Monday, December 12, 2022
by Western Washington Athletic Communications

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington senior midfielder Tera Ziemer has been selected as the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II National Player of the Year.

Ziemer helped lead the Vikings to the 2022 national championship with a 2-1 victory over West Chester on December 3 in Seattle. The Vikings completed the season with a 19-2-4 record, including a 7-0-0 run through the postseason and a first-place finish in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 11-1-2.

Ziemer becomes the second WWU player to earn the National Player of the Year honor, joining Sierra Shugarts following WWU’s 2016 national championship season. In addition to earning the nation’s top individual honor, Ziemer was a First Team All-American, a unanimous All-West Region pick and a First Team All-GNAC selection.

During their senior season, Ziemer was a force on the field patrolling the midfield as a stalwart defender and efficient scoring weapon. Starting all 25 games, Ziemer recorded six goals and four assists for 16 total points and was a key piece to one of the top defenses in the nation. The Vikings ranked seventh in the nation with a 0.520 goals against average and tied for second in NCAA II with 15 shutouts.

In two seasons at WWU, Ziemer appeared in 45 games (44 starts), scoring 12 goals with 10 assists (34 points). Including two seasons at Texas A&M University, Ziemer’s collegiate career featured 89 appearances (68 starts), four trips to the NCAA postseason and 46 total points (16 goals, 14 assists).

WWU has won a pair of national championships in the last six seasons, competed in 10 consecutive NCAA Championship tournaments and advanced to play in the West Regional title game each of the last seven seasons. During the 10-season stretch of consecutive postseason appearances (since 2012), WWU has combined for a 197-25-18 record (.858). The Vikings five Final Four appearances since 2013 are second-most in the nation trailing seven by Grand Valley State University.