FAIRLAND -- Six minutes into her senior season, Lizzie Graham was sprawled out on the artificial turf at Bud Mendenhall Field trying to regain her composure.
Graham caught a Knightstown clearing kick with her face Monday that left her battered and possibly just a little bruised. The Triton Central senior slowly regained her wits as play continued and felt ready to return to the field but her teammates took care of business and defeated the visiting Panthers Monday, 3-0.
Graham (photo) scored the game’s first goal inside the first five minutes of action then went down and out for the rest of the game.
“That is not the way we wanted to start the season,” said Triton Central coach Matt Roberts of seeing his program’s leading scorer the last two seasons lying on the turf. “She is pretty tough and it looks like she is going to be alright.”
Graham’s goal was the 40th of her career. The senior, who will play college basketball at Indiana University South Bend, is excited about her final season with a team that features 18 freshmen and sophomores.
“We definitely want to win more games,” said Graham, who was laughing and smiling after her memorable senior season debut. “We are definitely working better as a team … you can tell already. I think one of our biggest goals is to win our sectional this year.”
For that to happen, more players have to find ways to score to keep opposing defenses from collapsing on Graham, who has scored 71% over her team’s goals the last two seasons.
“It’s a good start to this year. We have 12 freshmen and everyone who is able got into the game tonight,” said Roberts. “We got them all in and got them some experience. Going forward, that is what we are going to be doing … getting these young players some experience.”
Kennedy Brown, a junior, pushed up from her midfield position to score the game’s second goal Monday. She stayed wide on the far post and was in the right position when the ball cleared past a defender and right to her to make it 2-0 midway through the first half.
“She is fantastic. She gives us that effort in the middle,” said Roberts. “Whenever we need a play to be made, she just steps up and really comes through for us. She does a lot of the nitty-gritty stuff, the dirty work, to set things up.”
Brown was credited with the assist on Triton Central’s third goal when she set up Vivian Blye, who delivered a high-arcing shot over the goalkeeper’s head to complete the scoring.
Triton Central has finished with a losing record the last two seasons but with the influx of young talent that includes freshmen Aerial Walker, who had the assist on Graham’s goal, Bella Ball and Farah Coen, and sophomores Jocelyn Firebaugh and Elaina Maurice, there are rising expectations for the 2022 squad.
“We are young but I like our outlook,” said Roberts. “We are probably going to take a few lumps as we get these younger players some experience but down the road we would like to compete for a sectional title and a conference title this year.”
Graham could have walked away from the program after committing to IU South Bend but she wanted one final season in a sport she has been playing since she was a little girl.
For more on Graham's decision to attend IU South Bend, go to https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/644695
“I had a debate my freshman and sophomore year if I wanted to play basketball or soccer in college,” explained Graham. “Obviously, I am playing basketball but I don’t want to give up (soccer) yet because it’s my last year. I love this sport – its fun. I could not bring myself not to play.”
Roberts appreciates her dedication to the sport and the leadership she brings to the team.
“It means a lot that she would come back. I never doubted her,” said Roberts. “She loves playing. She loves the game. She has her future figured out and it’s in basketball and we support her in that.”
