Two wins against two 3A East opponents opened the season for the Powell Panther boys’ soccer team, which started fast in a 3-0 win at home over Newcastle on Friday before earning a 2-1 win on the road against Douglas on Saturday.

POWELL 3, NEWCASTLE 0

Kicking off the 2025 campaign at home the Panthers (2-0) took on the Dogies (0-2) and got off to a quick start.

The quick opening goal came from Braxton Batt, who found himself all alone behind the Newcastle defense just two minutes into the game and slotted it home to make it 1-0.

“It’s always nice to get an early goal to ease the nerves in any game. I think all of the guys were dealing with the unknown of how we would perform in the first game,” coach David Gilliatt said. “That first goal was definitely the key to getting everyone to relax a bit and play our game.”

Powell continued to have more chances throughout the first half, but couldn’t find a goal to extend the lead until late.

That goal came via a penalty kick by Batt, who put it home and got his second with 6:10 left and Powell led 2-0 at the break.

Worsening conditions in the first half led to pouring rain and a lightning delay at halftime, but the delay didn’t slow down the Panthers.

“(Our goal was) just to pass the ball more and use our off-the-ball movement to stretch the other team. We were playing panicked and lacked composure and as a result, didn’t have much ball possession,” Gilliatt said. “The goal in the second half was to move the ball around more, use our drops more, and have more two-touch passes. I thought they did a good job of carrying that out.”

Powell got its third goal just eight minutes into the second half, when Cody Fisher volleyed home a ball that bounced just outside the box on a corner kick to make it 3-0 with 32 minutes left.

Batt appeared to have his hat-trick after putting home the ball on a corner kick with 21:25 left, but the goal was called off due to a foul on Batt against the keeper.

Jude Tillotson also had a goal called back late due to an offside offense and the score finished at 3-0 in favor of Powell.

POWELL 2, DOUGLAS 1

Getting up and hopping on the bus early Saturday the Panthers made the trip to Douglas to take on the Bearcats (0-1).

Powell got on the board first just eight minutes into the contest, when a cross into the box was deflected by a Bearcat defender into the back of the net for an own goal to make it 1-0 in favor of the Panthers.

Both sides had additional opportunities, but it was the Bearcats who next broke through just before the halftime horn.

Douglas scored on a strong move down the endline, with a shot just inside the 18-yard box curling into the top right corner to tie the score 1-1 with just 32 seconds left in the first half.

The second half followed much like the first, as both teams had their opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net.

This time it was Powell breaking through late, as Tillotson got his goal from just inside the box from the right wing with 14 minutes left to make it 2-1.

“I thought we did a pretty good job at that and managed to create some good scoring opportunities, one that led to Jude’s game winning goal,” Gilliatt said. “He nearly scored a second goal a few minutes later but hit it over the goal. His performance earned him man of the match for the game.”

Tillotson had one more opportunity to extend the lead late, but the Panthers held on for a 2-1 win.

“Proud of the guys for their performance this weekend against both opponents. Cool to see the grit they showed against Douglas to retake the lead and get the win,” Gilliatt said.

HOME CONFERENCE GAMES

The Panthers return home for the second weekend of the season, opening up 3A West action on Friday and Saturday.

Powell will start its conference games against Lyman (0-1 overall, 0-1 3A West) at 5 p.m. on Friday before taking on Mountain View (0-0) at noon on Saturday.

“I think Mountain View will have the strongest team in school history this year. They are well coached and they have some very good players who will make our defense have to play tough and stay organized,” Gilliatt said. “Lyman has also been steadily improving so we will not overlook either team. The goal will be to create more scoring opportunities against both sides and stay consistent with our defense.”