Game tied 1-1, with a sectional semi-final in the balance, all freshman Keaton Barnhizer can see is red.

He’s well aware of the red Southport jerseys closing in on him, but as his foot makes contact with the ball, nothing else matters. Knuckling through the air, time seems suspended as both teams stare in hope and despair as the ball glides towards the goal, but this time, instead of a storybook ending, it kisses the top of the crossbar. Goal kick.

The Trojans would end up losing 3-2 in overtime, finishing a 7-5-5 season.

“After that game, I was disappointed,” now-senior Barnhizer said. “I really wish I could have made that shot. If I had made that shot, maybe it could have played out different. Maybe we would have won, maybe our season would have kept going. I was upset.”

It was a culmination of a freshman season that surprised many, including coach Jameson McLaughlin.

“He played pretty sporadically [at first],” McLaughlin said. “We were pretty good that year, but by the end of the year, he mentally started to believe, and he started to play a little bit more. The sectional game that we ultimately lost, he didn’t start, but I put him in, and once I put him in, he didn’t come out the rest of the game.”

Although the sectional game was a culmination of his freshman season, it would only be the beginning of Barnhizer’s high school soccer story.

A sea of legs and a flash of a ball, with white and purple jerseys clashing for dominance, and yet all sophomore Keaton Barnhizer can see is red.

It’s only a 4×3 inch card, but the vibrancy of its color draws a hush in front of a normally raucous crowd, and confirms what Barnhizer already knew.

Up 2-1, but with a Bloomington South attacker bearing down on an open goal with only the keeper to beat, Barnhizer sticks a leg out to trip him, preventing a goal, securing the Trojans a berth in the regional semi-final, but eliminating the heart and soul of their defense for the next game, a 3-1 regional semi-final loss against Columbus North.

“It hurt,”  Barnhizer said. “Going into that game, I was sad watching our defense play, getting ripped apart by Columbus, and I felt like I had no control. I was helpless. I felt like maybe if I was there, maybe I could’ve saved the game [or] made a different play. It was heartbreaking.”

Unlike his freshman season, Barnhizer was now a regular starter for the Trojans, which was a development McLaughlin attributes to his work ethic and love for soccer.

“If you go by the club, he’s there with a soccer ball,” McLaughlin said. “The kid lives and breathes the game, and you can see that in the way he sees the field and the way he plays the game. It’s the love of his life, and it translates to the way he plays.”

Apart from his hard work, Barnhizer’s improvement physically and positionally also played a big part in his importance to the team, which was missed during the regional semi-final.

“Well, when you lose your best defender, its an enormous miss,” McLaughlin said. “Columbus North was an exceptional team, but [Barnhizer] was the heart and soul of our defense. We didn’t have anyone comparable to his effort, his pace and his knowledge of where to be and when to be there. We got down 3-0 early, and we ended up fighting back. We don’t go down 3-0 if he’s in the game.”

Through his freshman and especially his sophomore season, Barnhizer was a regular in the Trojans’ defense, but the following season would hold a few more surprises for the future Trojan captain, including a position change.

A replay of the regional semi-final matchup the year prior, with the Trojans taking on the Columbus North Bulldogs, and all junior Keaton Barnhizer can see is red.

It’s only 4×3 inch card, but this time it’s shown to a Columbus North player, knocking the Bulldogs down to 10 men. However, even with the man advantage, The Trojans were unable to capitalize, despite Barnhizer’s efforts in the center of the pitch. 3-2, read the scoreboard at the BCSC Soccer Complex.

Even though the Trojans lost in the regional semi-finals, it was the end of a regular season where they were ranked third in the state. Barnhizer was named to the All-District and All-County teams, a testament to his adaptation to a new position in the midfield rather than in defense, where he had played in the two years prior.

“I wanted [Barnhizer’s] ability to get on the ball and move us forward, which goes back to his understanding of soccer,” McLaughlin said. “There is a more offensive role [in the midfield]. That was probably the biggest adjustment for him. 2 to 4 games into the season, it was second-hand to him.”

Barnhizer’s junior season also came with growth, not only in the game, but out of it as well.

“He’s the only junior I’ve ever made a captain,” McLaughlin said. “He’s a leader. No one works harder than him. He drives the team in practice. That’s what a captain does. They are the leader of the team and they lead by their actions. Keaton has done that since Day 1.”

Being a leader for a team losing five seniors, including top scorer Ely Detty, will be a key for the Trojans and Barnhizer in the 2024-25 season, the last chapter of Barnhizer’s high school playing career.

Streaking across the Center Grove grass with the ball at his feet against Brebeuf Jesuit, all senior Keaton Barnhizer can see is red.

There is no card this time, and no Southport jerseys, but a single target with the number nine on his back: senior Austin Lowden.

Barnhizer sweeps his left foot through the ball and cuts open the Brebeuf defense, his pass soaring over the defenders and landing at Lowden’s feet, leading to a goal in the 4-0 win.

This season, Barnhizer is projected to play in the defense again, owing to a change in formation and personnel.

“We have a lot more offensive weapons this year,” McLaughlin said. “Last year we had a kid we relied on pretty heavily (D1 Kentucky player Ely Detty). I think [this year] we have six guys that are going to be darn good offensively. If we can keep people from scoring, we are going to score, and if [Barnhizer] can sit back and play defense, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Trojans’ defense has conceded a total of 0 goals over their three games against Roncalli, Brebeuf and Bloomington South, but Barnhizer has loftier goals.

“Going into the season, my number one goal is obviously the State Championship,” Barnhizer said. “Other than that, don’t let up many goals, and if I can, help my defense and my midfield defend to the best of our ability. My last goal for the season is to get first team all-state.”

Southport. Two red cards, one his, another not. Through his high school career, Barnhizer’s story has drawn parallels to the color red.

Red can be a color of anger, or even a suspension from a soccer game.

But red can also be the color of the heart. The heart that beats for the thing it loves, whether it be a hobby, a sport or a person. Or, for Barnhizer, it can be soccer.

“I just love the stress it takes away from me. Any stress in my life, playing soccer, it just takes it away, out of my life, and I feel like I’m free when I’m playing,” Barnhizer said.