For the first time in school history the Powell Panther girls’ soccer team competed for a state championship on Saturday in Gillette. The Panthers defeated Rawlins 7-1 Thursday, performed a miraculous 4-3 comeback win against Douglas on Friday before falling 1-0 to Cody in a rainy championship game on Saturday.

POWELL 7, RAWLINS 1

Starting out as the No. 2 seed out of the west the Panthers (14-2) matched up with the east No. 3 seed Outlaws (7-9).

Powell got the scoring going early on, as Ivy Agee found the back of the net from 25 yards out and made it 1-0 just 10 minutes into the game.

Younger sister Jesi Agee added to the early scoring just five minutes later, weaving her way through the defense and putting home a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box and making it 2-0 Powell.

Jesi added to her goal tally shortly after, putting in a rebound off a shot by Ivy to make it 3-0 with 16:33 left in the half.

Ivy added her second before the break, racing behind the Outlaw defense after a good pass from Emery Hernandez to make it 4-0 with 10:07 left in the half.

Rawlins got on the board just before the break, after a strong cross was met with an equally good finish just inside the 18-yard box and the Panthers led 4-1 at the break.

Ivy Agee completed her hat trick just after the start of the second half, firing home a shot from 20 yards out and making it 5-1.

Ava Gilliatt got on the score sheet with 21:52 left in the game, putting in a shot off a pass from Coy Erickson to make it 6-1 Powell.

With the large lead the Panthers were able to rotate a number of players throughout the game, getting a needed rest for some of the girls while giving each player an opportunity to play.

“It was great to be able to get playing time at state for all the players,” coach Danny Agee said. “That was something the schedule didn’t allow last year.”

Patricia Christensen capped off Powell’s scoring with a goal with 12:25 left, stealing the ball from the Outlaw keeper on the edge of the box and outracing the defense in the box before tapping it home from 6 yards out to make it 7-1.

POWELL 4, DOUGLAS 3

The win on Thursday meant the Panthers made it to the semifinals for a second consecutive year, this time taking on the Bearcats (14-3) in a rematch of last year’s third place game.

Douglas got on the board first, scoring on a long shot fired back into the box off a corner, making it 1-0 with 34:29 remaining in the first half.

Just before the break the Bearcats added to their lead, scoring on a long free kick that was fumbled in the box and put home with four minutes remaining in the first half.

After a mistake-filled first half with not many attacking threats, the Panthers regrouped at the break before a strong second half.

“We talked about how every one of us had made mistakes in that half and it was not one person’s fault,” coach Agee said. “We needed to get past it and attack them in the second half. I knew we could score plenty on them if we worked together and they all pulled together and played well.”

Powell started finding more attacking opportunities early, and broke through less than 10 minutes into the second half.

Ivy Agee broke behind the defensive line of the Bearcats and placed a shot in the corner, but was initially flagged for offside.

Since the play had not been blown dead before she had scored, it was determined after a lengthy discussion by the officials that Agee had dribbled the ball through the defense and was not offside, allowing the goal and cutting the lead to 2-1.

Douglas responded, slipping another one into the back of the net and making it 3-1 with 24:58 left.

Needing a response the Panthers got back on the front foot, finding an answer quickly off the foot of the program’s all-time leading goalscorer once again.

A left footed shot from just outside the 18-yard box by Ivy Agee curled into the top corner of the net with 17:34 left and made it 3-2.

She added another on a free kick from 27 yards out shortly after, before finishing off a quick seven minute scoring flurry with another left footed effort slotted home with 10:36 remaining to give Powell a 4-3 lead.

The Panthers held off any serious scoring threats from the Bearcats, and finished with the 4-3 win to advance to their first ever championship game.

“Everything is harder to accomplish the first time and breaking that barrier was a great accomplishment,” coach Agee said. “It sets the stage for future teams in the program to do the same.”

CODY 1, POWELL 0

The Panthers came up against a familiar foe in the title game — the Park County rival Fillies (15-2), a team the Panthers defeated just one week prior in a high scoring contest.

Early on both teams slowly looked for openings, as neither team produced a strong scoring chance in the first 20 minutes.

Cody found its footing and produced the better chances the rest of the half, but strong goalkeeping by Josie Hallock kept the Fillies out of the net, with one shot even hitting off the post.

Powell’s best chance came with four minutes left when Jesi Agee found room up the wing, but her shot was saved and the teams went into the break tied 0-0.

The high scoring offenses started to find more opportunities in the second half, and it was the Fillies who found their way onto the scoreboard less than five minutes in.

A shot from 25 yards out just snuck over Hallock, and gave the Fillies a 1-0 lead with 36:38 left.

Having expended a large amount of energy the day before, the Panthers were unable to create any clear cut chances, with a majority of shots being handled by the Filly keeper with no issue despite the pouring rain.

Powell couldn’t find the tying goal late, and with no late game heroics the Fillies won their seventh state title.

“We fought hard in the semifinal and several players were pretty banged up and not 100%,” coach Agee said. “Three games in a row is tough but the ladies still worked hard and made it a game and this time we weren’t on top. It happens.”

BRIGHT FUTURE REMAINS

The Panthers have made their name known the past several years and will continue to compete for a state championship in the future, even if it means they have to wait one more year.

Powell will say goodbye to three starting seniors in Emily Orr, Kenna Cannon and Saige Kidd along with several other bench players, but will have a majority of the team eligible to return next year with the opportunity to compete for a state title once again in Gillette.

“I hope the ladies realize how close they were to the end goal and how so many players never even get a chance to play in a championship game,” coach Agee said. “Hopefully they use it as fuel to come back next year and be competitive yet again.”