Soccer duo of Lauster, Weatherman take Athletes of the Week

One season ended while the other’s set to continue, but both Graham soccer teams earned wins in their final regular season games last Friday, March 8.

The Steers saw their season come to an end but they went out with a positive result in a 3-2 win over Burkburnett. Meanwhile, the Lady Blues won a penalty kick shootout 3-2 over the Lady Bulldogs and will begin their playoffs run in the coming weeks.

In both games, the teams received contributions all around. But this week, senior Holton Weatherman of the Steers and sophomore Taylor Lauster of the Lady Blues earned selections as Athletes of the Week for their performances.

Taylor Lauster, goalkeeper, Lady Blues soccer

The Lady Blues have been an offensive force the entire season. They spend a large portion of their games on the opponents’ side of the field, which often leaves Lauster watching from the back.

It’s a testament to Graham’s ability, but Lauster has played and continues to play a huge part in this Lady Blues soccer team’s success. Throughout the season, outside of two losses to division-winner Wichita Falls Old High, Graham hadn’t allowed more than two goals in any game this season, which included 11 shutouts.

Though she’s only a sophomore, Lauster has come up big throughout the team’s season and she did so again in the team’s regular-season finale against Burkburnett. Once again, the Lady Blues controlled most of the game and the two teams finished regulation tied 0-0.

The penalty kick shootout is where Lauster needed to show up — and show up she did. After two shots from both sides, the visitors led 2-1, with one of them a close call past Lauster. But in Burkburnett’s next three shots, the sophomore came through.

Lauster kept the Lady Bulldogs at bay, with three saves in their next three shots. She dove left and right and didn’t let another one through. Her efforts set the Lady Blues up for the game-winning shot as they walked off with a 3-2 win.

“(It was) absolutely huge by Taylor,” head coach Casey Weil said. “Anytime you watch a penalty shootout or anything like that, very rarely do you ever see a keeper make three saves. You see people miss… but for her to come out and make three saves was huge.”

Holton Weatherman, midfielder, Steers soccer

The Steers soccer team went through an up-and-down season this year, but they improved and showed elite abilities at times.

Coming into their final game of the season, the heavily senior-laden class wanted to go out with a bang.

Weatherman has acted as a leader for this team all season and throughout his entire time in Graham’s soccer program. After struggling through a rough stretch in the district schedule, the senior wanted to end his high school career with a win.

Before the team took the field, Weatherman shared some words with his teammates as they all fired each other up before kickoff. And the message worked.

Weatherman had a huge impact on the game as a midfielder asked to fulfill a number of roles for his team. It took less than four minutes for the senior to make his presence felt on the field as he positioned himself close to the goal on the near side of the field and awaited a pass from fellow senior Jesus Lucio.

The ball slipped past multiple Bulldogs and Steers and found Weatherman, who quickly punched it into the back corner past the diving attempt of Burkburnett’s goalkeeper. The goal put Graham up 1-0 and helped spark the team to a 3-2 Senior Night win.

As a leader of the team, Weatherman was consistently looked at as an example to the younger classmates as well as fellow seniors. He made a huge impact on the Graham soccer program and finished his final season with a bang.

“Holton is a great kid, he’s an awesome student-athlete,” head coach Tim Wankowicz said. “He’s a four-year varsity player, he was a captain this year with Jesus Lucio; he brought great leadership by example.”