Ziegaus led area with 22 goals to help CHS finish 13-6
Skyler Ziegaus was outstanding as a freshman.
As a sophomore, she was even better.
Ziegaus took her scoring to another level this past season, splitting time as a forward and attacking midfielder for Columbia. After netting nine goals as a freshman, she more than doubled that number to 22 this winter to lead the area in scoring while also dishing out five assists.
She was close to unstoppable at times, finishing the season with eight multi-goal matches that included three hat tricks. That helped the Tigers finish the year with a 13-6 record, their most wins in a season since 2017-18.
It’s why she’s now the two-time LCR Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
“The girl has no problem scoring at all,” Columbia head coach Chip Garner said. “She’s absolutely a goal-scoring machine. What can you say? She’ll take the ball and run with it and score.”
Columbia’s 13-6 mark was a big improvement from 6-10-4 in 2020-21, and Ziegaus was a big reason for it. She credits her success this season to a travel ball team change, moving over from CYSA in Lake City to play for the Gainesville Soccer Alliance. The level of competition forced her to take her game to another level, which in turn made her more confident on the pitch.
That translated over to Columbia.
“I got coaching and got to play with a bunch of girls who are really high level, and that really helped me see the game differently,” Ziegaus said. “All those girls are super good. It really helped me improve.”
Garner noticed it too, and he believes that played an integral role in the strides his team made this past season. It didn’t surprise Garner either, describing Ziegaus as having a competitive spirit that drives her toward beating her opponent.
She wants to play with the best, and beat the best.
“Her confidence went way up,” Garner said. “I think she’s kind of settling into the zonal play and being up top and waiting on a ball more rather than dropping in and trying to do everything herself. Once her teammates starting sending her soccer balls she had no problem beating one or two defenders and scoring.”
Ziegaus isn’t satisfied though. She wants to score more. After finishing with just nine goals as a freshman, Ziegaus had her eyes on Kirsten Garner’s school record of 27 goals set back in the 2019-20 season.
That was her goal entering her sophomore campaign, and she admits she was a little upset she didn’t get there. And who knows, she may have if she hadn’t missed four matches due to an injury.
“I was super devastated because I’m super competitive,” Ziegaus said. “Beating the school record is definitely one of my goals. I’m definitely going to try even harder next year.”
Will she get it? Garner puts the betting odds pretty high, if not next year then in her senior season.
“She’s on par for it,” Garner said. “Records are made to be broken right? And believe me, if she can keep up what she did this season and play all the games, I have no doubt she’ll be in the record books.”
Ziegaus plans to work on her strength and power this season while increasing her accuracy. She wants to put more shots on frame next season, which should lead to more goals.
She hopes the school record too, one that will leave her name in the history books when it’s time to finally hang up her cleats at Columbia.
“It would be an honor,” Ziegaus said. “Ever since my freshman year it’s been one of the things I’ve wanted to do. I even said last year I wanted to beat it. I got a little bit closer, but I think next year I can actually do it.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
F/MF: Skyler Ziegaus
Columbia, sophomore
The LCR’s Girls Soccer Player of the Year once again excelled at forward and as a midfielder. She led the area with 22 goals and finished second in the area with five assists.
F/MF: Kiera Tracy
Fort White, junior
Led the Indians with seven goals and had two assists.
MF: Olivia Kelly
Columbia, sophomore
Was second on CHS with 11 goals and had two assists.
MF: Mia Brasel
Columbia, freshman
Led the area with seven assists to go with seven goals.
MF: Sydney Rivas
Columbia, junior
Scored seven goals to go with five assists.
MF: Kyndall Norris
Columbia, freshman
Scored three goals with two assists as a defensive mid.
MF: Hannah Dicks
Columbia, senior
Scored six goals and had two assists.
D: Lily Schneider
Columbia, sophomore
Was a linchpin defensively for the Tigers, preventing several goals to aid goalkeeper Haley Schrader.
D: Krystin Hughes
Columbia, junior
A critical defender in the back end, helping the Tigers hold opponents to less than two goals per match.
D: Payton Cady
Fort White, senior
Was the Indians’ top player in the defensive end this season, and she also scored two goals.
GK: Haley Schrader
Columbia, junior
Finished the season with 237 saves in 18 matches, posting three shutouts.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Chip Garner, Columbia
Led a Tigers squad that improved their record from 6-10-4 to 13-6 this season. Columbia also went 4-0 against rivals Fort White and Suwannee.