2025:
- Elected team captain for the 2025 season
2024:
- Appeared in and started all 16 games
- Recorded two assists
- Second on the team with 1,391 minutes played
2023:
- Played in all 20 games while starting 18.
- Recorded first collegiate assist against Saint Joseph's (Sept. 25).
2022:
- Made his first career appearance in the 2-2 tie at Rutgers.
Club: Played exclusively with the Oakwood Soccer Club, which qualified for the MLS Next U17 Playoffs in 2021… Starter and captain for the 2018-2021 seasons… Selected to attend 2018-21 Northeast U.S. National Training Centers.
Personal: Volunteer as a Leader in Training for the Ellington Summer Camp… Member of Ellington High School’s Future Business Leaders of America and student council… Donated soccer balls to countries such as Fiji, Ghana and Peru… Has traveled to Italy on multiple occasions to visit relatives and has participated in several summer soccer camps, including AC Milan and Parma Calcio.
3 QUESTIONS FOR ZAFFANELLA
Biggest soccer influence? “If I had to pick a single player, I would have to say the legend Andrea Pirlo. He approached the game with such a calm and collective style of play; such a great thought process always resonated with me. I always imagined myself completing the same unbelievable passes that I watched Pirlo complete so many times before. However, my Academy coach Tom Poitras has taught me so much of the game that I now possess today, and his personality taught me many life lessons through the game of soccer. Poitras has coached me since I was 13 years old, and ever since the first day I met him; he was always someone I looked up to for advice, not only in soccer but in life.”
Do you have an idol or hero? “As many people say, my heroes are my parents. I have learned so much from both of them; they have demonstrated a great work ethic that I try to replicate. I have learned the true meaning of hard work and dedication, constant persistence, and never giving up mentality. They have taught me the meaning of sacrifice, and the struggle that comes along with everything in life, but the same principles that have made them who they are, are the same principles that I carry with me today. They are indeed my heroes, I idolize them for so much in my life, and when I look for an example in life, I always look at them.”
Why Yale? “Yale has always been my dream school; it felt like the perfect place to call home only an hour from my house. When I took that first step on campus, I knew it was the place for me, an environment surrounded by people determined and hard-working; it was a perfect match. What solidified the decision was how Coach Stannard made it feel like home; everyone is striving for excellence and expected to compete and dedicate everything to the team. The idea that winning and winning at the highest level was what everyone sought, and this hard-working and dedicated environment was just the place that I wanted to call home.”
Stannard on Zaffanella: “Diego was our first commitment for this class and I give former assistant Bill Schmid a lot of credit for this relationship. Diego has the ability to be the most well-rounded and influential piece of this class if he maximizes his potential. I have compared Diego to a combination of two of our most influential players in the past few years, which is about the highest compliment I can give. He has played in just about every position at the club level, but we see him being able to boost our central midfield with his toughness and ball-winning while being equally strong in his ability on the ball to help us connect the lines and maintain possession for longer spells. He has a swagger and inner confidence to him that we hope can turn into important leadership. Diego has the potential to be the most influential Connecticut player in the very long history of the program.”
