subject: New face Zaher's tough nature benefit for Battery [print this page] New face Zaher's tough nature benefit for Battery
Whoever said that soccer players were not tough never met Charleston Battery defender Mike Zaher.(ibm thinkpad laptop battery)
Two weeks ago, in the waning seconds of the first half against Pittsburgh, a ball was sent into the six-yard box that Zaher was trying to win in the air. With all of his focus on the ball, Zaher had no idea that Riverhounds striker Jeremy Deighton was storming in kamikaze style from his blindside.(laptop battery for sony)
"I went up in the air and I was getting ready to snap the ball when I felt something hit me in the back of the head," Zaher said.
That something turned out to be Deighton's head.
"(Deighton) has a reputation for winning every aerial battle," Zaher said. "I had position on the ball and he came in at a full sprint, head on, to win the ball."
There was a sickening thud as Zaher and Deighton's heads collided.
"I'm trying to flick the ball out with my head and he just smacks me," Zaher said."My head connected with his temple and he just slumped to the ground. It hurt, but he definitely got the worst of it. I wasn't dizzy, I wasn't fazed. I didn't even have a concussion. It just hurt."
Deighton was not so fortunate. The rookie forward was unconscious after he hit the ground. He was foaming at the mouth and was eventually transported to a local Pittsburgh hospital.
"It was pretty scary," Zaher said. "It was the worst head injury I've ever seen on the field. They eventually took him off the field on a stretcher and that's pretty intense."
During halftime, Zaher and Battery trainer Bobby Weisenberger were trying everything they could to stop the bleeding from the gash in his head.(Toshiba satellite laptop battery)
"We were putting anything we could think of to stop the bleeding," Zaher said. "I felt like that BP oil well there for a while with the stuff they were using."
Eventually the bleeding stopped and Zaher wrapped the wound with a bandage. There was no way he was coming out of the game.
"I didn't have a concussion, so I didn't see why I had to come out of the game," Zaher said.
On the first play of the second half, however, the Riverhounds sent a deep ball to Zaher's side of the field. Zaher had no choice but to play the ball with his head.
"As the ball's in the air, I was thinking to myself 'you've got to be kidding me,' " Zaher said. "I had to clear the ball out of there, so I just smashed it and the blood just starting gushing out again."
Zaher's night was done.
"The ref had no choice," Zaher said. "The bleeding wasn't going to stop."
But the story doesn't end there. Instead of heading to the hospital like any rational person would have done, Zaher decided to get stitched up in the locker room -- with no anesthetic. The Battery needed to get on its bus for the four-hour drive to Harrisburg for a match the following night. A stop at the hospital would have cost the team at least three or four hours.
"We probably wouldn't have gotten into Harrisburg until the next morning," Zaher said. "I couldn't make the guys wait on me for eight stitches."
Like a scene out of an action-adventure movie, our hero literally bit on a towel while Weisenberger stitched up his head.
"It was about the most painful thing I've ever been through," Zaher said. "I don't recommend it."
Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser said he'll never question Zaher's toughness.
"People talk a lot about hockey players losing teeth and getting stitches and coming right back in the game to play, and that's Mike Zaher," Anhaeuser said. "The fact that he got hurt and still was out there wanting to play would have been proof enough for me, but to get those stitches without an anesthetic, that takes my respect for him to another level."
After a standout career at UCLA, Zaher was drafted in the third round by Major League Soccer's Toronto FC in 2008. Before the first game of the season, he was traded to D.C. United, where he played three games. He signed with San Jose in 2009 and appeared in 10 with the Earthquakes last season.
"I had some other options, but I'd been to the Carolina Challenge Cup a couple of times and knew that the Battery had a great facility and it was a great city," Zaher said. "I was a little disappointed that the Battery dropped down to USL-2, but this team is as good as any team in USL-1."
An attacking outside defender, Zaher already has a goal and two assists with the Battery.
"He's got that quality to push the ball forward and has the technical ability to do some nice things with crosses and free kicks," Anhaeuser said. "Not only is he a strong, defender, but he's able to bring something to the table offensively."
