While the 2020 high school soccer season was canceled due to COVID-19, one Lakeside High School soccer player was not going to miss another year and let an ankle injury end her senior season.
Showing toughness and fight through injury, and falling just short of a Class 5A state championship, senior Taylor Ramirez boasted an impressive 29 goals and 12 assists as she led the Rams to an 18-3-1 record in 2021.
A captain on the team who helped lead the Rams to a state runner-up finish, Ramirez is The Sentinel-Record's 2021 All-Garland County Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
"The very first game of the season I had a really bad ankle sprain," Ramirez said. "But it was my senior year, so I wasn't about to miss. I pretty much got taped up every game, took some medicine and played it out."
In the semifinals of the state tournament, Ramirez's injury was reaggravated after a sliding tackle by a Greenbrier player caught the Lakeside senior.
"It hurt pretty bad," Ramirez said. "I just came out, but I think I just had so much adrenaline going through me. I thought this could be my last soccer game ever, so I was about to go back out there and give it my all."
The Rams went on to defeat Greenbrier in penalty kicks, where Ramirez scored from the spot, earning a berth to the state title match.
"She played a huge role in getting us to that point," Lakeside head coach Craig Moses said. "Semifinal game -- she gets hurt. She has to come off the field. She wasn't going to be out. She gets taped up and gets right back in the game. She's a tough individual and tough player. It made our team tougher."
The win over Greenbrier marked Ramirez's favorite memory of the season.
"Just going into PKs with the team that was expected to win the whole thing, it meant a lot," Ramirez said. "After that last goal was scored, the whole team was running to each other, hugging, crying. It was just a good feeling."
In the week leading to the state championship game, Ramirez received treatment everyday before practice, but she did let an injury get in the way of the biggest match of the season.
"It definitely made (the week) a little bit more difficult," Ramirez said. "I was really just looking forward to that state final game. I was willing to go through one more week. I think (the pain) was all gone (on the day of the final). I was so nervous, adrenaline, everything. It was a big day."
Although Lakeside ended up falling to Searcy 6-0 in the championship match, the season still held a lot of accomplishments for the Rams.
"It was definitely exciting," Ramirez said. "But the whole team was also really nervous. It was really new for all of us. I don't think we had ever experienced that feeling during a soccer game before. It was nice honestly."
Ramirez pointed to her leadership on and off the field as one of her biggest contributions to the team this season.
Ramirez started playing soccer when she was just 4 years old and never looked back. While she played volleyball, too, soccer was the sport she decided to pursue.
"I played volleyball for about eight years I think, and I liked it a lot, but there was a time when I wanted to play college soccer, so I started focusing on just soccer," Ramirez said.
Although Ramirez started her soccer career in defense and then moved to forward, she finally found her home in the midfield.
"In seventh grade I think I switched to forward," Ramirez said. "I didn't like forward that much. It was fun and stuff, but it wasn't really for me. Then I switched to midfield. I like being able to control what's going on around me. Like the game, the speed and everything like that."
Moses took over the Rams last February before COVID-19 canceled the season. He said he had seen Ramirez play with his daughter growing up, and he knew what player he was getting when he became head coach.
One of his goals was to build a midfield around Ramirez, and he highlighted how her maturity helped her improve on the field.
"She knew to just calm down and play the game," Moses said. "I've seen her out there get worked up at a younger age. She'd get worked up and get out of her game. But as she grew, not only as a young lady but as a player, she just calmed down out there and would just take over that leadership role."
Moses noted while Ramirez isn't the tallest player on the field, she still finds a way to head the ball successfully on corner kicks and crosses.
"One thing about Taylor is she's smart," Moses said. "She's a smart soccer player. Number one, she doesn't try to do too much that's outside her expertise. That's one reason why she's such a great midfielder because she has the skill and the ability to distribute the ball. Not only to do that, but also can attack and score. She's strong as a player."
As a midfielder, Ramirez helped out all over the field. She had to track back in defense but also joined the attack. She said it's important for midfielders to assist their forwards but also a midfielder never knows where they are going to be.
"She's just a smart player," Moses said. "Just such a smart player. She can get the ball to her feet and distribute the ball to a lot of different areas on the field."
In practice, Ramirez was the first one on the field to get the drills set up and to get the drills started. Moses said he wishes every player had the work ethic of Ramirez.
"Her players see her on the field not only see her actions on the field but what she speaks on the field she backs it up," Moses said. "That's a leader. The younger players see that, and they want to follow in her footsteps in that way."
Although Ramirez will not play college soccer, she will attend the University of Arkansas to study kinesiology.
"I think she's the best player in Garland County," Moses said. "I think she's one of the top players in the state. Not only that, but again how we made our run this year, we couldn't have done it without her."
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Girls Soccer
MF Taylor Ramirez, senior, Lakeside, 29 goals, 12 assists
F Emily Hedrick, junior, Hot Springs, All-Conference, All-State, led team in scoring
F/D Emily Zaner, senior, Lake Hamilton
MF McKenna Wright, freshman, Lakeside, 19 goals, 10 assists
MF Trinity Hosey, sophomore, Hot Springs
MF/D Jasmin Argueta, senior, Lake Hamilton
W Emillyana Kejser, senior, Lakeside, 7 goals, 21 assists
D/MF Alexis Bigham, sophomore, Lake Hamilton
D Melanie Trejo, senior, Lake Hamilton
D Karen Yanes, senior, Hot Springs
G Taylor Bledsoe, senior, Lakeside, 64 saves, 13 shutouts