Spotlight: Taylor Zdrojewski
September 11, 2025 | Women's Soccer
LUBBOCK – Six goals in six games is impressive. Scoring 176 during high school in only two seasons is insane.
That's where we find Taylor Zdrojewski going into Texas Tech's non-conference finale against Utah State at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
"Winning is fun and you have to score goals to do that," she said.
A red-shirt junior from Celina, Zdrojewski reached 40 career points at Tech after her third career brace in a 2-0 win last Thursday at New Mexico State – a two-goal performance that secured her second Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season. Through six games this season, she leads the Big 12 with three game-winning goals, is second with six goals and also tops the conference with 25 total shots. Add in two assists and she is currently third in the Big 12 with 14 points. Â
"You need to be confident as a forward," Zdrojewski said. "Not just in yourself, but in the entire team. I have so many talented teammates on the field to build that confidence. That's why I'm having success."
Scoring goals and winning is nothing new for her. Zdrojewski shined in junior soccer, starring for FC Dallas where she earned ENCL Texas First-Team All-Conference and attracted the attention of the Texas Tech coaching staff. After spending time in a development academy, she would play two seasons at Celina High School and helped lead her team to its first ever state championship while setting individual records along the way. As a junior, in her first high school season, Zdrojewski set a state record by scoring 114 goals in 2021. The following season she added 62 more in the team's run to the state championship – capping her high school career with 176 goals, including finding the back of the net for a brace and also connecting during penalty kicks in the title game. Her team finished that season with a 29-1-1 record and avenged a loss in the semifinals from her historic junior season.
"I started playing when I was only four," said Zdrojewski, who earned USA Today Texas Soccer Player of the Year and Dallas Morning News Player of the Year honors. "My dad was my first coach and I remember taking it seriously right away. At that age, you have some flower pickers and the kids who just want to be on the sidelines with their moms, but I was always on that field wanting to win. I've always loved playing the game."
Arriving at Texas Tech for the 2022-23 season, Zdrojewski was immediately faced with the adversity of not being able to play the game. After only four matches, she suffered injuries that forced a redshirt season but also offered perspective and growth. She didn't know it at the time, but going through rehab to get back on the field with her teammates has made each practice, game and goal scored even more special.
"It was pretty brutal," Zdrojewski said. "I tore my ACL, ruptured my joint capsule, injured my posterolateral corner and fractured my fibula plateau all at once. That was a really scary time. Definitely not how I wanted my freshman year to go. I learned to not have soccer as my only identity. We spend so much time on the field, in the facility, in the film room around our coaches and teammates. For the first time really, I started understanding I'm a person outside of soccer too. I think it helped me grow in my faith a lot and has also made me a better player because I have an understanding that it could all be over. You have to appreciate everything you have and give it all you have every day."
Working her way back onto the field, she played a reserve role for the Red Raiders during the 2023-24 season – finishing with two assists and three shots on goal in 21 games. Zdrojewski did not score a goal that season where Tech won the Big 12 Championship, but she enjoyed the team success and was building her confidence back to the level she had always had. That perseverance was rewarded last season with her leading the team with 10 goals along with having four assists in 22 games played.  Â
"She's surprisingly explosive," Tech coach Tom Stone said. "When she gets going, she's surprisingly fast. She doesn't give off that air at first glance. I think it puts defenders at a disadvantage because they may not think she can move that quick. She's got great agility and is so unpredictable and talented out there. She's a tremendous finisher, where as long as we get her the ball in the right place, she's going to know what to do with it."
This season, Zdrojewski assisted Kaitlyn Giametta on the team's first goal of the season at San Diego State and gave the Red Raiders a 3-0 lead with her first goal. Her first brace came in the second game of the season, scoring the second and fourth goals in a 4-1 win over Youngstown State in the home opener. Through 53 games played at Texas Tech, Zdrojewski has 16 goals, 47 shots on goal and eight assists.
"I try to bring anything the team needs me to do to win," Zdrojewski said. "If that's holding up play or scoring goals. If my shots are off that night, I'm going to be the best possession player I can be that night. Best defensive player I can be if that's what's needed."
Zdrojewski enters the game against Utah State having scored at least one goal in four of the six games this season and following a game at New Mexico State where she put four shots on goal. The non-conference finale will lead into the start of Big 12 action at Baylor on Friday, Sept. 19 and hosting Houston on Thursday, Sept. 25. With confidence, resilience and a love of the game, Zdrojewski is ready to build on early-season success and remains focused on helping the Red Raiders reach their ultimate goals.
"I think our potential is really high," Zdrojewski said. "We still have to approach it as one game at time and not look too far into November just yet. We know that's where we want to be, but our focus is on Sunday and getting another win heading into Big 12 play."
