Steers take down Rams in district opener

The game came down to the final shot of penalty kicks but the Graham Steers emerged victorious with their first district win of the season against the Mineral Wells Rams this past Monday, Feb. 5.

After finishing the regulation period tied 2-2, both teams sent their best five to the penalty box for a chance to take the game. In a thrilling matchup, the Steers came out on top by a score of 3-2.

Senior Jesus Lucio and sophomore Jace Gill each scored goals in the PK portion, which put Graham up 2-1 through three kicks. On the Rams’ fourth kick, Graham goalkeeper and junior Ozzy Trejo made a diving save.

The Steers missed their fourth kick while Mineral Wells tied things up on their fifth and final shot. With one chance left, Trejo took his turn at the penalty line. It wasn’t anything fancy, but Trejo powered a shot to the goalie’s right side to give his team the exciting win.

“Ozzy (Trejo) made a great save and a couple misfortunate kicks for (the Rams) and we were able to capitalize, so it was awesome,” head coach Tim Wankowicz said.

Before getting the chance to take down the Rams in the extra portion, the Steers faced an uphill battle all game. Mineral Wells brought speed and talent to the field and forced Graham to play from behind the entire match.

In many of their non-district games, the Steers often won the battle for time of possession. But the visiting Rams came out and controlled the ball for most of the first half. Mineral Wells spent a lot of time on Graham’s side of the field, moving the ball around and finding ways to get looks at the goal.

It still took nearly 30 minutes into the half, but Mineral Wells finally broke through first on a shot from the middle of the field with a diving save attempt from Trejo. The Rams went up 1-0 as their momentum helped them get a leg up.

“(The Rams) came out and they were moving the ball just unbelievably well. I mean, they were fast. They were winning all the 50/50 balls, just outperforming us,” Wankowicz said.

But Graham didn’t get discouraged and about six minutes later, the Steers tied the game at 1-1 on about a 30-yard strike from junior Easton Hedge. The long shot bounced once before reaching the Rams’ keeper, who got a hand on the ball to slow it down, but it still rolled past him and into the goal.

However, just a few minutes after that, the Rams struck again to retake the lead on a long shot from the center of the field that just squeaked inside the far post for a goal. Mineral Wells headed into halftime with the 2-1 lead.

Still looking uphill, the Steers climbed the mountain quickly. Just under six minutes into the second half, Graham tied the game up again on a goal from freshman Cooper Wilde.

With the Steers playing more aggressively coming out of the break, Hedge had the ball on the far side and crossed a pass into the middle where Wilde was perfectly situated to head the ball past the keeper and in for the score.

The rest of the half, Graham’s defense locked down Mineral Wells. The only real chance the Rams had came with about 15 minutes remaining as one of their forwards got past Trejo for an open look at the goal. Junior defender Lucio Arvizu came out of nowhere to clear the wide open shot away from the goal and protect the tie.

And after keeping things close for the remainder of the game, the Steers prevailed in the penalty kick shootout.

“(The Rams) fought early on to try to get a rhythm and it took a long time but the last couple games, we've gotten it and this is just going to feed them more; they're hungry,” Wankowicz said. “...I'm so proud of the boys and what they accomplished tonight.”