Sallisaw senior girls glad to have a part in 4-year growth of program
This evening’s final match of the 2025 soccer season for the Sallisaw Lady Diamonds at District 4A-4 for Wagoner will mark the end of the prep career for the squad’s seniors — Kyra Taylor, Laynie Gerred, Brooklyn Donaldson, Jocelyn Rivera, Makenna Bormann, Haley Birdtail and Promise Flute.
For Taylor, she’s has been in the program since the inception for the 2022 season. Being one of the “foredaughters” of the program has made the senior extremely happy.
“It is super exciting,” Taylor said. “Since I’ve been playing soccer my entire life, we never really had anything at the middle school or high school (growing up), so I never had anything to look up to. I’m excited and happy that I give other people the chance to look up to something and have the great experience I’ve had.”
Three of the other seniors, Gerred, Donaldson and Rivera, did not get into the program until the following years. For all three, they, too, have enjoyed laying their part of the foundation of the program.
“It’s been great,” Gerred said. “I wasn’t here at the very start, but being able to join that second year when we were still getting on our feet was great. It was great to see the progress from one year to the next from my sophomore to my junior year. I was also really excited to get to learn the sport. I didn’t play when I was a kid. My first year was my sophomore year. It was my first time to ever play soccer. It was great to learn soccer along with the program.”
“I definitely enjoy seeing the way in which we’ve stepped up and the way our score bracket has changed, so hopefully we can keep that going,” Donaldson said. “Hopefully, we (the program) can make it to the playoffs some day. I’ve enjoyed watching us grow up.”
“It’s been great being a part of this because I’ve gotten to see my own personal growth as well as the team’s growth, and just witness the (program’s) growth — like the middle school team coming up, and helping out and seeing the upcoming players who will be at the high school and getting to be just like an inspiration for someone they can look up to for this team,” Rivera said.
Bormann, Birdtail and Flute came out for soccer in this their senior year. The biggest reason they chose to do so was to try something new one last time before graduating next month.
“It was my best friends’ idea,” Bormann said. “Kyra has played all four years and Laynie has played for three. Every year, they tried to convince me. This (spring) season, I had nothing to do, so I said, ‘I might as well join.’ It’s honestly been the best decision I could have made.”
“I just wanted to try something new,” Birdtail said. “I really wasn’t getting anywhere with track. All my friends were in soccer.”
When this evening’s 5 p.m. District 4A-4 soccer match ends at Wagoner, so will the seniors’ Lady Diamond soccer careers. To go out with a win would mean the world to them, especially Taylor.
“It would probably be the best outcome that could happen because Wagoner was our firstever game (on March 1, 2022),” Taylor said. “We played with 10 players on the field. We made it to the second half, but then we got mercy-ed (losing 10-0 when the match reached goal-rule status). It would be super (to get a win), even for the past people that have played.”
“I really hope that we can come out with a win, but I know our attitudes affect a lot how we play,” Gerred said. “I think we’re going to give it our all against Wagoner because it’s the last time for our seniors. So, I really hope we can come out with a win. It’s going to be a tough game, but I know we’ll try.”
“It would mean a lot to me,” Bormann said. “It would make me really excited and really proud of these girls because I feel that I’m a part of a family here. It (winning tonight) would make me really proud of them.”
“It would make me really happy,” Donaldson said. “We’ve talked about it for a few weeks now about making this last game a win, so hopefully we can accomplish it.”
“It would leave us with a really good feeling and be a great close to our season because it would allow us to end knowing we left on a good note,” Rivera said. “It will give the seniors that closure with a win.”
“It would make me happy,” Birdtail said. “I know our team can do it. We can push through.”
