Although people might mispronounce his name now, opponents will remember Zabarle Kollie when he scores a goal in a critical time for the Jays this season.

Zabarle, (pronounced Za-bur-lee), has had a very busy 2013. Kollie spent the first two years of his collegiate career at North Carolina State University as a forward for the Wolfpack. As a sophomore, he started five games and played in 18 of the Wolfpack’s 20 games in 2012-13, scoring four goals.

However, he decided that it was time for a change, so he contacted his old club soccer coach, Elmar Bolowich, about coming to Creighton.

Kollie has had a very unique path in becoming a collegiate soccer player in the United States. A native of Monrovia, Liberia, Kollie and his family had to survive the Liberian Civil War. The unrest in Liberia caused much stress upon Kollie and his family, and a scar on his arm reminds him of what he left behind when he came to the United States.

Due to increased security and customs sanctions, it took four years for Kollie and his parents to receive their visa to come to the United States.

“I was five at the time [of the visa application], but came to the United States when I was nine years old,” Kollie said. “My parents

and I won the visa lottery to bring us here [to the United States].”

With a new start in the United States, Kollie had an opportunity to play soccer. He thought he was just an OK soccer player until his current coach, Bolowich, asked Kollie to play on a club soccer team with his son, Alex.

“When Coach put me on the team, I felt surprised,” Kollie said.

At the time, Bolowich was the head coach the University of North Carolina. When Kollie received the offer to play on the club team, it was the first time he believed that he had the potential to play soccer at the collegiate level. Although he considered following Bolowich to Creighton as a graduating high school senior, ultimately Kollie decided to go to North Carolina State. However, things didn’t work out for him in Raleigh. It was almost as if destiny would reunite Bolowich and Kollie in Omaha.

Transferring from a 10-10 soccer team in the Wolfpack to a 2012 College Cup semifinalist in the Jays made the transition slightly more challenging for Kollie, which he has embraced. Kollie says that he transferred to Creighton in the first place because of the level of soccer.

“I want to play at a high level of competition. I don’t want it to be easy for me,” Kollie said.

There has been an intense competition between senior Carlos McCrary, senior Sean Kim, and the junior Kollie for earning the starting position at forward for the Jays.

“I’m going against some pretty good players in Carlos and Sean.”

The competition for playing time at the forward position is something that has helped Kollie work towards his personal goal for this season of “doing whatever I have to do to become a better forward.”

“You just try to make sure that you either are at the top or you’re right by them so that you can get some playing time as well,” he said.

As with other players on the Jays’ soccer team, Kollie hopes to get the opportunity to keep playing soccer after graduation from Creighton. Drawing inspiration from his favorite player Didier Drogba, who is a forward for Galatasaray in the Süper Lig, Kollie hopes to once again overcome the obstacles and adversity to succeed.

“Obviously it’s hard to get from the United States to the English Premier League or Spanish leagues. If that doesn’t happen to me, then I’m glad that I came to this kind of atmosphere [at Creighton,]” he said.

While his team is off to another blistering start to the season at 4-1, Kollie has made a quick adjustment to playing again for Bolowich.

Although he is still in search of his first goal, there is little doubt that he has earned the trust of his teammates and coaches. Look for Kollie to make a big play late in the season as he gains more experience for the Jays in their quest to return to the College Cup for the third consecutive season.