A rivalry game not devoid of entertainment ended the regular season for the Powell Panther girls’ soccer team and the Cody Fillies, with the Panthers squeezing past the host Fillies in a 5-4 thriller behind five goals from Ivy Agee.

POWELL 5, CODY 4

An end-to-end contest from the start saw both the Panthers (12-1 overall, 9-1 3A West) and Fillies (12-2 overall, 9-1 3A West) with shots on goal.

Powell got the better chances early, as Kenna Cannon’s shot five minutes in was tipped off the post and kept the Panthers out.

The Panthers scored first shortly after, as Agee picked the ball up just before midfield and dribbled through the Fillies more than 50 yards and slotted it home to give Powell the lead seven minutes into the game.

Cody had an answer, with Grace Hays outpacing the Panther defense and putting a shot across frame to tie the game 15 minutes in.

Powell regained the lead five minutes later, with Agee powering one home to give Powell a 2-1 lead midway through the first half.

Hays again had an answer, as she powered home two shots with 11:43 and 6:43 remaining in the first half to give the Fillies their first lead of the game.

Agee had one last answer before halftime, putting another in the back of the net with five minutes left to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the break.

The Fillies struck first in the second half, as a short goal kick by Powell was intercepted by Molly Ryzewicz who fired home a shot into the top right corner to give Cody the 4-3 lead just 1:30 in.

Powell continued to apply pressure to the Filly defense, squeezing another shot home via Agee after the Filly keeper couldn’t handle the shot and parried the ball into the net to tie the game 4-4 with 28:17 remaining.

“I actually think the ladies played solid defense the entire game. They scored on shots that were from a tough angle with defensive pressure, that’s hard to shut down,” coach Danny Agee said. “The second half when we got going we were really able to maintain possession and that took the ball out of their hands.”

The Panthers continued applying pressure late into the game, as Agee got her fifth goal with 10:25 remaining and Powell held off any late challenges by Cody to earn the 5-4 win.

“I think the win against Cody was very good for our confidence,” coach Agee said. “We played well all year and it was nice to see everyone step up and perform their roles cleanly and we played very good soccer against a solid opponent. It was a great win for sure.”

STATE TOURNAMENT

Despite the win, the Panthers head to the state tournament in Gillette as the No. 2 seed as they did not win the tiebreakers needed to take the No. 1 seed against the Fillies.

Powell kicks off the tournament at 9 a.m. on Thursday against the east No. 3 seed Rawlins Outlaws (7-7 overall, 5-5 3A East).

“I just hope we come out and have a good start, maintain control of the ball and create opportunities,” coach Agee said. “Hopefully we’re able to rotate players around and keep ourselves somewhat fresh for the following day … I think the advantage that we have going into the state tournament is our style of play can take control of any game as long as we just focus on doing what we’ve been working on all year. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. I think if we do our best we always have a shot to come out on top.”

If Powell wins that game it will take on the winner between east No. 1 seed Douglas (12-2 overall, 10-0 3A East) and west No. 4 seed Mountain View (4-7 overall, 3-7 3A West), which secured the No. 4 seed over Lyman due to tiebreakers.

That contest will be at 2 p.m. on Friday.

If Powell loses it will drop to the consolation bracket against the loser of that contest at 9 a.m. on Friday.

Games the first two days will be at the Energy Capital Sports Complex while games on Saturday will be dependent on the placement match the Panthers are playing in with the championship game at 11 a.m. at Thunder Basin High School.

3A GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT

All games at Energy Capital Sports Complex Thursday and Friday, games on Saturday at three sites

THURSDAY

Game 1 — 9 a.m. No. 2W Powell vs. No. 3E Rawlins

Game 2 — 9 a.m. No. 1E Douglas vs. No. 4W Mountain View

Game 3 — 2 p.m. No. 2E Worland vs. No. 3W Lander

Game 4 — 2 p.m. No. 1W Cody vs. No. 4E Buffalo

FRIDAY

Game 5 — 9 a.m. Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

Game 6 — 9 a.m. Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4

Game 7 — 2 p.m. Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Game 8 — 2 p.m. Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

SATURDAY

Game 9 — 9 a.m. Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (Consolation championship, Energy Sports Complex)

Game 10 — 9 a.m. Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 (Third place, Campbell County HS)

Game 11 — 11 a.m. Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (Championship, Thunder Basin HS)