Patterson, a native of Dayton, Ohio, knew he wanted to attend a Christian university and play soccer. He said after his visit to the MVNU campus "everything just seemed to fall into place perfectly.” Since his arrival, Patterson has been making an impact in the classroom, in the record books and in the lives of his teammates.

Although Patterson says "I hate studying, so I only do what I have to in order to keep decent grades,” he has maintained a 3.371 GPA while working on a double major in financial management and international business with a minor in Spanish.

Patterson has been playing soccer since he was five years old. Besides his junior high and high school experiences on the Dayton Christian soccer team, he has also played on numerous recreation and select teams, including the Northmont Storm and the Dayton Galaxies.

Patterson has played for the Cougars all four years of his career at MVNU and has been a starter since early in his sophomore season. Last year, Patterson anchored the defense that posted a new school record by only allowing 17 goals in 22 matches. The team also had 12 shutouts. For his efforts, he was named to the AMC South Division Second Team, the NCCAA East Region Team and the NCCAA All-American First Team and was also selected as an NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athlete. In addition, he was voted the Cougar’s MVP.

"Zach is like no other defender,” said Adam Worrall, senior forward and NCCAA Honorable Mention All-American. "He has the foot skills, the physicality, the mentality and the desire to win and make our team better like nobody else."

Junior goalkeeper Alex Stout, who was an AMC South Division Second Team selection last year, has the best view on the field of Patterson’s play. "Zach is the leader of our defense by the way he plays and by how he instructs,” Stout said. "He is always working very hard and playing very physically. He is great in the air and at shutting other team’s forwards down.”

Patterson, Worrall and Sheldon Tugman make up the senior class leading the Cougars to their current record of 9-3-2.

Patterson tries to lead by example and makes a habit of helping his teammates when they do something wrong and encouraging them when they do things well. He is also willing to stand up for his teammates by "putting in a hard hit” on the field.

"As a team captain, Zach brings leadership in the form of pushing players to be better and encouraging them on and off the field,” head coach Paul Furey said.

Patterson said the Cougars hope to make it to the NAIA postseason, win the NCCAA National Tournament if they attend or play in California for the NAIA National Tournament. More personally, he hopes to repeat as an NCCAA All-American.

Despite such challenging goals, Patterson said his highest expectation for the team is less tangible.

"The team. The friendships. The bond. The memories. That’s what I expect from a year on this team,” Patterson said.

He recounts memories of preseason camping trips, late night meetings and "the charter bus swaying from side to side with players slamming into walls and each other, banging on the floor, ceiling or whatever will make the most noise possible.” These memories will remain with Patterson long after he graduates this spring.

After graduation, Patterson is considering putting his love of travel and different cultures to good use by going abroad for mission work and language study, with hopes of becoming fluent in Spanish. He has already made trips to such places as the Dominican Republic and Tijuana. He is planning to return to Tijuana over Christmas break and has been in contact with an organization to get involved in a more long-term program there.

The Cougars will certainly miss Patterson’s presence on the soccer field next year.

Furey said that Patterson has separated himself on the field because of his "God-given abilities physically, together with the intrinsic motivation to succeed.” However, he adds that other traits are what make Patterson truly special. "He is a very good student. He comes from a very supportive family, and he has character and a personal faith,” Furey said.

"Zach is not only an unbelievable player, but he is even a better person,” Worrall said. "I am lucky to have spent my entire college career with someone like Zach.”