Toliver’s flip throw propels Lady Raiders to special season

Kendall Toliver went viral a couple weeks ago when she won the girls soccer game against Midlothian Heritage by scoring on her flip throw. 

However, the flip throw is nothing new for Toliver. It’s something she has been doing for about a decade now. 

When Toliver was 7 years old, she said she learned her flip throw in 10 minutes. 

“I have to make sure I lift my body enough to help the ball go further and try to find my target before I go,” Toliver said. 

Over the years, Toliver said she has improved her flip throws just by consistently practicing it. Toliver did not know how to react when she scored on her flip throw. 

“It’s quite an unbelievable feeling because there were five minutes left in the game,” Toliver said. “I kind of saved us from going into overtime and helped us win.” 

The Lady Raiders scored three more goals off Toliver’s flip throw in the regional semifinal win over El Paso Andress. Rider’s season ended the next day against Grapevine. 

Rider girls soccer coach Carl Wiersema said it was very hard for him to take Toliver off the field this year. 

This season, Rider scored about 35 goals off Toliver’s throw-ins plus the four directly scored on. She also played a key role as a midfielder. 

“Defensively she is very solid, I give her a lot of credit because over the last 3-4 years, she’s been working on it and it has gotten better and better,” Wiersema said. 

Toliver feels her senior season went really well and she improved a lot as a player. 

Scoring goals with your foot is overrated…

3 angles of this sweet goal from @RiderHS_LRS's Kendall Toliver.

1) Keepers hand very clearly moves, see slow motion
2) If that's not enough, listen to the sound in the behind-the-net angles@SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/NtuomIbD7p

— M.J. Baird (@MJ_Baird17) March 31, 2023

“I think I have become more confident in myself because I’ve been able to have a free range in the middle, bring the ball down and pass,” Toliver said. “It’s been pretty fun, I’ve scored a lot more this year than I have in the past so it’s really nice to go out on a good note.”

Toliver is not only involved in Rider soccer, she also plays volleyball and golf. As of right now, Toliver is not planning to continue her soccer career in college. She signed to play volleyball at North Central Texas College in the fall. 

Rider soccer has always been special for Toliver. She feels this team means family.

“A lot of my teammates are my friends and they’re always supporting me in whatever I do,” Toliver said. “I have gotten to play with a lot of the (same) girls that I’ve been playing with since I was four so it’s been really fun.”