Clutch performances on the road earned the Powell High School boys’ soccer team another trip to the 3A State Soccer Tournament, as the Panthers defeated Mountain View 1-0 on Friday and Lyman 3-1 on Saturday to secure a postseason berth.

POWELL 1, MOUNTAIN VIEW 0

Hoping to carry the momentum of the previous weekend’s win at home the Panthers (6-6 overall, 5-4 3A West) took on the Buffalos (5-4 overall, 4-4 3A West).

Looking to avenge a 3-0 loss at home the Panthers brought in a renewed focus on the road against Mountain View.

Neither team found a breakthrough in the first half, as each team searched for a winner in the second half.

Powell found that breakthrough, as the Panthers’ leading scorer found the back of the net once again.

A long ball from Ethan Frame found its way over the defensive line into the path of Gianreye D’Alessandro.

The Buffalos’ keeper came out to stop him, but D’Alessandro rounded the keeper and maintained possession long enough to fire the ball into the back of the net and give Powell the lead 15 minutes into the second half.

Powell maintained its focus and held off Mountain View, earning a key win that all but secured the Panthers a spot at state on Friday.

“We successfully defended all of Mountain View’s attempts to level the score, but continued to create our own additional chances as well,” coach David Gilliatt said.

He said that this game helped the Panthers prove they can do it against some of the top teams despite still having limited varsity experience coming into this season.

“We’ve had past games where we do well for a while but switch off for a moment and leak a goal. We still have a lot of players with limited experience and this season has helped them progress and get more accustomed to the varsity level,” Gilliatt said. “The win against a top five Mountain View was really good to add to our self belief, and it put us into a better position to qualify for state and possibly get a three seed for the tournament.”

POWELL 3, LYMAN 1

Heading into Saturday the Panthers were hoping to fully secure their spot at the state tournament, looking for the season sweep against the Eagles (1-8 overall, 1-7 3A West).

Powell got on the board first, this time 16 minutes into the first half.

D’Alessandro found the back of the net once again, curling in a corner directly into the goal to make it 1-0.

That lead held throughout the rest of the first half.

Powell knew a second goal was needed early in the second half, and the Panthers got just that through another corner kick.

The ball found its way to the feet of senior center back Owen Hill, who directed the ball on frame and put it in to make it 2-0 just over two minutes into the half.

“His first goal of his PHS career. We’ve got some basic details that we’ve added to be more effective in those set piece plays,” Gilliatt said. “I’ve got to credit Joe Hughes, my player assistant coach from Northwest College for his ideas on set pieces. He’s always been very good there and I think his insight definitely helped us be more dangerous there.”

Lyman made things interesting late, as a goal went in with just under three minutes remaining to make it 2-1.

Powell put the game to rest just over 30 seconds later, as the Panthers won the ball back, and an initial save by Lyman was put back on goal by D’Alessandro, and a deflection saw the ball bounce in and make it 3-1.

The win secured Powell a spot at the state tournament once again.

“Honestly, I’m just proud of the guys for realizing some of their potential this season and fighting for their place at the state tournament. We knew we needed to potentially win at least one game this weekend to qualify for state but winning both would guarantee our qualification,” Gilliatt said. “The games against Mountain View and Lyman were good examples of us playing whole games executing our game plan. We’ve had several games this year where we didn’t all buy in or had mixed efforts or levels of intensity. The guys as a whole did a much better job of being physical and organized and just working together to be more effective these last two games. Just really proud of them after this weekend.”

FINAL GAME

Heading into the final game of the regular season the Panthers will host the rival Cody Broncs (10-1-1 overall, 8-1 3A West) Friday at 6 p.m.

Both teams have plenty to play for in the contest, as Cody needs a win to guarantee the No. 1 seed in the west, and the Panthers need a win to earn the No. 3 seed heading into the state tournament.

Powell will be hoping for an improved performance against the Broncs after a 7-0 loss in Cody last month.

“We’ll do our best to make the game difficult for Cody. We know they are more technical and experienced than us so we’ll do our best to play organized and work for each other,” Gilliatt said. “It’s always more enjoyable to be the underdog in a competition.”

3A WEST STANDINGS

(Overall record followed by conference record)

1. Cody 10-1-1 overall, 8-1 3A West

2. Lander 10-2 overall, 7-1 3A West

3. Powell 6-6 overall, 5-4 3A West

4. Mountain View 5-4 overall, 4-4 3A West

5. Lyman 1-8 overall, 1-7 3A West

6. Pinedale 0-9 overall, 0-8 3A West