Steers take down Rangers in bi-district

The Steers came back home with a win after beating the Perryton Rangers in their bi-district matchup Friday. 

The Steers made the long drive up to Perryton, determined to make their hometown community proud. In the first half, both teams struggled to find the inside of the net. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort, however. 

Both teams had several scoring opportunities, but both teams’ defenses held strong in the first half, ending things with a 0-0 tie. 
Steers head coach Tim Wankowicz spoke highly of the teams’ determination going into and during the match. 

“They understand what is at stake,” Wankowicz said. “At this point in the season they know expectations and they know what is needed.” 

Several of those key opportunities included a shot attempt from Perryton which was missed at the 28-minute mark. Graham also saw a shot attempt go flying over Perryton’s goal in their defensive zone at the 19-minute mark. 

Probably a moment the Graham defense is thankful for was a potential one-on-one fast break opportunity for Perryton that was taken back by an offside call. 

Graham knew they were going to need to pick up the pace in the second half if they were going to come home with the win. Now it was all just a matter of going out and executing. 

In the second half things were very similar, with it ending in a 0-0 tie. Both defenses continued to be stellar, blocking any shot or would-be close pass attempt in front of them. Wankowicz was impressed with the defensive effort from the team.

“The Boys stepped up and played cohesively throughout the match,” Wankowicz said. “There were very minimal breakdowns defensively and they played like they were fighting for their lives.” 

The pinnacle play which would end up winning game in the closing seconds of the first overtime period. 

The ball was inbounded from Graham’s goal to the left side of the midfield line. After an inbound pass was headbutted backwards into the goalies defensive zone, Victor Pardo took advantage and scored the first and only goal of the game softly in front of the net with just 47 seconds to go in that period, off the assist from Easton Hedge. 

Graham held strong in the second overtime period which led to the 1-0 win. 

Wankowicz expressed how he hopes this win galvanizes the team moving forward. 

“I hope they take this win and see that they are able to play with just about anyone,” Wankowicz said. “I hope they see that no matter what happens, we have to keep our composure and work with each other through all the thirds of the field.” 

Graham’s next district matchup will take place Tuesday, March 25, again Bowie. They will attempt to continue to keep the momentum riding high as they advance.