Goalkeeper Zack Steffen shouts commands after his team scored an own goal which tied the game during the second half of the Big Ten championship when the Terps defeated Indiana 2-1 on Ludwig Field on Nov. 14 2014.

Cole Steffen was having trouble sleeping June 14. His family was huddled around the television, watching his brother, former Terrapins men’s soccer goalkeeper Zack Steffen, try to keep the U. S. U-20 Men’s National Team’s World Cup journey alive. 

The Steffen family couldn’t contain their screams of joy, so 4-year-old Cole came downstairs and curled up with his mother.

“I had [Cole], who was asleep on my lap when Zack was making those big PK [saves], so I had to be very contained,” Stefanie Steffen said. “It was just unreal on that stage to see that kid on the TV is our boy.”

After neither the United States nor Serbia could score through the first 120 minutes in the quarterfinal, the squads headed to penalty kicks. While the U.S. dominated possession for most of the game, it failed to capitalize on its chances, forcing Steffen to continually keep his team’s hopes alive with clutch save after clutch save. Steffen’s heroics couldn’t carry them in the shootout, though, and the Serbians won 6-5.

Since opting to forgo his final two years of eligibility with the Terps in mid-December, Steffen’s professional and national obligations have taken him around the world. Through it all, he’s tried to maintain tight relationships with his loved ones.

READ MORE: The ascent of former Terps goalkeeper Zack Steffen

“He’s had so much success,” Stefanie Steffen said. “He’s achieved so much, and he’s so humble about it.”

After inking a deal with German club SC Freiburg on Dec. 12, Zack Steffen flew back to College Park to take his final exams. Four days later, he was on a plane to Honduras for a pre-CONCACAF qualifying tournament with the national team.

Steffen finally returned to his family’s Downingtown, Pennsylvania, home for Christmas, but he was on a plane to Florida a week later. Soon after, he went to Jamaica, where the U.S. competed in the North American qualifier for the U-20 World Cup. He then returned home for two days before heading to Germany on Jan. 28. 

While Steffen was able to keep in touch with friends and family while traveling with the national team, he didn’t immediately get WiFi in Germany. He started to feel homesick.

“There was some long, lonely nights for him,” Stefanie Steffen said.

Zack Steffen got through the tough times, though. After all, he was playing with one of top clubs in Europe.

“[Steffen] basically is in the perfect place to become one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” soccer analyst Kai Dambach said. “Germany is the self-appointed goalkeeping country [of] the world.”

His potential was on full display at the World Cup. As June 14 bled into June 15 back home, Steffen single-handedly kept the U.S. alive against Serbia, who had an opportunity to clinch the game on its sixth attempt. Steffen dove right to make an acrobatic save. Two players later, he made another diving save to his right.

Serbia eventually advanced, but Steffen was lauded for his performance.

“At Maryland in knockout games, he was stopping everything,” said Liviu Bird, who is a freelance soccer analyst for Sports Illustrated. “He’s another guy who’s shown he can step up in that situation. … Being able to stop penalties is definitely a good cherry on top of the sundae for him.”

Earlier in the week, the U.S. played Colombia in the Round of 16. Before taking the field, Steffen texted his mother a suggestion: His room was full of Team USA gear. The family should put it to use.

So as Steffen readied for the game, his mother sent him a picture of everyone — his father, his siblings and her — decked out in red, white and blue. In the 83rd  minute, Steffen sealed the team’s 1-0 win with a penalty kick save. 

Though he was nearly 9,000 miles away from his family and had barely seen them in the past six months, Steffen was empowered by their support. And as he pursues a professional career overseas, he’ll continue to lean on his loved ones.

“He’s such a good guy off the field,” Stefanie Steffen said. “So I think it makes it easy to cheer for him when he’s doing so well.”