If ever there was a "sure thing" for the Sonoma State Athletic Hall of Fame, Andrew Ziemer would be it. Along with his brothers Benjamin, Christopher and Marcus, Andrew and the Ziemer brothers put SSU men's soccer on the map.
Before Andrew arrived, the SSU men's soccer team was a fairly average group. They'd win some, they'd lose some...nothing to write home about.
In 1990, Andrew's first season at Sonoma State, the Cossacks won the first of their six Northern California Athletic Conference titles of the 1990's. Andrew led the charge with 14 goals and 11 assists and was named NSCAA First Team All-America as well as NCAC Player of the Year. Opposing coaches were helpless in trying to stop Andrew, but could only hold out hope that he would come down to Earth his senior season.
Instead, Andrew blasted off to new heights. In 1991, he scored 28 goals, dished off 13 assists and totaled an unreal 69 points on the year. His goals and points marks are records that still stand to this day. In fact, Ethan Miller-Bazemore, an outstanding player in his own right, is second behind Andrew for most points in a single season. And he's trailing by 21 points!
By now, Andrew was one of the top two scorers in the nation. And he knew it. After scoring three goals against the University of Missouri-St. Louis in the NCAA playoffs, Andrew commented that the defender that was marking him all game was a little too excited. "If he had just calmed down," he said, "he might have been able to hold me to two goals."
Ziemer took his team all the way to the 1991 NCAA Division II national championship game. Unfortunately, the Cossacks didn't come away with the crown, but for SSU soccer fans, their was no doubt who's the king.
