With a pair of shutouts on the road, the Powell Panther girls’ soccer team has now won five straight, defeating Mountain View 3-0 on Friday and Lyman 4-0 on Saturday to set up an important showdown Friday in Cody.

POWELL 3, MOUNTAIN VIEW 0

Starting out the Bridger Valley road trip the Panthers (11-1 overall, 8-1 3A West) took on the Buffalos (3-5 overall, 2-6 3A West), looking for the regular season sweep.

Ivy Agee got the Panthers on the board early, scoring inside the first five minutes and giving Powell an early lead.

“It was very nice scoring quickly especially on an unpredictable playing surface,” coach Danny Agee said. “The ladies did a great job moving the ball and breaking down the deep defensive block Mountain View uses and we created a number of other close chances.”

Powell continued to create chances throughout the first half while limiting the hosts, but was unable to find a second goal until the second half.

In the second half of action the Panthers got on the board quickly. Agee got her second just 1:30 into the second half on a well-worked goal, creating just enough space on the edge of the box to fire off a shot and put it past the keeper to make it 2-0.

Powell continued to pressure the opposing defense and finally got its third late in the game, when a Coy Erickson cross was finished by Agee to get her hat trick with just under seven minutes remaining to earn a 3-0 win over the Buffalos for the second time this season.

“Any win on the road is great for the confidence but this was especially nice because we have traditionally had a difficult time on their grass fields,” coach Agee said. “Being able to control play on Friday definitely helped to start us off on the right track Saturday.”

POWELL 4, LYMAN 0

On Saturday the Panthers took on the Eagles (3-6 overall, 2-6 3A West).

Powell again got on the board early, as Ava Gilliatt’s control up the wing found Agee just inside the box, and she put home a left-footed effort to make it 1-0 just under eight minutes into the game.

“Finishing chances early always helps, as missed chances will keep the competition in the game,” coach Agee said. “We were able to get some younger players in the Lyman game and they did well to keep the momentum in our favor.”

The Panthers got their second from Agee, who fired home a long distance shot that was unable to be tipped over the bar by the Eagle keeper with just under 15 minutes left.

Powell got its third goal shortly after, when Gilliatt found Emery Hernandez running into the box, putting a shot past the keeper to make it 3-0 with just under 13 minutes left in the first half.

The Panthers continued to pressure the defense but were unable to find another in the first half as they led 3-0 at the break.

Agee completed her second hat trick of the weekend, scoring from long range after Gilliatt’s throw in, finishing the scoring with 30 minutes left in the second half as the Panthers rotated in a number of players to different positions to finish the game.

FINAL GAME

The Panthers will head on the road Friday for the final game of the regular season, trying to avenge their only loss of the season to date.

That loss came to the rival Cody Fillies (12-1 overall, 9-0 3A West), who defeated the Panthers 5-1 back in April.

“We have started to get more creative in the final third and I hope that we can carry this into our Cody game and hopefully get a few early goals,” coach Agee said. “We also need to work to close down space better when transitioning to defense so we do not give up too much space.”

That game on Friday will be at 4 p.m. with the No. 1 seed at the state tournament on the line between the Panthers and Fillies.

Powell needs to win the game in regulation without going to a shootout to have a chance to win the No. 1 seed on tiebreakers, but neither team can finish below the No. 2 seed heading into state.

Regardless of seeding, Agee is hopeful the Panthers will perform better this time around.

“I hope the ladies remember to just trust in each other and allow each player to do what they are good at,” coach Agee said. “We have a very strong team when we work together, and I believe we can play with any team if we don’t try to do it on our own.”

Opponents for the state tournament will be determined after this weekend, with a likely first round opponent for the Panthers being either Rawlins or Buffalo who have just about locked in the three and four seeds at state in the 3A East.

3A WEST STANDINGS

(Overall record then conference record, teams earn one additional point for shootout losses)

1. Cody 12-1, 36 points; 9-0, 27 points

2. Powell 11-1, 33 points; 8-1, 24 points

3. Lander 6-3, 18 points; 4-4, 12 points

4. Lyman 3-6, 10 points; 2-6, 7 points

5. Mountain View 3-5, 10 points; 2-6, 7 points

6. Pinedale 0-11, 0 points; 0-8, 0 points

3A EAST STANDINGS

1. Douglas 10-2, 30 points; 8-0, 24 points

2. Worland 7-6, 21 points; 7-2, 21 points

3. Rawlins 7-5, 22 points; 5-3, 16 points

4. Buffalo 5-8, 15 points; 5-4, 15 points

5. Torrington 2-11, 6 points; 1-8, 3 points

6. Newcastle 0-12, 1 point; 0-8, 1 point