A year removed from its first state appearance in six years and coming up just short of the program’s first state trophy, the Powell Panther girls’ soccer team is hoping to continue building after its winningest season in program history.

“We are very excited for the year. We have a good number of players that have some solid playing experience and seem to work well together,” coach Danny Agee said. “The hope is that we will continue to build from where we left off last season.”

Powell will return two All-State selections in sophomores Coy Erickson and Ivy Agee, with Agee returning as the top goalscorer for the Panthers after becoming the leading scorer in program history with 39 goals a year ago.

The Panthers also return a strong core of players who have had playing experience for years including seniors Emma Johnson and Aubree Fisher, juniors Kenna Cannon and Emily Orr, along with sophomore Patricia Christensen, who all saw minutes at the varsity level a year ago.

That group is expected to mix alongside new players coming into the high school program and a strong group of freshmen who Agee coached prior in the Powell Middle School program.

“Our freshmen are fairly strong this season and many of them have played with some of these ladies before in middle school and on a club team this past fall,” Agee said. “I see them filling in quickly and adding another dimension to the team.”

The Panthers hope to continue building on a 9-7 season a year ago when the team was the No. 2 seed in the west.

In what is expected to be another competitive season in the west the Panthers will be eyeing a charge at the top spot heading to the final tournament, still in search of its first state title in program history.

“Honestly the end goal for this season is the same as it was for last season,” Agee said. “How close we get to it will depend on how well we can put the pieces together. It’s one training and one game at a time.”

Kicking off the year the Panthers will head out on the road, starting with a 3A West Conference game in Pinedale at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

In what is expected to be a smaller team due to some players not reaching the practice limit, the Panthers will look to kick the season off strong despite not being at full strength.

“This weekend will be interesting as we will be short a few players but we will play the best we can and see what happens,” Agee said.

Early on Agee is hoping the team will focus defensively, understanding the need to regain possession after losing it and not getting frustrated.

“One of the main areas that we would like to see improvement on is our transition to defense,” Agee said. “It is so easy to get frustrated after a turnover and hesitate for a second. My hope is that as we go through the season we will learn to instantly pressure the ball and look to regain possession and start the attack again.”

The Pinedale game will kick off a busy schedule for the Panthers, with the state tournament in Green River just over two months away on May 16-18.