A pair of contrasting scorelines had the Powell Panther boys’ soccer team splitting its road trip south, as the Panthers fell 6-0 to Lander on Friday before surviving an early goal and earning a 2-1 win over Pinedale on Saturday.

LANDER 6, POWELL 0

Hoping to rebound from their first loss of the season the Panthers (4-2 overall, 2-2 3A West) took on the Tigers (4-1 overall, 2-1 3A West) who applied pressure from the start.

Lander’s pressure paid off before the midway point of the first half, when an interception deep in the Panther defense allowed the Tiger attacker to dribble through and fire home a shot to make it 1-0 just 17 minutes into the game.

Powell’s defense held for much of the remainder of the first half, before Lander got its second just under two minutes before the half.

A strong move up the right wing allowed Lander to put a cross into the box, and an unmarked player slotted home the shot to double the Tiger advantage to 2-0 at the halftime break.

“We failed to provide cover on the dribble on the first goal and then failed to mark up defenders on the cross for the second goal,” coach David Gilliatt said.

Lander got its third goal just seven minutes into the second half, when an unmarked Tiger leaped over the Panthers to head in a corner and make it 3-0 in favor of the hosts.

Scoring slowed down for a majority of the second half, before a late flurry widened the final margin for the Tigers.

A poor throw by the Panther keeper led to an interception and quick shot just outside the 18-yard box and made it a 4-0 lead for Lander.

Lander got its fifth when a hard shot just inside the 18 found its way into the roof of the net and made it 5-0.

The Tigers got their final goal of the game after another strong dribbling move led to a shot fired home to make the final score 6-0.

Gilliatt said the difficult contest against one of the top teams in the state has the Panthers looking to adjust defensively moving forward, aiming to improve the next time they play a top team.

“We may need to adjust our strategy some. We either need to steer our press or be more judicious about when we apply it,” Gilliatt said. “There were too many times that our lines were stretched and we were slow to recover.”

POWELL 2, PINEDALE 1

After the loss Friday the Panthers continued down the road to Pinedale, hoping to rebound against the Wranglers (0-3 overall, 0-2 3A West) in a game that could prove important in a spot for the state tournament.

The loss from Friday spilled over into a slow start Saturday, when the Wranglers got on the board just two minutes into the game.

A low cross wasn’t gathered in, and bounced to a Pinedale attacker who put it home to make it 1-0.

Powell settled in and started  getting more opportunities, and got its answer just over 10 minutes later.

Braxton Batt intercepted a goal kick by the Wranglers and raced into the box, firing it home to tie the game 1-1.

Powell continued to improve its possession to get more chances, but the teams went into the half tied.

“We just needed to use our quality and have more possession and ultimately create more chances,” Gilliatt said.

It took until late in the second half for the Panthers to get their winning goal, when Ethan Frame’s ball across the 18 found Batt, who snuck around the keeper and fired home his second to make it 2-1 with just eight minutes left.

“We did enough to win although I don’t think we were nearly good enough to be proud of ourselves,” Gilliatt said. “Psychologically you always want to bounce back after a loss. Losses can be a great tool to humble you and teach you what you need to improve, if you’re willing to be taught. I was glad to get the win but didn’t love the way we did it. Still, winning, even if gritty and ugly, is important especially for in-conference games.”

SMALL BREAK

After the Pinedale win the Panthers now head into a midseason break, getting this week and next to prepare before hosting the Cody Broncs (5-1 overall, 3-1 3A West) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 24.

That break could not come at a better time for the Panthers, as Gilliatt said they will use this time to focus defensively before a key second half of the season.

“We have some things to work on and fortunately some time before our next game,” Gilliatt said. “We clearly need to work on our defensive marking but we also need to work on our defensive shape. I think we will also work on when we press and what team shape we have when not in possession.”