In Play(er) of the Week, our goal is to highlight outstanding athletes or moments from games that deserve extra attention. 

Zack Burd ’25 is a midfielder on the men’s soccer team from Austin, Texas. In his fourth season with the Red and Black, Burd has made noise, becoming the first Cardinal to win NESCAC Player of the Week since 2022 for his performances versus Trinity (Wednesday, Sept. 11) and Hamilton (Saturday, Sept. 14). Against the Bantams, Burd converted a penalty kick for his first goal of the year to give Wes a 3–0 lead, and assisted Dylan Clack ’27 on the penultimate goal in a 5–0 rout, the widest margin of victory vs. Trinity since 1972. Then, against the Continentals, Burd sealed the 2–1 comeback win with the Cards’ second goal in the 64th minute. The Argus recently caught up with Burd to discuss his recent success, path to Wesleyan, and goals for the team.

The Argus: How did you first get into playing soccer?

Zack Burd: I started playing when I was three. I have two older brothers, and they both played soccer, so I think it was kind of a natural progression to play. And then my brothers played up until high school, so I always had older brothers to compete with, and that led the way to playing.

A: Do you have any early memories that stand out as a time when you fell in love with the game? 

ZB: My brothers and I also refereed. So there was a game I played against my middle brother that my older brother refereed. So it’s pretty cool to kind of be a family thing. And even though my brother was two years older than me, when I was like five or six I would get to play on his team a lot. So it was fun bonding within the family.

A: So did you have a favorite player as a kid, maybe someone you tried to emulate on the field? 

ZB: Favorite player would probably have been [Wayne] Rooney on Manchester United, because I was a Man U. fan. And then obviously [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi are the two GOATs of our generation, and they’ve been really good to watch. 

A: Being from Texas, how did you find out about Wesleyan? 

ZB: My grandparents live in Connecticut by the University of Connecticut, so we’d always been coming up to the East Coast every summer for a few weeks. My brother actually looked at going to Wesleyan. So I toured the school and then, through recruiting, I’d talked to the coach [Geoff Wheeler] a bunch, and really liked him in the program and all the people on the team that I met. It seemed like a pretty fitting place to get to move to the East Coast, be near my grandparents, and come to a place I’d been to and enjoyed with a coach who really cares about the people. 

A: What made Wes stand out to you during your recruitment as the right place to be?

ZB: My recruiting was during [COVID-19], so I never came while I was actively looking, but I did visit when my brother was looking here. I think I was a freshman in high school. It was very green, and [there are] trees, and there’s pretty buildings, so I thought it was different than what I’d seen in Texas. But then, through recruiting, just the fact that the coach really cared, was checking up weekly, making sure I was doing well as a person, as well as in soccer, kind of made it seem like it was a place that cares about you more than just how you perform. You’re a student-athlete, you’re not just playing the sport, which was a really welcoming feel. 

A: As a student-athlete, how has it been balancing academics and then also playing on the team?

ZB: Our coach and team has a big focus on academics. We don’t think that we’re just here to play a sport. [We’re] here for an education, because that’s going to serve us for our entire lives afterwards. Now that I’m an upperclassman, I have a bunch of the freshmen and sophomores asking me about specific classes for econ, for specific classes for math, and it’s a nice reflecting period to be able to help them out, tutor them, or help them with their homework and so on, because that’s what I had coming in as a freshman. 

A: Do you have a favorite memory from your time as a Cardinal? 

ZB: We were co-champions of the Little Three last year. And although the entirety of the season didn’t go the way we wanted, we beat Williams at Williams 1–0, and just like that ensuing moment, of feeling like we accomplished something, was so amazing. And the team experience in the locker room after, everyone was just shouting, playing music, all screaming, it was super exciting. And I think getting that taste of winning something, it’s a feeling that we all want to have again, and hopefully this year we can have that as well as more. 

A: So then, to pivot to this season, what are your team and personal goals for the year?

ZB: We definitely want to host a NESCAC [playoff] game. We haven’t done that since I’ve been here, and that means you have to finish top four in the regular season. So hosting a NESCAC game, obviously winning the NESCAC tournament, and getting an NCAA bid. If we get an NCAA bid, I think we have a really good chance to make it to the Sweet 16 and go far… [Knowing] that, wherever my role is, it could change based on what our team needs. So one week you might start and play 90 minutes; the next week, I might not play at all. You might play 10 [minutes]. So don’t let the individual goals outweigh the team goals, because the only way to get to that team success is making sure that that’s our priority one. And if we do have that team success, everyone will succeed on an individual level. 

A: Through the first five games of the season, you guys are unbeaten. What’s allowed you to be so consistent, winning close games and earning the 5–0 blowout against Trinity?

ZB: I think the biggest thing is we’ve given up one goal in five games. So, [a] big testament to our defense and our goalkeepers, they’ve done a great job. And then the second, I’d say, is [that] our mentality is in a good spot. Everyone’s focused on what the team needs to win first, and so while individually, you might be frustrated, you might not be playing as much as you want, you might not be a starter, you might not be playing at all, everyone’s bought into the fact that if we do what we want as a team, the individual stuff will happen later. That’s allowed us to not put our pride and ego in the way and start getting frustrated at each other. I remember at the Hamilton game, at halftime, we all just felt like the other team wanted it more, and we had a conversation where, if we want to get where we’re going, we need to buy in now. And then [in] the next 15 minutes, we scored two goals, and we’re up 2–1. So I think that showed pure commitment to just working for each other so we can win. 

A: The game-winning goal in the Hamilton game you just mentioned was yours, along with a goal and an assist in the Trinity game, and for those performances you got the NESCAC Player of The Week award. How does it feel to get recognized, and be the first Cardinal since 2022 to win the award?

ZB: Yeah, it was super exciting to get recognized. Funny enough, it was actually my birthday on Monday [when it was announced]. The biggest thing I’d say is that it felt more like a team recognition than anything. I think [the Trinity game] is the first time in like 10 years we scored five NESCAC goals. We had six points out of those two games, when last year we had a loss and a tie against Trinity and Hamilton. So the fact that we won two NESCAC games, stayed undefeated, came back from a goal down, the honor of an individual award felt more like a team award for everyone because it was a team win in both those games. So it was super nice for me, because that’s like a nice pat on the back, but it’s a bigger testament to our team and what we were able to do that week. 

A: If you could talk to your [first-year] self three years ago, is there anything you’ve learned that you would impart to him, any advice you would give?

ZB: I would say make sure you keep a positive mindset, because it’s so easy to play in a game, or not play in a game, or play badly, and then get down on yourself. So make sure you stay positive, because in the end, things are gonna work out how they should. So if you keep your head down, keep working, you’ll end up in the right spot, and you’ll get your time whenever it’s right. 

A: Finally, does the team have any favorite pregame or postgame traditions?

ZB: I would say my favorite thing is probably postgame. There’s one song we play after every win that we all just go crazy for in the locker room. And so, the best part about winning is we’re literally sprinting back after the game to go play it and just, like, scream and go crazy. So I think that’s the best thing we have so far, and hopefully we’ll get to do it two more times this weekend.

Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.