Injury can't slow Hickman soccer player

COLUMBIA — Thirteen stitches were not going to affect his game. The way Grahm Meyer sees it, it's just a few scratches on his forehead.

Despite the stitches, Meyer, a junior on the Hickman soccer team, led the Kewpies with three goals in Tuesday's 10-0 victory over visiting K.C. Northeast.

A large X can clearly be seen on the top right side of Meyer's forehead as he explains how he suffered the injury. The wound is stitched-up, but dried blood still remains, slightly covered by the sweat dripping off his light brown hair.

"This happened in our game against Jefferson City," explained Meyer about the Kewpies' 1-0 overtime victory last Tuesday. "I entered the game after the first 15 minutes, and he (a Jays player) and I were going in to head-butt the ball — we collided."

Meyer said he doesn't really know what happened to the other player because he was immediately rushed to the emergency room.

This Tuesday, was Meyer's first time playing middle wing for the Kewpies. Meyer usually plays left and right wing, but Tuesday night he was ready to try something new.

"This was not too much of a transition for me," Meyer said. "But it was interesting to get an entirely new perspective of defense."

Hickman's defense was strong, rarely allowing its opponent into Kewpies' territory.

Hickman coach Adam Taylor seemed nonchalant about the big win.

"We did not come out with the energy and intensity that I would have liked," Taylor said. "Northeast is a fairly new soccer program, only about 5 to 6 years old, so the game went mostly as expected. Tonight, we focused on the basics, and this was an opportunity to improve on some of these basic skills."

The game had finished 20 minutes early because of the score. Hickman will play again Friday at Smithton High School.