Payton Riley embracing leadership role for rising Lincoln Cougars

“It has changed tremendously. My freshman year, we barely won any games at all,” RIley said. “Now we have the movement and control in place. We have knowledge, too, that’s really important to be able to execute and win games. We saw that last year and I definitely think and hope we are going to see it again this year.”

Riley points to some other reasons for the program’s growth.

“I think the difference was the whole energy of the team and how we got along,” Riley said. “It was ten times better. We were more of a family. And we worked a lot of skill training and movement with the ball. That helped a lot. I think those were the two most important things.”

Being able to win close games was something that Lincoln showed a knack for last year and having free kick and corner kick service from the likes of Lilly Toth was a reason.

“They are really important and can be the make-or-break of the game. Having Lilly and a couple of the younger girls who are able to do that, it helps a lot, especially in the last minutes of games,” Riley said.

The Cougars are expected to have around 25 players, according to coach Ryan Gump.

“The more depth that you have, the more secure you feel on the field. If someone gets hurt, we know that we have a good defender that can come out on the field and help us,” Riley said. “It’s like a blanket.”

Riley, who led the Cougars with 10 goals last year, will be one of the leaders, especially now that goalkeeper Delaney Haller has graduated.

“I move around positions, so I can’t see the whole field fully, so I’ll have to be turning 360 (degrees) and always making sure that everyone is where they are supposed to be and uplifted,” Riley said. “I do have big shoes to fill because Delaney was amazing.”

A week from Thursday will be the Cougars’ season opener, a doozy against a state semifinalist from last year in Point Pleasant at 6 p.m. at Stydahar Field.

A measuring stick stretch will Sept. 5-14, when Lincoln plays Elkins, East Fairmont and Philip Barbour, all programs with state aspirations.

“That was probably one of my favorite memories of soccer in the three years that I’ve been playing here,” Riley said of last year’s Philip Barbour match.. “Being able to tie a team that’s as good as PB is, it was just amazing and uplifting to know that we can beat them this year. With the people that we have and the training…Ryan’s an amazing coach…we could very well beat them.”

There’s one key area that Lincoln needs to improve to run with the potent offenses around the Big 10.

“We need to learn how to finish,” Riley said. “That’s something that we’ve struggled with.”

Riley is up for the challenge.

“I’m pretty excited. It is my senior season, so it’s my last one. I’m hoping that we all can put the work in and just be a team and be able to accomplish the things we want to accomplish,” Riley said.