Jacobs grad Zimka concludes productive career at NIU

Jacobs alum Joe Zimka credits his improvement on the soccer field this past season to a few minor adjustments.

"My work ethic," said Zimka, who recently finished his collegiate soccer career as a goalie at Northern Illinois University. "Since last year I really changed my diet and workout habits. I lost body fat since last year. Working out was not as good and I was not eating well. I don't drink pop now. I've got better eating habits and I've been working harder in the weight room and on the field. I feel better athletically. I've improved quite a bit."

Zimka, who wore uniform No. 0 for the Huskies, helped the team advance to the Mid-American Conference championship game recently. NIU, which finished 11-6-4, lost to Akron, 1-0 in double overtime, in the title game. Akron went on to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Zimka was named to the MAC all-tournament team. He had 6 saves in the title match and allowed only 1 goal over 3 matches in the tournament while logging nearly 300 minutes in goal.

"It was a very good performance by him and everyone in front of him," said NIU coach Steve Simmons. "The weather (snow, wind and cold temperatures that an NIU news release on the match tabbed as 'abhorrent conditions') made it difficult to keep your footing because it was slick."

Zimka started all 21 contests for the Huskies (he was the only player in goal for the team this year) and finished the year with a 0.98 goals-against average. Zimka allowed 22 goals in over 2,000 minutes of play. He made 63 saves and had a .741 save percentage.

"I got better at making decisions on the field," said Zimka. "Stuff like when to come out and when not to come out-the little details like footwork."

Zimka says it also doesn't hurt being 6-foot-4 and weighing 210 pounds.

"My size helps me," said Zimka. "Not too many people are taller than I am. Nobody is going to push me around. I can run through people. If I go for a cross and don't come down with it, I can still barrel through people and try to get the ball."

Zimka had plenty of fun playing at the collegiate level.

"You have to love it. You have to love the game. Soccer is fun," said Zimka. "You have to love waking up at 6 a.m. and practicing in 25-degree weather in the spring. It's inspiring and it's tough. You have to grit your teeth if you want to go to the next level. You have to bite down and get to work. It's not all fun and games. It's hard work playing at the Division I level. It's a job keeping up with your school and community service things. There is a lot asked of NCAA athletes. But you bit down and you go to work."

Zimka is his own worst critic when it comes to self-evaluation of his results.

"I expected to play well. Maybe I expected more," said Zimka. "I didn't have a bad year. I had 8 shutouts and (22) goals against. It's not a brilliant year, but it's a good year. There is always room for improvement. It's always nice to have a good season, but I could have done better. We had a couple of tough losses to top 10 teams that we should have beat. I had three shutouts and 22 goals against as a junior. It wasn't a bad career. It could have gone better. You look at the goalie at Akron, he's closing in on 50 career shutouts. Mine was OK. His is unheard of. That's like 12 shutouts a season."

Zimka is a visual communications major at NIU.

"I would like to do design work for a clothing company," said Zimka. "I'd like to design clothes, design logos. I'm a real big snowboard fan. I'd like to work for a snowboard company and design shirts. Graphic design is fun."

Looking back, Zimka counts the 2006 MAC title game as one of his favorites.

"I blocked a penalty kick and we won 1-0," said Zimka. "That was one of the most memorable for me. And then we won our NCAA game against Loyola and lost to Indiana, 1-0. Those were all pretty good."

Zimka recorded a 1.22 GAA as a junior and had 3 shutouts. As a sophomore, Zimka set an NCAA record for goals-against average (0.21) and had an NIU-record streak of 754 shutout minutes that helped the team to a string of 8 unbeaten matches. Zimka led the NCAA in save percentage that year (.955) and led the MAC in shutouts with 11 en route to second-team all-MAC honors. His 11th shutout came in the NCAA win against Loyola. He had a 1.80 GAA as a freshman in limited duty.

In terms of his immediate future, Zimka would like to explore playing at the next level.

"The MLS (Major League Soccer) combine list comes out after this season, hopefully I'll be on it," said Zimka, who sports a 3.2 grade-point average at NIU. "I'm hoping to go to Europe in the winter and summer and see about training with teams there. Hopefully I could signed."

The MLS combine works similar to the NFL draft combine.

"There is a group of seniors from Division I teams from around the country that get invited," said Zimka. "It's like the NFL combine. You play some games in a week span and at the end of the week is the MLS draft. I don't want to give up soccer yet."

Moran at Northern Iowa: Jacobs graduate John Moran, the honorary captain of the 2008 Daily Herald All-Area boys basketball team, had a strong collegiate debut recently. Moran, a freshman point guard at the University of Northern Iowa, recorded a double-double to help the team notch a 61-56 nonconference victory over the University of Denver. Moran finished with 14 points to go with 10 rebounds. He was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and also made a pair of 3-point shots.

Moran started the game with 5 straight points via a short runner in the lane and a 3-pointer that helped the Panthers build a 7-2 lead.

In other early-season action, Moran had 7 points and 5 steals in a 44-27 nonconference triumph over Wayne State. Moran recently returned to the Chicago area and had 9 points and 5 assists in an 84-77 nonconference loss to UIC.

Pelkas update: Siblings Michelle and Bryan Pelka are members of the Carthage College men's and women's swim teams respectively. Carthage competed in a recent double-dual meet with Hope College and Kalamazoo College in Holland, Mich., recently. Michelle Pelka won 4 individual events. She won the 100 butterfly (1:00.99), the 200 butterfly (2:11.76), the 200 IM (2:13.88) and the 400 IM (4:42.31). Pelka was also a member of the winning 200 and 400 medley relay teams, swimming both butterfly legs.

Bryan Pelka won the 1,650 freestyle (16:39.24) and took second in the 500 freestyle (4:53.21).

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mmiazga@dailyherald.com.