Basketball has an “Ice Trae” in Atlanta Hawks NBA star Trae Young, so why not soccer?
In a matchup between No. 2 Ryle and No. 4 Dixie Heights, according to a preseason poll by the Northern Kentucky High School Boys Soccer Coaches Association, junior Trae Lameier scored his first goal of the season to keep Dixie Heights undefeated, giving the Colonels a 1-0 victory over Ryle Tuesday night in Edgewood.
Trae doesn’t follow basketball, but that doesn’t mean the nickname doesn’t fit.
“No, not at all,” he said. “But I’ll definitely take it.”
After a free kick and a bounce, Lemeier found himself with the ball right in front of the goal. In the 64th minute, he delivered the game’s only goal and the game-winner, assisted by Lee Tucker.
“It felt pretty good that it won the game,” Lemeier said. “Nothing else I could ask for. I just kind of ran in and kicked the ball. I did get lucky that it went through the goalkeeper’s legs.”
Though Lemeier hadn’t scored until that point, he’s done everything to help the team, even in a different role.
“He’s been awesome this year,” Dixie Heights coach Trey Crone said. “Last year and at the start of preseason, he was a midfielder, and we had a conversation with him. We knew that in order to be our best, we needed to convert him back to a center back. He’s taken it and run with it. For him to get that goal, to reward him for moving back , which limits his scoring chances, I was really happy for him.”
Dixie Heights hadn’t seen much action near the goal up to that point, recording their first shot on goal in the 51st minute, while Ryle had the lone shot on goal in the first half.
What changed after the first 40 minutes? Effort.
“The main difference is that we just worked harder,” Crone said. “We have the talent and dangerous players, but at halftime we talked about one adjustment: wanting it more. They were beating us physically, and we matched them in the second half, which led to some chances being created.”
Ryle had five shots on goal in the entire contest, all saved by Dixie keeper Aiden Susner. While injuries have affected the Raiders, talent wasn’t the issue, the challenge was connecting as a team.
“We have to work on teamwork and playing as a unit, not as individuals,” Ryle head coach Stephen Collins said. “This was not one of our better performances. We tried to do too much individually. To succeed, we have to work as a cohesive unit, especially with all of the injuries we have.”
With the win, Dixie Heights extends its record to 6-0 and outscoring opponents 20-2, reinforcing their status as one of the region’s top teams.
“For sure,” Crone said. “We believe we were there last year, and we brought back nine starters. We have a lot of fight, belief, and grit. It was a good win against a good team. To achieve our goal of winning the region, we’re probably going to have to beat them again. They’re a great team with great players and well coached.”
Next up for Dixie Heights is a Thursday matchup against Conner, ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll, at 7:30 p.m.
Ryle, now 1-3-1, returns home to face South Oldham on Thursday at 8 p.m.
More photos below, provided by Charles Bolton:
