Lizzie Gardner

Women's Soccer by John Davis, The Oxford Citizen

Lafayette's Lizzie Gardner Inks with Northwest

LAFAYETTE – Late in the Class 4A playoff soccer match with Florence, Lafayette's Lizzie Gardner hit the field, her arm filled with pain with what was originally believed to be a broken wrist. On an injury that likely would have knocked out almost any other player, Gardner said she wasn't leaving the field. Her goal was to keep the Lady Commodores focused on winning the first state title in school history.

"I couldn't wear my brace, so we had to wrap it up with a bunch of tape. But there was no way I was coming out," said the senior outside midfielder who signed on to play for Northwest Mississippi Community College on Wednesday morning. "It was all our nothing."

That team-first attitude, and passion for soccer, is something NWCC coach Levi Nunnally saw from Gardner. It's something LHS coach Melinda Scruggs has seen since Gardner was in the seventh grade, the first season she even kicked a ball in her life.

"She is just a relentless kid and she has made so much progress as a player," Scruggs said. "The last two years, you could tell that she wanted to play in college, that she wanted to do this. She has really put the work in, and the time. In the Florence game, she said the same thing when she got injured. She had put in too much time, she was not losing this."

The never-quit mentality that Gardner showed that afternoon on the field against Florence continued to drive the Lady Commodores, Scruggs felt. 

"That was the mentality we had as a team for those six, eight games that we had. Every kid was willing to put in that effort, that 'I don't care if I'm hurt, I'm going on the field' type mentality," Scruggs said. "We definitely had that in the playoffs. She definitely proved that. As a senior, to step up and say 'I don't care if my arm is broken, I'm going in.' I was just really impressed with her doing that."

Scruggs knows Gardner's skills and personality better than anybody and she felt like playing for a growing program like Northwest was ideal.

"The coach is trying to build a program and he seems to know what he's doing. I know (former LHS soccer player) Taylor Selby is there so that's another familiar face," Scruggs said. "I think it will be a great place for her. I know she wants to get into nursing and I know they have a great nursing program. I think it's just a perfect fit for her. It worked out great."

Gardner said she was headed to NWCC, but during the season, she also realized that she wasn't ready to stop playing soccer either. When she found out that Nunnally would like her to be on the team, everything really came into focus. She will be a midfielder for the Lady Rangers and Gardner was waiting on instructions for workouts. 

Ever since showing up for a tryout in seventh grade, which was encouraged by her mother Lori, soccer has provided Garnder with a lot of fun, and now a scholarship.

"I always wanted to play soccer, but I couldn't even kick the ball when I got here in seventh grade," Gardner said. "Coach Scruggs helped me tremendously, and then when Coach Nick (Dickens) came, he helped me as well."

Players Mentioned

Taylor Selby

#12 Taylor Selby

D
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Taylor Selby

#12 Taylor Selby

5' 5"
Freshman
D