William and Mary Alumni Magazine | Winter 2007/2008, Vol. 73, No. 2
Photo by Skip Rowland '83
|
|
Collins and Zimmick
|
Then they were much younger, playing on the travel soccer circuit, a girl named Dani (allegedly) committed a foul against her opponent named Claire -- Dani claims it was a "dive." This small infraction was another incident in a youth full of tense meetings and fierce competition between the two on the soccer field.
Imagine their surprise when, as young women, the two found themselves playing on the same Tribe soccer team. Dani Collins '09 and Claire Zimmeck '09 both knew the ins and outs of playing against one another, but weren't quite ready to join forces at first.
"It was kind of an awkward meeting," they say. Since then, though, the two have incorporated themselves into a Tribe soccer team that has achieved tremendous success and is still hungry for more.
The Tribe finished the regular season in a close CAA to?urnament game, losing to Virginia Commonwealth, 5-4, on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie. Their strong play during the season still landed them a place in the NCAA national tournament, where they made it to the second round. While every player quests for a title, Collins can keep it in perspective: "Regardless of how it ends, it's about the journey, too."
At the beginning of the 2007 season, both women were named to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy watch list, singling them out as two of the top players in women's college soccer. The season that followed was accordingly impressive.
Collins, at 5'11", is the tallest player on the team. When the ball is in the air, the team often counts on center midfielder Collins to leap up and use her head -- literally -- to keep the ball in play. Zimmeck describes her teammate much more readily than she would describe herself: "[Dani] is amazing. She's probably the most crucial position on the team; I think she holds us together."
As for the punishment inflicted on a midfielder who plays as physically as Collins, Zimmeck can only sympathize. "I feel like she takes so much. I feel so bad for her," Zimmeck says. "She puts her heart into it all the time. I love playing with players like that."
Zimmeck herself, on the other hand, is lurking in the front, always waiting to embarrass a defender with her speed and agility. One false step and you're toast. "Claire is one of the hardest-working players I've ever seen," says Collins. "She can just obliterate a defense and they never know what hit them."
As the 2006 and 2007 CAA Player of the Year, Zimmeck is no stranger to recognition. She makes a point to find the right balance between being the Tribe's leading scorer and staying team-focused, but knows she has to do her part when the pressure is on. "We want the ball with Claire when it's down to the wire," says Collins.
Soccer, of course, is a game of 1-0 wins and 0-0 ties. At a tournament in Richmond, Va., on Sept. 16, William and Mary squared off against the legendary University of North Carolina (UNC) team. Despite the Tribe's years of success under coach John Daly, one thing they had never done was defeat UNC. Thanks to a down-to-the-wire Claire Zimmeck goal in the 22nd game between the two squads, they finally broke the streak.
"I can't even comprehend it yet," says Zimmeck, weeks after the match.
"You almost can't grasp it," adds Collins. "It was such a group effort; you can't ask for anything more than that."
Later in the season, Zimmeck had a huge weekend, scoring five goals in two games and earning two national and conference player of the week awards. Collins tallied three goals of her own before briefly being sidelined by injury, playing her aggressive, defensive style of soccer. No injury, though, can dampen Collins' enthusiasm for the game of soccer; enthusiasm that helped land her on the first-team all-CAA list for 2007.
"You're not playing to get recognition, you're not playing to make millions, you're playing for the love of the game," she says. "It's something you've eaten and breathed and slept for the last 15 years."
As Collins and Zimmeck can attest, a lot can change in 15 years. Playing first against each other and then as teammates, their initial rivalry has grown into a close friendship and a powerful tandem on the soccer field. Nothing but time can develop that sort of bond.
A bond that, thankfully for Tribe fans, will be back on the field next year.
