By Dave Johnson
William & Mary Athletics

More than a decade later, Claire Zimmeck '09 cannot remember each of her 25 game-winning goals at William & Mary. Some stand out more than others — like, for instance, that header to beat North Carolina in her junior season.
 
Not only were the Tar Heels ranked second nationally, their roster had five players who would go on to become FIFA World Cup champions — including two-time winners Tobin Heath and Ashlyn Harris. UNC had only four losses that season, and Zimmeck's goal in the 85th minute sealed one of them.
 
"That was pretty neat," Zimmeck said. "We had a pile afterwards."
 
Zimmeck, an All-American and two-time CAA Player of the Year, had a flair for drama. Twelve years after her final season, her 25 game-winning goals remain tied for the school record. She's also third all-time in goals (57) and fifth in points (126).
 
Today, Zimmeck is a physician assistant at a private surgical practice in Queens, N.Y. Because of lingering concussion issues, her playing days, even recreationally, are over. But hardly forgotten, Zimmeck is one of 10 alums in this year's W&M Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
 
"Honestly, I'm still a little in shock," she said of the honor. "It brings back a lot of memories. It's a testament not just to me but the team I played with and also the coaching staff. It was a special four years for me.
 
"Those were the golden years — William & Mary, green and gold. When you're in the moment, you think later in life you'll look back and think these are the best days. I remember thinking that. And it's so true now."
 
Zimmeck came to W&M from Fairfax, where she was a goal-scoring machine at W.T. Woodson High. In her first game as a collegian, coming off the bench, she scored both of the Tribe's goals in a 2-1 win at Cincinnati.
 
Zimmeck's finest season came in 2007, when as a junior she scored 17 goals, 10 of which were game-winners. She had five games with at least two goals, including a hat trick against Towson. 
 
She was first team All-CAA three times and twice was named conference player of the year. The Tribe went 53-17-16 and made three NCAA tournament appearances in her four seasons.
 
Former Tribe coach John Daly didn't see Zimmeck's game as a thing of beauty as much as it was a thing of productivity.
 
"Claire was, to put it politely, ungainly," Daly said. "She wasn't smooth, but she had good speed and she had the most amazing heart.
 
"She was tremendously creative. She'd go in where she knew it would hurt."
 
In 2009, Zimmeck was a ninth-round pick in the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer draft. She played a year with the Washington Freedom and two with the Boston Breakers.
 
Due to internal struggles, WPS canceled its 2012 season. Living in Manhattan, where she was finishing her Master's degree in nutrition at Columbia, Zimmeck kept in shape by playing pick-up games mostly against men.
 
But after one game, she had concussion symptoms.
 
"It wasn't one big event where I got hit and knocked out," she said. "I'm sure it was an accumulative effect. 
 
"Not to tout myself, but I was pretty good in the air. I scored a lot of goals with my head. I was able to win a lot of headers, and I didn't hold back from that at all."
 
Among all women's sports, soccer has the second-highest rate of concussions behind ice hockey. Female soccer players are more at risk than their male counterparts.
 
Now 33, Zimmeck is still unable to play soccer or even go for run. Cycling is her thing now, and she often goes on 50-mile rides.
 
Zimmeck, who earned her PA degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in 2018, is now part of a different team. She works at a private practice that specializes in general and colorectal surgery.
 
"I love being in the operating room and seeing patients in the hospital and also in the clinic," she said. "It took about five years to get patient hours. With PA school, you have to get a lot of clinical hours, so I was an EMT in Central Park on weekends."
 
Her job has changed since the coronavirus outbreak.
 
"Surgeries have been pretty much postponed," she said. "Right now, we're doing only emergency surgeries.
 
"I'm still seeing patients in the office a couple times a week and also in the hospital. We're starting to pick up some surgeries."
 
Zimmeck volunteered to work on medical floors in hospitals during the COVID surge and will do her first shift this weekend.
 
Zimmeck loves her career and life in the city. Yet her time at William & Mary, both on the field and off, were a vital time in her development.
 
"Academically, I definitely felt challenged, and it prepared me for my next steps in life," she said. "I made life-long friends who I'm very close with. 
 
"Soccer-wise, it was an incredible team with incredible coaches. It was a very special experience and definitely part of who I am."