The Powell Panther boys’ soccer team fell to .500 on the season, dropping contests to Cody on Thursday and Worland on Saturday.

CODY 3, POWELL 0

Starting the week with a rivalry game against Cody the Panthers (4-4 overall, 2-3 3A West) looked to slow down the Broncs (8-1 overall, 4-1 3A West) and their offense.

The Panthers did that through the first half, limiting the Broncs and heading into the break with the score tied 0-0.

That trend continued into the second half, with the Panthers holding off the Cody attack, but mistakes led to better opportunities before the visitors finally broke through.

“I thought our boys did well the majority of the game,” coach David Gilliatt said. “Some of our mistakes in the second half led to more possession for Cody. These ultimately led to more scoring opportunities and then of course, the first goal which broke the tie.”

A strong right footed effort from outside the box found its way into the back of the net, as the Broncs took the lead with 12:44 left in the game.

Five minutes later a penalty was called against the Panthers, and the Broncs capitalized to extend the lead to 2-0 late.

One final goal came with 4:14 left after a ball found its way into the back of the net after a contested effort in the box to make it 3-0.

“I was really proud of the grit they displayed, and didn’t feel the final scoreline was a fair indicator of the competition,” Gilliatt said. “I feel we still have room to improve. It’s important that we stay disciplined for the full 80 minutes of the game and this was a good learning experience for us.”

WORLAND 3, POWELL 0

After the loss Thursday the Panthers went on the road Saturday to take on the Warriors (4-4 overall, 3-1 3A East) in a nonconference matchup.

Worland got on the board early, putting pressure on the Panther defense and capitalizing just five minutes in after a free kick was spilled free by the Panther keeper and the Warriors put it in the net to make it 1-0.

Worland’s early blitz  continued, as the Warriors got a second goal just eight minutes later and made it 2-0.

“I think there was some mental and physical fatigue going into that game,” Gilliatt said. “I also thought we looked disorganized and disjointed for a lot of the game.”

That score stood at halftime, as the Panthers searched for options going forward.

Powell couldn’t get on the board in the second half, and the Warriors added one final goal with 10 minutes left to make the final score 3-0.

“If we want to have better results, we can’t rely on some guys following the team strategy and others doing their own thing,” Gilliatt said. 

LANDER TUESDAY

The Panthers will not have much time to rest, turning around for a contest against the Lander Tigers (5-1 overall, 3-1 3A West) at 5 p.m. today (Tuesday).

“I’m hoping we play as a cohesive machine this week and I believe if we do that, we can make it really difficult for Lander,” Gilliatt said.

The Panthers dropped their previous contest to the Tigers on the road 6-0, with Gilliatt hoping for improvement this time around while trying to take advantage of the chances the Panthers get.

“Outside of the obvious effort to concede six less goals, we’ll work on transitioning with counter attacks and doing so quicker and as a team,” Gilliatt said. “We might only get two to three good chances against some of these teams so we need to do a better job of creating more scoring opportunities, but really capitalize on the chances we do have … I think we’ll make it harder for Lander this week given we’ll be closer to 100% strength with personnel as well.”