Another strong season came to a close with a trophy for the Powell High School girls’ soccer team in Gillette, as the Panthers finished third, defeating Rawlins 4-0, losing to Lander 2-0 before rebounding and ending with a 4-1 win over Buffalo.

POWELL 4, RAWLINS 0

The tournament started in difficult conditions as the Panthers (15-2) took on the Outlaws (9-6) on Thursday.

That inclement weather didn’t stop the Panthers, as Ivy Agee got the Panthers on the board five minutes in on a strong shot.

Despite the early goal, the Panthers were unable to add to the lead in the first half as they led 1-0 at the break.

Agee again scored just under 6:30 minutes into the second half on a strong shot, and quickly added another 20 seconds later to give Powell breathing room at 3-0.

Emery Hernandez capped off the scoring with 17:30 minutes left, as the Panthers earned the 4-0 opening round victory.

“The weather was definitely a factor in both of the first two games,” coach Danny Agee said. “I think the ladies handled the weather pretty well.”

LANDER 2, POWELL 0

Heading into Friday the Panthers took on the Tigers (12-5), and were hoping to make it to a second straight state title match.

Powell had some early chances, as Agee and Aspen French forced strong saves in the first 12 minutes.

Lander had one that went just wide with 22 minutes left, as neither team found the back of the net until late in the half.

The Tigers struck after a free kick was initially saved by the Panthers, but found its way into the goal with just 55 seconds left in the half to make it 1-0.

“After the first goal went in, at halftime the message was that we were creating opportunities,” coach Agee said. “They didn’t create a lot of live play opportunities, and if we kept creating them, something would go in in the second half. We just needed to keep the pressure on them and run at them.”

Powell again had chances in the second half, with the closest coming from Agee who hit it off the crossbar. The ball then bounced down off the ankle of the Tiger keeper and away from goal with 17 minutes left.

Lander added another goal with three minutes left on another free kick to seal the win, as the Panthers were shut out for the only time this season 2-0.

POWELL 4, BUFFALO 1

The Panthers recovered from the previous day’s loss, and took on the other No. 1 seed out of the east in the Bison (10-7).

“I told them that if they didn’t come out strong in the third place game they would regret it for years to come. I wanted them to come out strong and not regret that,” coach Agee said.

French got the Panthers on the board 16 minutes in, firing home a shot from the edge of the box to make it 1-0.

Agee doubled the advantage shortly after, as she fired home a deep shot as Powell led 2-0 at the half.

In the second half, Buffalo scored 13 minutes in to cut the lead in half, and hit one off the crossbar six minutes later as the Bison threatened to tie the game.

Agee extended the lead to 3-1 after a run by French found her with 10 minutes left, and Agee capped her career off with a hat-trick with three minutes left to make it 4-1.

“It [the third place game] showed the resilience of the girls,” coach Agee said. “They were tired, they were sore and semi-injured. I thought it was a great accomplishment.”

LOOKING FORWARD

The Panthers say goodbye to several starters in the program’s leading scorer Agee, Patricia Christensen and Josie Hallock, as coach Agee noted the team has several young players who should  make an impact moving forward.

“It’s definitely going to be hard to replace some of the players we are losing,” Agee said. “There is some great potential in young players. When seniors leave, there’s a great opportunity for young players to step up. I think we have some young players that will take on leadership roles over the next few years.”