Junior striker Zulma Valdivieso-Gutierrez has amassed over 100 career goals in her three-years with Cedar Shoals girls varsity soccer.
As of April 2, she's at 107 goals in her career, 37 of those having come this season alone, and the number is still rising. The Jaguars are 5-8 overall and 1-4 in 4A-Region 8 with four games to go. The season ends April 19.
"She knows that we as a team are very dependent on her and she always rises to the occasion," first-year coach Nick Miller said. "She'll do whatever the team needs."
Valdivieso-Gutierrez, 17, has been playing soccer for the last 15 years. She never pictured herself getting to where she is today, simply playing at the high school level, so younger Zulma would be quite shocked — albeit proud — if she could see the path she's carved.
She wasn't even really into soccer until she was in eighth grade when she began club play with Athens United. She spent two years with AU, moved to play for Gwinnett Soccer Academy, and then will return to AU this summer.
To go from not thinking you'd ever play high school soccer, to then breaking the school's career goal scoring record with a year and some change still to go, is a massive jump. She doesn't have any idea what's next, she's still figuring that part out, but where she's at right now is satisfactory enough.
"It feels special, and I am really happy I was able to achieve it," Valdivieso-Gutierrez said.
Her impact will be felt for a while, and Miller said she's raised the level of the team just by pushing them to be at her standard. Of course, she still has a lot to work on, regardless of how good she is on the score sheet. Miller can't let her hit a wall and get complacent, though it doesn't sound like she ever will judging by how her teammate junior midfielder Kimberly Linares talked about her.
"The first time I ever played against her, it was eighth grade, and I thought she was a very tough competitor," Linares said. "Then in high school, I came, and I met her, and she was the humblest person ever. She's very good at what she does, but the way she acts on the field and off the field, she's always really nice. .... She's a quiet person, but she shows leadership through her actions.
"I think she sends a message that anything is possible."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Cedar Shoals girls soccer junior is cooking up a storm, has a year left
