Early goals and a late push helped the Powell Panther boys’ soccer team stave off a comeback and defeat Lyman 7-3 on Friday, before a difficult contest Saturday saw the Panthers fall to Mountain View 1-0 after an early second half goal by the visitors.

POWELL 7, LYMAN 3

Starting the conference season at home the Panthers (3-1 overall, 1-1 3A West) got off to a strong start against the Eagles (0-3 overall, 0-3 3A West).

Ethan Frame started the action for Powell, scoring on a right-footed putback effort to make it 1-0 just 3:30 minutes into the game.

Forty seconds later the Panthers got another, as an own goal on a ball trying to be cleared was deflected into the back of the net to make it 2-0.

Cody Fisher capped off the furious start by scoring on a strong shot just outside the box to make it 3-0 in just over five minutes.

“It was definitely good to see our guys come out aggressively and on the front foot,” coach David Gilliatt said. “Our goal was to high press them early on and get possession in the attacking third. That worked great in the first 15 minutes.”

Lyman was able to settle in and keep the Panthers from causing further damage, before getting one back on the board late in the half.

A penalty kick after a foul in the box led to a goal for the visitors, as Powell led 3-1 heading into the break.

Early in the second half Lyman got a second goal back, scoring after indecisiveness at the back between the Panthers allowed for the Eagles to round the keeper and put it into an empty net and make it 3-2.

Lyman completed the comeback and tied the match with 29:20 left in the game, before Powell found its footing again.

Attacking from the front foot Braxton Batt scored two goals in 26 seconds to make it 5-3 Panthers with 20 minutes left.

Batt continued his quick flurry of scoring and completed his hat trick in just five minutes of game time, getting his third with 17:55 left to give Powell a 6-3 lead.

Fisher finished the game with his second goal, scoring on a low curling free kick with 3:49 remaining to make the final score 7-3.

“It was great for them to finish as strong as they did and to do so in one of the early games of the season. They can always look back and reference this game when they scored four goals in the last 20 minutes of the game,” Gilliatt said. “It’s really important that we stay switched on for all 80 minutes of the game.”

MOUNTAIN VIEW 1, POWELL 0

After the win Friday moved the Panthers to 3-0 they matched up with the Buffalos (2-0 overall, 2-0 3A West) who were coming off a 2-0 upset win over Cody on Friday night.

Powell started off on the back foot, not able to clear from its defense early, leading to chances for the visitors.

“I think we didn’t handle their press very well and turned the ball over far too often even when not under pressure,” Gilliatt said. 

Mountain View had a couple hit off the post in the first half while the Panthers couldn’t create any significant scoring chances as the two teams went into the half deadlocked at 0-0.

Early in the second half the Buffalos got their goal, scoring on a ball that wasn’t cleared from a corner and making it 1-0 in just 46 seconds.

The two teams played end-to-end for much of the second half, as Powell created chances late in the match.

One of those included a 1v1 with the Buffalo goalkeeper, but Batt was unable to slide it past.

Powell’s best chance came late when a pass across the frame of goal found Jude Tillotson, who put it narrowly wide at the back post.

“We had several chances that we really should have scored on as well,” Gilliatt said. “But in the end, we didn’t create enough chances, and let Mountain View outwork us.”

Mountain View held off any additional shots by Powell, and took the victory 1-0.

Despite the loss, Gilliatt feels the game will act as a learning experience for the Panthers this early in the year.

“Honestly, I give credit to Mountain View for coming over to Park County and getting two wins on the same trip. That’s a first for their program,” Gilliatt said. “A loss early on is very good for us. It forces us to go back to the drawing board and analyze our mistakes and figure out where we need to improve.”

Conference road swing

Powell now heads on the road for its next set of conference games, heading to Lander and Pinedale this weekend.

The Panthers will start against the Tigers (2-0 overall, 1-0 3A West) at 5 p.m. on Friday before heading to take on the Wranglers (0-0 overall) at noon Saturday.

“We need to improve on breaking the press on goal kicks and building out from the back. That will be an area of focus this week,” Gilliatt said. “We also need to be better about being the louder team on the field and communicate with more frequency and intensity.”