Steers end season on high note with 3-2 Senior Night win News Staff Tue, 03/12/2024 - 1:43 pm
- (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Midfielder Tadeo Vizcaino passes the ball upfield during Graham’s final regular season game Friday, March 8 against Burkburnett. The Steers defeated the Bulldogs 3-2 to end their season on a high note.
- (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Senior Holton Weatherman sets himself up to make a pass to the middle of the field during Graham’s Senior Night victory over Burkburnett 3-2. Weatherman also scored the team’s first goal in the game.
TC Gordon sports@grahamleader.com
In their final game of the season the Graham Steers came out and gave everything they had in a 3-2 Senior Night victory over the Burkburnett Bulldogs.
The Steers missed the playoffs this year but were determined to leave everything on the field in the final game, particularly for the group of seniors on this team. Graham was led by a couple of senior starters and saw contributions from all around as they earned the tough victory.
The last time these two teams met, head coach Tim Wankowicz felt that his team played the better game but had some unfortunate luck as they took a 2-1 loss on the road. The Steers had their chance to prove they really were the better team and did so in excellent fashion.
“(The team) decided to come out and play as good as they can for the seniors. And they wanted the seniors to go out on a winning note,” Wankowicz said. “They came out, they dominated this team again; this time we came out on top with (a win).”
Graham got the scoring started early with two of their seniors connecting for the first goal of the match. Senior Jesus Lucio crossed a pass from the far side into the middle for fellow senior Holton Weatherman, who fired a close shot into the goal at nearly the four minute mark of the first half.
About seven minutes later, however, the visiting Bulldogs answered with a goal of their own on a cross pass into the middle that was headed past Graham’s keeper Ozzy Trejo for the 1-1 tie.
The Steers started the game off fighting the wind for the first half. While that would normally put a team at a disadvantage, it came in handy for Lucio when he took another shot on goal midway through the half.
On the far side of the field about 20 yards from the goal, Lucio fired a shot up into the wind that might normally have sailed over the net out of bounds. But the wind picked up the ball and dropped it just inside the goal over the head of Burkburnett’s keeper to give Graham a 2-1 lead, which they held going into halftime.
“The seniors have played well all year, but Holton and Lucio, I think knowing that this was their last game they came out and played at a different level that I have seen out of them,” Wankowicz said.
Looking to build off the momentum and with the wind at their backs, the Steers tacked on another goal a little more than seven minutes into the second half.
Lucio sent another cross pass into the middle, this time directed at junior Easton Hedge who headed the ball perfectly into the goal for the team’s third score of the match. The goal put Graham up 3-1 as they looked for the big victory in their season finale.
The teams spent most of their time on Burkburnett’s side of the field the rest of the game. The Bulldogs couldn’t seem to figure out how to overcome the strong wind facing them and their second goal came on a defensive slip-up from Graham with about 18 minutes left to play.
Other than that miscue, the Steers controlled the game and held on for the huge win when the final horn sounded.
Before the game, the Steers combined with the Lady Blues to honor their seniors. The team had a solid mix of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen and all the seniors, in particular, made great contributions to the soccer program and will be remembered for their time in Graham.
Breaking News Off
Comments / 0