June 11, 2021
Before Zane Wold became a Valparaiso University Crusader Soccer player, he rewrote the records books for the MPA Panthers boys soccer team. The school record holder in both goals and assists, Wold was a midfielder who felt comfortable anywhere on the field. A Kare11 athlete of the week, he was named to the class A all-state first team, Tri Metro all-conference first team and Star Tribune all-metro second team following his senior season.
That year, Wold helped lead the Panthers to a 16-1 regular season record, including an undefeated run in the Tri-Metro Conference, and a number four ranking in the state. This 2010 team, among MPA’s best ever, were conference and section champions as well as state qualifiers.
Wold was an all-around athlete. He earned the Panther Award as MPA’s top student athlete and, in addition to his five varsity letters in soccer, he earned varsity letters in basketball, baseball and track and field.
Wold began his collegiate soccer career in 2011 as a part of the Crusader team that won the 2011 Horizon League regular season championship. In his junior season, he helped the Crusaders upset the seventh ranked Michigan State Spartans on their way to only allowing 12 goals the entire season. In Wold’s senior year, the fall of 2014, his Crusaders were ranked as high as ninth in the country in the NCAA Division I soccer rankings.
Wold and his men’s soccer teammates, were honored with Valparaiso’s Martin Luther King Award for their contribution to OneValpo, a campaign to promote respect for diversity through sport. The award honored their efforts to create an environment where diversity is honored and respected on Valparaiso’s campus and within the state of Indiana. While at Valparaiso, Wold also served on the Student Athlete Advisory Counsel.
Wold graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in marketing, appearing on Valpo’s dean’s list. He played professionally for the Joplin Demize of the National Premier Soccer League in 2014 and now works for Yelp.
