Challenging conditions and a tough opponent in the defending state champion, Buffalo Bison, led to the first loss of the season for the Powell High School boys’ soccer team, as the Panthers fell 3-0 to the visitors on Thursday.

“It’s great for us to face a stronger team early on in the season,” coach David Gilliatt said. “We get to gauge where we sit against a top team in the state, and we get to expose more things that we need to work on. Really ideal to do so this early in the season.”

BUFFALO 3, POWELL 0

Remaining at home for a second straight contest the Panthers (1-1) welcomed in the Bison (2-1) on what proved to be a blustery, frigid evening.

Buffalo got on the board early, firing home a shot 13 minutes in and taking the early lead.

Just past the midway point of the first half the Bison added to their lead, making it a 2-0 contest with 17:26 left in the half.

The Bison got their third goal of the half with 9:36 remaining, as the wind at their back proved to be fatal for the Panthers.

“We knew going into the game that Buffalo had more skill and experience than us but we had hoped to execute our game plan to nullify that technical advantage,” Gilliatt said. “As bad as the conditions were, I think our performances in each half were more affected by our mentality than by the weather. Buffalo of course had the advantage in the first half with the wind at their back but we also came out flat and timid.”

In the second half the Panthers found renewed confidence, playing on the front foot at times and even hitting the crossbar twice inside the first 13 minutes.

Rain and snow poured down with the continued blustery conditions, as the teams played to a scoreless second half and the Bison walked away with a 3-0 win.

“I do think our mentality was different in the second half, and that contributed more to our performance than just having the wind at our back,” Gilliatt said. “If anything, the conditions actually got worse in the second half with the snow and freezing rain. While Buffalo had a dominant first half, we outshot Buffalo 11-5 in the second half and hit the crossbar twice. It would've been nice to get a goal, but I was still pleased with our second half performance.”

ROAD TRIP

After playing their first two games at home the Panthers head on the road this weekend, beginning 3A West action by heading southwest for a pair of games.

Powell starts the weekend with a game against the Lander Tigers (2-1) at 5 p.m. on Friday, before continuing down to Pinedale at noon on Saturday. The Wranglers have not played an official varsity contest yet this season.

Continuing through the early season Gilliatt noted the importance of getting as many points as they can in pursuit of going to the state tournament, as that remains one of the goals of the Panthers this year.

“It will be important for us to get as many conference points as we can,” Gilliatt said. “Qualifying for state is one of our main goals this season so these next couple of games will be crucial for us.”

Powell returns home next weekend for conference games against Lyman and Mountain View on Friday and Saturday.