After putting forth one of its worst performances on April 14, the Powell High School girls soccer team delivered three of its best at the Southwest Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Green River High School.

On Friday, less than 72 hours after suffering a 6-1 blowout at the hands of Class 3A’s No. 2-ranked Worland, the Lady Panthers shut out 4A school Rock Springs before battling 3A’s top-ranked team, Star Valley, in a close defeat.

PHS then returned to action Saturday in the invite’s Silver Bracket, where it dominated Rawlins 6-0 before closing the tournament with a 2-1, come-from-behind win over Pinedale.

All of the weekend’s matches featured 30-minute halves as opposed to the standard 40.

Following the tough loss at Worland last week, the Lady Panthers’ first-year head coach Jack Haire said he implemented some new drills in practice leading up to the Green River tournament, hoping to improve his squad’s passing game and its communication.

“We really needed to get them playing together as a team again,” Haire said. “So throughout that week of practice we introduced some new drills, and some of them seemed to pay off. It seemed to show in the numbers.”

Powell 2, Rock Springs 0

PHS (4-3) got all of the offense it would need, as both goals came from senior Jourdyn Haire (coach Haire’s daughter). The Lady Panthers attempted just seven shots in the match, but coach Haire said their overall performance was a major improvement from their loss to the Worland Lady Warriors.

“We just moved the ball around really well and took some really nice shots,” the coach said. “The weather was tough — there was slushy snow on the ground, and it was wet and cold, but the girls just battled through it.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Gabby Hirsch also had a bounce-back performance, collecting 18 saves to post her second shutout of the season.

“Fantastic,” coach Haire said of Hirsch. “She did a terrific job.”

Star Valley 2, Powell 0

Against the the top 3A team in the state, the Lady Panthers played what coach Haire said was some of his team’s best defense in the first half before letting the match slip away over the final 30 minutes.

Playing in cold and rainy weather in the late afternoon Friday, PHS shut out Star Valley in the first half, but couldn’t transition its defensive prowess into an offense presence. The Lady Panthers managed just five shots for the duration of the contest, and Hirsch eventually surrendered two second-half scores. She finished with 14 saves.

“It was tough,” coach Haire said. “But we played Star Valley — I thought — tremendously.”

Friday’s action was divided into four different pools, with the teams in each pool being divided into a gold, silver and bronze bracket on Saturday based on pool play record. An odd tie breaker was put into play for Powell, Rock Springs and Star Valley in Pool B after Powell defeated Rock Springs 2-0, Star Valley defeated Powell 2-0 and Rock Springs defeated Star Valley 2-0.

This resulted in a coin flip to determine the team’s bracket destinations. Rock Springs won the flip to enter the gold bracket, and Star Valley won the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lady Panthers to move on to the silver bracket.

“In all my years coaching, I had never seen anything like that ... I don’t think the other coaches or officials had either,” coach Haire said. “It was disappointing ... I really wanted to be in the silver bracket — I thought we deserved to be in the silver bracket — heck, I think we actually deserved to be in the gold bracket.”

Powell 6, Rawlins 0

Whatever disappointment PHS felt heading into Saturday must have been put to good use as the Lady Panthers overwhelmed Rawlins.

Coach Haire made some personnel changes for the game, putting different players in new spots, and what resulted was an offensive outburst.

“I wanted the girls to have fun — I didn’t know anything about Rawlins,” the coach said of his decision. “I don’t know if I’ll do that again, but it worked for one game at least.”

One of those players in an unfamiliar position was senior Delaney Dent, who rewarded her coach’s gutsiness by scoring a goal from the forward position.

Kayla Atkinson, Jourdyn Haire, Tristan Bohlman and Aimee Kawano (two goals) also scored for PHS.

“I wanted the midfielders and the forwards to work together as a unit,” coach Haire added about the switch-up on the field. “And it worked ... we fired 32 shots in the game.”

Hirsch had seven saves in net.

Powell 2, Pinedale 1

In a rematch from PHS’ season opener, the Lady Panthers were forced to rally for a victory in the second half. It was a major change after PHS routed Pinedale 6-0 on March 31.

“Pinedale came out firing on all cylinders. That was an absolute different team than when we played them at home,” Haire said of Pinedale. “They were rough and very tough, and I felt like they wanted to pay us back for shutting them out that first game.”

The Lady Rustlers almost managed to do just that, taking a 1-0 lead into halftime and leaving the Lady Panthers in a state of distress.

“I had quite a few girls crying at halftime — not because they were hurt — but because in sports terms, they wanted to rip someone’s head off — they wanted to win,” coach Haire said. “So I told them to play as a team and told them they’d come out victorious.”

So that’s what PHS did.

In the second half, Priscila Reynoso put PHS on the board with a goal before Jourdyn Haire and her sister — freshman Joey Haire — teamed up for the game-winning tally.

In the 77th minute, Joey Haire was near midfield when she crossed a pass to her sibling. Jourdyn Haire fielded the ball ahead of the defense and went one-on-one with the Pinedale goalkeeper before firing the ball into the left corner.

“As a father and as a coach, it was probably one of my favorite moments ever,” coach Haire said. “I am so confident in them anyways — but to see them gel — it was beautiful to watch.

“There was a toughness they had this weekend ... they truly played as a team. Every game they just played with heart and passion.”

The Lady Panthers totaled 15 shots while Hirsch notched 21 saves. Coach Haire said Hirsch’s strong weekend, in which she allowed just three goals, only cemented the confidence he has in the youngster.

“Gabby Hirsch is a strong young woman — mentally and psychically — and I’m just so proud of her for how she did her job and kept her composure,” coach Haire said. “She’s an incredible young woman.”

PHS travels to Jackson Hole for a 5 p.m matchup Friday before battling Star Valley on the road at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.