Sonoma Academy's Sally Ziemer named All-Empire Small School Girls Soccer Player of the Year

On many teams, different players fulfill distinctive roles: high-profile scorer, behind-the-scenes playmaker, emotional leader.

Rarely, one player fills all those roles. So it is with Sally Ziemer, Sonoma Academy’s senior midfielder who helped lead the Coyotes to their fourth consecutive NCS girls soccer championship this season.

For her all-around contributions, Ziemer has been selected the All-Empire Small School Player of the Year.

Ziemer, who will attend Sonoma State next season, wasn’t the Coyotes’ high scorer this year - that honor goes to talented forward Katie Johansen. But she was right up there, even having missed much of the year recovering from a serious knee injury.

Still, she was the heart of a team that went 16-0 in the North Central League II and 20-0 overall, almost never facing a serious challenge. The Coyotes outscored their opponents 120-5 (That is not a typo).

Chris Ziemer, her coach and father, has a tricky job arguing for postseason honors for his daughter and recognizing significant contributions from the other talented 10 on the field.

While Johansen may have been more impactful as a scoring threat, Ziemer provided the heartbeat of the team, her father said. She was co-captain with goalkeeper Audrey von Raesfeld.

“What Sally meant to our team was so important in the practice environment,” he said. “That was a big reason why our team was successful. We worked hard to challenge ourselves and she was the lifeblood in that way.”

Ziemer and her fellow seniors never lost a league game in their high school soccer careers. The past four years, the Coyotes were 56-0-1 in league and 81-2-1 overall.

To keep the team humble, she said, her father and the coaching staff worked the team hard in practices.

“There’s obviously teams that give us a good challenge and he prepares us well for those. Even when we have games we know we were probably going to be able to breeze by, he prepared us in training by giving us a harder day before the game.

“We had a good understanding and respect for the opponents, knowing that even though we might be the better team, we couldn’t just show up. It’s still 0-0 when it starts.”

A midseason friendly match against North Bay League winner and eventual NCS Division 1 champ Montgomery was a reminder that the Coyotes weren’t unbeatable.

“Our only loss was a scrimmage against Montgomery, which kinda sucked because they beat us pretty handily,” the midfielder said. “But it was also nice because we hadn’t had a game like that in a while. It was a reality check. It was refreshing. We learned we were a good team but we had a lot of room to grow.”

Ziemer, too, has shown growth as a player. Until high school, she played in the back line. Her father put her in the midfield at Sonoma Academy to further develop her skills. She still plays in the back for her club team.

Last January, though, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament and was out of commission for part of the season.

“I felt like I wasn’t dynamic as I was used to being,” she said. “It was hard working back into being able to play a certain amount of minutes.

“So I took on more of a role as a leader, vocally and as a presence, leading by example,” she said. “It taught me to appreciate the work that other people are putting in, because I wasn’t able to cover as much ground.”

Ziemer is comfortable scoring goals, but finds a less prominent role just as rewarding, if not more. Her explanation of her style shows what an unselfish player she is.

“I’m not one that likes to dribble and take people on,” she said. “I like to combine and play a passing game. That’s how the club soccer team plays, finding the little patterns. That’s something I enjoy.

“It’s always really fun to score. But sometimes playing the perfect ball that sets someone up for a goal feels better than the goal.”

As she moves on to her college career, Ziemer has watched younger players seamlessly integrate into the Sonoma Academy program. That includes her sister, Gabby, to whom she hands the baton. A freshman, Gabby made the NCL II all-league second team, and will likely play a significant role next year for her father’s team.

“This season with my little sister, all three of us were there. That was really cool,” Sally Ziemer said.

“Gabby and I played in mid-field. We had some opportunities to combine together and she was definitely a key part of our team. It’s fun to see her succeed.”

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.