Rising Stars: Elizabeth Meisner

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It’s hard to win if you don’t score.

Or in the case of Dutchtown’s girls soccer team, it’s hard to lose if the opposing team can’t get past your brick-walled goalkeeper. And thanks to Elizabeth Meisner, that’s become increasingly difficult to do.

The Griffins’ goalie—who played as a striker and a winger when she was younger—was a dominant force in 2022-23, giving up just 11 goals in the regular season, including 13 clean sheets.

“When I got to seventh grade … our goalkeeper ended up getting hurt,” Meisner says. “And (Coach) asked if anyone else can play goalkeeper. And I said yes, I can. In my first game, I stopped a (penalty kick) and I just played so well. So I just started just filling in whenever our keeper was missing. I fell in love with the position and that’s what I want to be.”

The rising junior has been the full-time keeper for Dutchtown in each of her first two seasons, showing steady improvement and impressive leadership skills even as an underclassman.

Her efforts helped the Griffins navigate their way through the state tournament as a No. 6 seed all the way to the finals. Dutchtown would lose a tight 1-0 contest, but Meisner’s performance still earned her the title of Most Outstanding Player in the game.

The success isn’t stopping there. Meisner is constantly working to improve her game in hopes that she can help get Dutchtown over the line in the state finals next year.

“It was a big adjustment freshman year because I like to play out the back a lot or throw the ball out,” she says. “But with high school, you send it out long on goal kicks to hit it to your winger. It was more direct and faster. Sophomore year everything just clicked, you know? I have great teammates, so we’re going to plan on winning it this coming season.”

Read more Rising Stars profiles here.