The final long road trip of the year resulted in a pair of difficult losses for the Powell Panther boys’ soccer team, dropping a contest to Green River 3-0 on Friday before Lander used a second half surge and last-second goal Saturday to drop the Panthers 3-2.

GREEN RIVER 3, POWELL 0

Going back out on the road the Panthers (5-5 overall, 3-3 3A West) made the trip southwest to take on the Wolves (5-1 overall, 3-0 3A West).

Green River got on the board first, when a flip throw-in was launched to the back post and was pushed over the line amidst a large group in the box, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes.

Just minutes later, the Wolves found a way to extend the lead.

A ball was played from the left wing across the penalty spot, with the Wolves’ attacker finishing across the frame to make it 2-0.

That lead held for the hosts, with it remaining 2-0 at halftime.

“In the first half against Green River we started out alright, but started to resort back to long balls and hope our forwards would get to it and score,” coach David Gilliatt said. “We were down 2-0 at halftime and the plan shifted to playing our game and not digress no matter the score.”

Powell had a strong opportunity just after the break, but was unable to find the back of the net on the attack and continued to trail.

The Panthers created more opportunities with the wind at their back, but could not score.

Then Green River found its third goal to secure the victory. A corner kick bounced around the box, before a Wolves attacker turned it into the back of the net at the back post to make it 3-0 just past the midway point of the second half.

Powell was unable to find the back of the net the rest of the way, the second time the Panthers have failed to score this season, the last being a 0-0 scoreline against Cody.

“Obviously we wanted to win, but it was more important that we improved our habits against a good team,” Gilliatt said. “I was more pleased with the second half and our passing and movement off the ball. We didn’t get any goals but our guys created several good chances and I think we are optimistic about playing them again.”

LANDER 3, POWELL 2

Hoping to carry that stronger play in the second half from Friday, the Panthers tried to rebound in the final game of their road trip against the Tigers (4-2 overall, 4-1 3A West).

That better play paid off early, with Chance Franks firing home a goal from 20 yards out after beating a defender to make it 1-0 just six minutes into the game.

Powell continued working hard to create more chances, but it took until just before the half before the Panthers extended their lead.

With time winding down in the half, Braxton Batt was released down the field with no defenders in sight, sprinting down and finishing past the keeper with 33 seconds left in the half to extend the lead to 2-0.

“I was really proud of the guys after the first half,” Gilliatt said. “They had good quality passing and movement and created several good chances resulting in those two goals in the first half. That was Braxton’s best game even without the goal, so his scoring was just the icing on the cake.”

Despite the strong first half, the Panthers knew that the Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“We knew Lander would come out strong in the second half,” Gilliatt said.

Lander came out attacking, but the Panthers resisted that attack until nearly midway through the second half.

A shot from 25 yards out hit the crossbar and bounced down into the net, cutting the lead to 2-1 with just over 21 minutes left.

“I was proud of the guys for weathering the storm in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but 20 minutes in Lander got that first goal which motivated them to get more,” Gilliatt said. 

Lander got its second goal 10 minutes later, when a collision with the Panther keeper after a long free kick knocked the ball loose, leading to an attempted clearance by the Panthers which deflected in for an own goal.

“I’ve watched the film on their second goal and I think the referee could have called that one back due to the contact with our keeper, but they don’t have instant replay or VAR (Video Assistant Referee) and they have to make those calls in real time,” Gilliatt said.

That tied the contest, as both teams searched for a winning goal.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, coming so close to securing at least a point on the road in a shootout did not come.

A long ball bounced around in the box and was put into the back of the net by the Tigers with just 19 seconds left, earning all three points and holding Powell to zero in the road contest.

Despite the loss, Gilliatt feels the team continues to improve and learned important lessons on this road trip along with a three game losing streak.

“Wins are definitely more fun to experience but they don’t sting and push you to work harder like a tough loss does,” Gilliatt said. “I’m confident my guys will take these games and be more motivated to improve this week. I’m really proud of how well they played and the growth they’ve accomplished in a short period of time.”

SECOND HALF OF CONFERENCE

Powell now begins the second half of the conference schedule, returning home after two weeks away.

The Panthers will remain in Park County the remainder of the second half of the conference season, with its only away game coming at Cody next week.

Powell will open up its return leg against Lander this week at 6 p.m. on Friday.

“I don’t love the score lines as of late but I have been pleased with the style of play and I think the guys recognize the quality they’ve been able to produce,” Gilliatt said. “We will need our substitutes to really work hard to close the gaps more as well. We will need them in our future back-to-back games in the second half of the season.”

The Panthers then host Pinedale (2-8 overall, 1-5 3A West) at noon on Saturday, before heading to Cody (4-3 overall, 4-2 3A West) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

“More time will be spent this week making sure we keep things at a high level even after rotating the lineup,” Gilliatt said.

Powell currently sits in third place with 10 points, just ahead of Mountain View who is tied with points but the Panthers currently hold the tiebreaker. Each team has completed at least half of the conference schedule except for Green River which has only played three conference games but is the only undefeated team in the 3A West.