Just three matches into his Rhode Island FC career, the New England Native is already making club history in his return to where it all began
Through nearly a decade of injury setbacks and scenery changes since his professional debut as a teenager, one thing has remained consistent for Zachary Herivuax in almost nine years as a professional: the people he’s connected with along the way.
Now, those relationships are paving the way for a career resurgence in the Ocean State, in a move fueled by central figures who helped define his early career as a homegrown talent.
For 75 matches spanning nearly four seasons, Herivaux was a regular for a powerhouse of a Birmingham Legion FC squad, led by his former New England Revolution coaches Tommy Soehn and Khano Smith. Last week, in his 100th regular season USL Championship appearance, Herivaux scored his first career brace in Birmingham under the watch of Smith, but it didn’t come in the familiar black and gold of the Alabama club. Instead, it marked the reunion of the longtime companions and helped the USL Championship’s newest expansion side to a 3-1 win.
Herivaux’s relationship with Rhode Island FC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith dates back to the early days of Herivaux’s childhood, when Smith and Herivaux’s father were close friends. From one-on-one training sessions to special off-the-field moments, Smith’s close-knit relationship with the Herivaux family paid dividends for Herivaux’s development and growth.
“Being able to see a professional up close and be able to spend time with them, do little things like play FIFA and just pass the ball around, it was a great experience for me,” said Herivaux. “To be around a real pro gave me inspiration. Khano always treated me like family, and I definitely didn’t take those things for granted. I’ve always looked up to him, and being able to watch him grow in the coaching world has also been great to see.”
Exposure to a professional environment defined Herivaux’s earliest memories of involvement with the sport, as he went on to play under Smith at the New England Revolution Academy at the age of 16, where he would begin the path to his professional career.
On May 2, 2015, Herivaux became the third homegrown signing in Revolution history, officially putting pen to paper in his first ever professional contract at 19 years old. In 18 career appearances for the Revolution, the Haitian international went on to score twice and bag one assist. In 2019, Herivaux added one goal and one assist in 23 appearances on loan with Birmingham Legion FC, where he reunited with Smith for the first time. Eventually, after recovering from an extensive ankle injury that sidelined the midfielder for nearly six months, Herivaux returned to Birmingham and signed with the club permanently ahead of the 2021 season, where he would go on to make 56 appearances in the following two seasons, adding two goals to his career total. At the time, Smith was an assistant coach with Birmingham.
“Honestly, when I came off my ankle surgery, there weren’t many teams willing to give me a chance,” said Herivaux. “But Birmingham was one of them. Khano was there, Soehn was there, Jay Heaps was there, and I worked with all of them in New England. There were a lot of familiar faces and I knew a bunch of the guys on the team from that initial loan year. It was important for me to go somewhere I’d be happy with the relationships.”
Thriving in a sea of familiar faces, Herivaux’s time in Birmingham marked the most productive of his professional career. The midfielder tallied more than 20 appearances every season, solidifying himself as a regular in the Birmingham starting lineup. During his tenure, Herivaux added three goals and one assist and helped the club to three playoff appearances before moving to Tampa ahead of the 2023 season.
Talks between Herivaux and Smith on a potential move to RIFC began in the offseason when Smith was putting together the first pieces of his inaugural roster after being named RIFC’s first-ever head coach. However, those conversations stalled when yet another injury that kept Herivaux out for the majority of the 2023 season continued to sideline him, sending his 2024 season with Tampa into further uncertainty. Eventually, with both parties ready to move on after an extensive recovery period that saw the midfielder struggle to get consistent time for more than a year, a midseason move was in the works and a newly-healthy Herivaux only had one team in mind.
The Brookline, Mass. native officially signed with RIFC on July 3, reuniting with his longtime family friend and mentor just half an hour’s drive away from where it all began more than a decade ago. Herivaux didn’t take long to get comfortable in his new home, as he bagged his first career brace for the club in just 86 minutes and three appearances off the bench.
The brace, which lifted RIFC to an important road win over his former club in Birmingham and saw him become the first player in club history to be voted the USL Championship Player of the Week, marked not only the first multi-goal match of Herivaux’s career, but also his first multi-goal season as a professional. Herivaux achieved the new season-best tally in the span of nine minutes, and secured a sixth-straight result for RIFC in the process.
“It felt amazing,” Herivaux said. “It feels funny, because I didn’t go into the game with the mindset to go score. I never really do, I just go in to try to impact the game positively. When it happened so fast, my initial reaction was not to celebrate, because ultimately Birmingham gave me a platform to revive my career and I was extremely grateful for that. On the other hand, I was just so happy to be able to share that moment with my new family in Rhode Island, a group of guys who have welcomed me so openly. Having that moment after the difficult year I had was amazing.”
Through a turbulent beginning of his professional career, the midfielder struggled to get minutes and produce at a consistent level. Now, his two goals, including a rocket from distance that was a USL Championship Goal of the Week candidate, made him one of just three players to record multiple goals in a match in the Ocean State club’s young history, and the only player to do so off the bench. His movement and situational awareness showed no signs of a player adjusting to a new environment after a long-term injury, and Herivaux credits the familiar faces around him for helping him fit in so seamlessly.
“When you are traveling on the road with your teammates, you share every meal and do a lot of video analysis,” said Herivaux. “But the most important thing is that you get to know each and every one of them. As you get to know your teammates on a personal level, you start building trust and are willing to go to battle. I think that’s what started happening over the past couple of weeks, and it’s only going to grow from there.”
One of those familiar faces is that of JJ Williams, who played with Herivaux in Birmingham and Tampa, becoming extremely close with him in that time. The two connected in a special way in their return to Protective Stadium, linking up on Herivaux’s first goal that ended up being the match-winner.
“JJ did absolutely all the work for that first goal,” said Herivaux. “We have a special relationship off the field that carries straight onto the pitch. My first time meeting him was back in 2019 with Birmingham. Then we reunited in Tampa and we just pretty much clicked off the field right away. I consider him family and to be with him again is really special.”
Although Herivaux’s career could have been derailed by injuries, it was people like Williams and Smith that remained by his side and helped him clear a path for a promising future. With two goals already to his name in Amber and Bay Blue, and personal-best marks set just three matches in, the road forward certainly looks bright for the New England native.
Smith, Williams, Herivaux and the rest of Rhode Island FC will return home to Beirne Stadium on Saturday, July 27 when the club hosts North Carolina FC at 7:30 p.m. The Ocean State club will look to capitalize on Herivaux’s performance and continue rising up the Eastern Conference standings in what will be an important rematch of the scoreless draw between the two clubs on May 4. Tickets to the next home match are available now at rhodeislandfc.com/tickets.