just like: Keep the ball down, I didn’t do too many practices in the last couple weeks either - maybe one time. So, I didn’t feel too confident placing it in the corner. I was just like, ‘Smash it hard and hope he dives out of the way,’ and he did.”
And, thus, the Leagues Cup ride continues for the Rapids. Steffen arrived in Colorado before this campaign and, under manager Chris Armas, has been a key piece of the club’s turnaround. In addition to reaching the semifinals of Leagues Cup, the Rapids sit fourth in the Western Conference, one season after a 14th place finish in the West during a season that saw them win just five matches.
“It would be amazing to be a part of the Champions Cup, especially for this club because they haven’t had a good tenure here in MLS for the last however long,” Steffen said. “It’d be really good for the club, get some eyes on it, and that’s exactly what we as the players and staff want to do is bring the club to where all the other best clubs in the league are. That’s our goal.”
Semifinal rival LAFC is definitely in that category, and Steffen knows he and his back line will have to have a tremendous showing to earn the CCC spot that comes with winning the semifinal and setting up a date in the final against the Columbus Crew - Steffen’s former club - or Philadelphia Union - Steffen’s hometown team and a club whose academy he played in before going to Maryland for college.
After a couple seasons with Maryland, the shot-stopper went pro, first in Germany and then back in MLS. During that period he also started getting opportunities to represent the U.S. national team and eventually earned a move to Manchester City.
While he made two league starts with the Sky Blues and played 20 matches overall for Pep Guardiola’s squad, much of his time back in Europe was spent on loan first to Fortuna Dusseldorf in the Bundesliga and then with Middlesbrough in the Championship.
It was that pedigree that led the Rapids to bring Steffen back to the States as a cornerstone of their rebuilding efforts. But after some on-field struggles and advanced stats that painted a dark picture, some analysts received the news with skepticism. Armas, sporting director Fran Taylor referenced those criticisms as they heaped praise on the goalkeeper, who thus far has backstopped the Leagues Cup run and five clean sheets to go with in MLS.
“There’s criticism from all angles and has been throughout the season as well. That’s just part of the gig,” Steffen said. “Of course, from time to time I hear it or it gets back to you, and it doesn’t feel good when you hear doubts or negative feedback. Who wants to hear that about themselves? No one. It’s definitely something throughout your career you learn to handle, negative press, all that stuff.”
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Zach Steffen is not very good at talking trash.
While Rapids teammate Djordje Mihailovic’s exuberantly explicit “Up the f*nig ‘Pids!" cheer, captured on camera after the América win, resonated with much of the fan base, Steffen says those fans shouldn’t look for him to start going crazy if it’s penalty shootout time again and he makes another big stop. After the save on Lichnovsky, he simply held his fist out and walked back to his spot.
“I don’t love to celebrate, to be honest. I’ll leave the celebrations for my teammates, but I’m at my best when I feel a bit of confidence and swagger about me and I’m not thinking and I’m just playing,” Steffen said. “It’s been really fun to be in that zone again for this tournament.”
That’s where Steffen is at now: Having fun and embracing what he’s good at, what he’s not so good at and what he’s learning about himself and this Rapids team.
Zach Steffen is having fun on the soccer field, and he’ll do everything to stay in that zone as long as possible.
