Girls soccer falls 3-1 to Star Valley

Posted 4/1/14

The coach said his team will ultimately be better because of this game.

“You learn from everything, from the wins and the losses,” Reyesmejia said. “You go back to the drawing board and you go over some things and you get …

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Girls soccer falls 3-1 to Star Valley

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The PHS girls’ soccer team had trouble adjusting to a new kind of foe and lost 3-1 to Star Valley Saturday morning.

“Star Valley was fast and they were very physical,” said PHS head coach Isaac Reyesmejia. “Those things kind of threw us off and the girls kind of got outplayed a little bit when it came to that.”

The coach said his team will ultimately be better because of this game.

“You learn from everything, from the wins and the losses,” Reyesmejia said. “You go back to the drawing board and you go over some things and you get better.”

Senior Haley Wichman scored the Panthers’ lone goal, her second of the season, in the second half of the loss.

Wichman got behind the Braves’ defense and found herself in a one-on-one situation and was able to put a shot on the right side of the net that beat Star Valley’s keeper.

The Panthers, who got off 20 shots but had only two corner kicks the entire game, suffered from a lack of possession. Star Valley controlled the ball most of the game and put a lot of pressure on Powell’s defense.

Reyesmejia said his back line played really well, but was asked to do too much.

“Our defense played hard,” he said. “They tried to put themselves in a good position. The problem was that they weren’t as successful at keeping the ball on (the offensive) side of the field and our defense had to play at (a disadvantage).”

Star Valley led 2-0 at the half.

“Two of the three goals were goals that we could have actually defended better,” Reyesmejia said.

But as the Panthers adapted to the different style of play, they began to keep up with the Braves.

“They came out there and they played strong and they held Star Valley down in the second half,” Reyesmejia said.

The loss, which puts Powell at 0-2 following a forfeit against Pinedale last week, was not without its bright spots. The coach again lauded Aimee Kawano, who appears to be the team’s most consistent offensive creator.

“Aimee always needs to be mentioned because she generates a lot of the offense with her dribbling,” Reyesmejia said.

The Panther backfield also earned the coach’s praise.

“I definitely take my hat off to Delaney (Dent) and Jourdyn (Haire) and Carly (Klein),” he said. “Even though they (Star Valley) scored three goals they still played really hard.”

Powell’s second game of the season was the first for seniors Shelby Nicholson and Mercedes Sanders.

“This was the first time Shelby and Mercedes were out there and they held their own,” Reyesmejia said.

Like many of the Panthers, junior keeper Sonya Montanez improved as the game went on.

“She held her ground,” Reyesmejia said. “She held them to only one goal in the second half. Those first two goals, we could have challenged them a little bit better but it happens.”

The Panthers also had to deal with strong winds, something that shouldn’t be unusual to Wyoming soccer players.

“If you don’t keep the ball down the ball’s going to go all over the place,” Reyesmejia said. “(But), obviously you can’t blame things on the weather.”

The girls will be hitting the practice field hard this week as they prepare for the start of Northwest play.

“We’re just going to work a lot,” Reyesmejia said. “It’s always back to the fundamentals with me.”

The coach said his team needs to focus on “keeping the ball in front of us and being able to make solid plays.”

The Panthers host the Cody Filles at 4 p.m. Thursday, and then head to Worland to take on the Warriors at 4 p.m. Friday.

Coach Reyesmejia also said the Panther faithful has been a positive influence during what has been a rough start to the season.

“I want to thank the fans for coming out and supporting us,” the coach said. “There’s been a lot of support from parents and members of the community, not only for me but for the team, so I definitely appreciate that.”

 

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