Panthers now 3-6 this season

On the road and with its reserve goalie in net, the Powell High School boys soccer team was unable to surpass .500 for the first time this season.

Due to a high school band commitment, regular goalkeeper and junior Sean Wagner was unable to make PHS’ trips to Class 3A’s No. 1-ranked Jackson Hole and Star Valley on Friday and Saturday, respectively. That left sophomore Owen Dent in goal for his first two varsity starts, and at times the youngster performed “lights out,” said Panthers head coach Travis Rapp. Unfortunately, the offense behind Dent was unable to do the same as PHS fell to 3-6 on the season.

Jackson Hole 4, Powell 0

One week after suffering an 8-0 blowout loss to the Broncs, the Panther defense managed to cut the JHHS offensive production in half on Friday.

Jackson tested Dent early, and got to the Panther keeper early in the game.

“[Dent] missed a save that he would normally make 10 minutes in, but I’d attribute that to nerves of playing Jackson for the first time,” Rapp said. “In the second half he made a save on a shot in the upper right corner that not many keepers could make. We’re lucky to have two phenomenal keepers.”

PHS held Jackson close, and trailed just 2-0 late in the contest, but in the 72nd minute, the Panthers allowed what Rapp called two “garbage goals” that accounted for the final.

“The guys played a very controlled game,” Rapp said. “We showed Jackson something a little different, possessed much better and held them to a 2-0 game until the 72 minute.

“All in all, really pleased with the effort and style of play the guys had in the game. They proved to themselves that they can play with anyone in the state.”

Dent finished with 10 saves.

Aside from Dent's strong play, another bright spot for the Panthers came from two more of Rapp’s inexperienced players. Freshman Jace Smith and sophomore Josh Schuler “man-marked” Jackson’s star senior Juan Morillon and more than held their own against the 2014 All-State and All-Conference player.

“They completely shut him down for 30 plus minutes,” Rapp said.

Star Valley 4, Powell 1

The Panthers battled back from a 1-0 halftime deficit, but three second-half goals sank PHS in Afton.

After the Braves scored on a swap shot in the first five minutes of play, the PHS defense held strong before its offense finally broke through in the 44th minute. Freshman Brian Crawford fielded a deflection from a shot by sophomore T.J. Abraham and netted it to tie the game.

But, Star Valley responded a minute later to take the lead for good before adding a pair of insurance goals.

“The guys came out and were very sluggish. You could tell that they played a late game the night before (7 p.m. kickoff) in Jackson, then rode a bus down in the morning,” Rapp said. “[We] did a lot of chasing in the first 20 minutes, lost our shape, went away from our identity and didn’t possess.”

Rapp said his team eventually generated some opportunities, including a backside look for junior Alex Aguirre and several chances on senior Heston Swenson’s long throw-ins, but PHS never found a way to crack the goal line.

Rapp added that a rough field did the Panthers no favors, but that at the end of the day, Star Valley appeared hungrier for a victory.

“We had to play on their grass, which wasn’t ideal, real slick, lots of dips. Guys had trouble getting and keeping their footing. TJ had a couple chances erased by slipping on the field,” Rapp explained. “Star Valley played like they wanted it more than we did. We let two goals go in backside.”

Dent collected 14 saves in goal.

Powell stays home Friday for a 6 p.m. battle with Buffalo before traveling to Class 3A Northwest Conference foe Cody on Saturday for a noon showdown.