Just days after making program history with their first bi-district playoff win, the Graham Lady Blues faced San Elizario, one of the top-ranked teams in the state, and finished the season with two hard-fought wins. -1 loss in the area round of the playoffs.
After Graham defeated Borger for the first playoff win in team history, the Lady Blues headed to Midland to play the Lady Eagles, who were ranked No. 2 in Class 4A in the Texas Women's Coaches Association poll, at a neutral venue. I attended the match.
San Elizario lost just one game all season and had an incredibly high goal difference. The Lady Eagles are used to scoring quickly, they're used to scoring often, and they've proven their ability to do that all year long.
Despite the impressive restart, the Lady Blues were poised for a heated contest. During the game, it often appeared that Graham had the better team. For a team like San Elizario that is used to scoring easily, things were made difficult for the Lady Blues. The Lady Eagles' goal came from a small mistake by Graham's defense and a somewhat controversial moment late in the first half.
“When you sit there and look at the rankings and this and that, there's a reason why a team that scored a lot of goals and didn't concede a lot forced us to make some mistakes.” Head Coach Casey Weil said. “I truly believe we had more chances. I think we had better chances, but sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way.”
San Elizario succeeded in scoring five minutes into the game with a goal kick by Graham. Rather than get the ball up in the air and give it some distance, the kick stayed low to the ground and ended up hitting the feet of one of the Lady Eagles within range of the goal. She evaded a diving attempt by Graham goalie Taylor Roster and immediately fired a powerful shot to give San Elizario a 1-0 lead.
Despite the early deficit, the Lady Blues played a solid first half while battling strong winds. Louster made several other saves in his first 40 minutes, keeping his team close. Graham had several shots on goal in the first half from seniors Sophie Schlieper and Maddie Wilde, but both missed just a few feet wide.
With just over two minutes left in the second half, the Lady Blues had a corner kick opportunity. Schlieper fired a shot towards the goal, but the wind whipped it into the air and it hit the soccer goal post.
None of the referees gave any signals and play continued, with San Elizario bringing the ball onto the field at the last moment. The Lady Eagles scored their second goal with less than a minute left to take a 2-0 lead at halftime.
“It just didn't go my way…A lot of things (happened), but you can't sit there and think, 'I should, I could, I would,'” Weil said. “But I'm very proud of what (my team) accomplished this year.”
Coming out of the halftime break, the Lady Blues played even more aggressively in the second half with the wind at their back. The team also had a few more shots on goal and spent more time on the field on the San Elizario side.
With less than 15 minutes remaining, Graham took another corner kick, which was taken by Schlieper. She fired a pass from the far side of the field, crossed to junior Camden Thorne on the closer side, and fired a soft shot perfectly over the head of the San Elizario goalie for the Lady Blues' first goal of the game. It's 2-1.
Graham's momentum increased in that moment, and the team scored in the final minutes with Schlieper taking a free kick from mid-range and another shot. He was on the verge of scoring, but his shot went just wide of the right side.
Despite the team's efforts, the Lady Blues' season ended as the final horn sounded and San Elizario held on for the victory. Although the loss was tough, Weil was proud of his team in this game and throughout the season.
“The way they have to leave this game is they have to hold their heads high. And the people that matter are very proud of them and it opened a lot of eyes (about the football program). “I'm very grateful for that,” Weil said. “…They gave it everything they had and gave it their all every moment they were on the field.”