Graham seniors reflect on magical soccer season

BLUEFIELD, Va. — The Graham G-Girls began their 2009 season unlike any that has come before. They won their first 11 games and handed their two biggest district rivals, Tazewell and Abingdon, nine-goal losses at the East River Soccer Complex.

Three seniors have been at the heart of the G-Girls’ success this season, striker Maggie Jones, midfielder Megan Kaylor and defender Rebecca Thompson.

“It’s been great,” Jones said. “I never thought in my four years I would be here beating teams so bad. It is going to be nice having a little more competition in region (play). But overall it’s been really nice not having to worry about games as much.”

“It’s gone a lot better than I’d hoped,” Kaylor said. “I knew we were going to be a really good team. It’s just all worked really well together.”

“I had the idea that we could be undefeated,” Thompson said. “But since we are it kind-of really surprised me.”

The blowouts surprised people in the local soccer community. But the people that were the most shocked were the players themselves.

“I expected to win them, but I didn’t expect to win them by the mercy rule,” Thompson said. “It boosted our confidence to say that, yes, we could also beat Tazewell and Abingdon. But we can do it by 9-0 or 10-1.”

“At the beginning of the games, we started off slow,” Jones said. “But I think we put so much energy into those hard games that all of our talent comes out and all of our ambitions just come out in those couple of games and we know we play our hardest then. In order to beat them that way, it’s worth it to just give all that you have.”

Kaylor attributed the team’s success to the way they have come together.

“We work really well together,” Kaylor said. “A lot of us have never played before, but from the beginning of the season we’ve worked really well together.

“I think we have a lot of talent and in the coming years also everyone’s going to improve and I think we’ll have even more talent then.”

Kaylor and Thompson both wanted to make the most of their final campaign.

“We’ve put in a lot of work,” Thompson said. “Even though we’ve had a lot of weather conflicts, we’ve still managed to practice. We’ve still managed to have games.

“From the beginning of the season I was really motivated,” Kaylor said. “I realized that this was my last season and I had to give it my all. I’ve had a lot of fun also.”

Both her and Thompson thought that the G-Girls would be good. But undefeated?

“I definitely didn’t think we’d be undefeated,” Kaylor said. “I knew we could be pretty good. But I guess along the season we’ve proved to ourselves that we can do that.”

“I always thought that we had the potential to win games,” Thompson said. “But I never really thought that we would be undefeated. I like it. It’s a great thing to say that we are undefeated.”

They cannot say it anymore. On Friday night, the G-Girls’ dreams of finishing the year unbeaten came to an end after a 4-3 loss at Abingdon. They face another tough test on Monday when they visit Tazewell for a rematch.

Jones and Kaylor both believe this game will be harder than their first.

“I know those teams are going to have a lot more motivation going into it knowing that we beat them the first time,” Kaylor said on Thursday before the second Abingdon game. “I definitely think that we’re going to come out with our game faces on. So they’ll be hard games I’m sure.”

“I think they’ll be a little bit more difficult because they have home-field advantage,” Jones said.

“But I still think that if we come out and play our game we can beat ’em...by a steady amount...go on to regions, go further than we’ve ever gone before in regions and maybe make it to state.”

However, Thompson thinks that this game will be, “Probably a little easier because, you know, now we can say that now we can do it. But Tazewell has its way of coming back on us.

“It’s a totally different game than what we’d play any other team. Graham and Tazewell, it’s the biggest game of the soccer season.”

“You never know about the tough games, Abingdon and Tazewell obviously, some of the toughest teams we’ve played in the district,” Jones said. “Richlands is pretty good now, too.

“But we have so much talent on our team and I knew that if we worked hard together that it would show. I think we would have had a chance.”

If the G-Girls can get through this big game, they will be poised to become the first team from southwest Virginia to make a serious dent in the state tournament.

“In the past, we’ve gone to regions and lost by a lot,” Jones said. “But these other teams practice year-round and travel together. They’re always together, not playing any other sport.

“But I think with all the girls that have played travel on this team and all the girls that have spent more time in the offseason, I think we can compete much better in the regions than we have before.”

If they are able to compete, it will add another memory to an already memorable season.

“It’s my senior year and all,” Thompson said. “We’ve won all our games and we’re a close team. We’re all friends with one another. I couldn’t really ask for anything else.”

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

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