Lady Panthers now face Newcastle with Class 3A state berth on the line

The Powell High School girls soccer team has improved their defense, but with the biggest match of their season thus far on the horizon, the Lady Panthers will likely need to see the same improvements on offense.

Following 2-0 and 3-0 shutouts at the hands of No. 1 Jackson Hole and No. 3 Star Valley high schools on Friday and Saturday, respectively, PHS (6-10) has been blanked in five of their last six contests while going 1-5 in that stretch. Powell head coach Jack Haire is hoping the Lady Panthers can reverse that trend in time for their Class 3A State play-in game against Newcastle (6-7) at 5 p.m. Friday in Worland.

“Me and (assistant) coach (Stan) Hedges are going to keep working on the same drills that we’ve been doing with the girls,” Haire said. “We’re going to work on the give and go’s, the 1-and-2 touch ... standing around doesn’t work.

“Honestly, [Newcastle’s] numbers look pretty good. I’m preparing for a very tough game. I’m letting our team know this isn’t the Newcastle of old, maybe. We’re going to be in for a tough game.”

Star Valley 3, Powell 0

The Lady Panthers enjoyed a 2-1 upset of then-ranked No. 1 Star Valley on April 25 in Afton, but were unable to match that success on Saturday.

The Lady Braves scored the only goal they would need in the ninth minute when Kenedey Brog went stride-for-stride with PHS’ Delaney Dent, only to pull up and sneak a shot past her and Lady Panthers goalkeeper Gabby Hirsch. The score remained 1-0 until halftime, but even with the small deficit, Haire said something was off for his team.

“At halftime, it’s 1-0, and we felt like we were still in the game. But we felt like we were still missing something,” Haire said. “We didn’t know what it was and we didn’t know how to fix it.”

Star Valley (9-4) added an insurance goal in the 47th minute on Desa Inskeep’s cross kick. The Lady Braves finished up the scoring in the 56th minute.

Haire said he felt his team played a good game, but gave credit to Star Valley head coach Sandy Buckstaff’s gameplan to eliminate PHS’ forwards from their offensive equation.

“The Star Valley coach shut down Jourdyn (Haire) and shut down Aimee (Kawano),” Haire said. “That hurt us.”

The Lady Panthers managed just seven shots for the game. Hirsch made 24 saves.

Jackson Hole 2, Powell 0

PHS limited the top-ranked team in the state to just two goals after previously falling to Jackson Hole 4-0 on April 24.

The Lady Panthers got a tough break when Hirsch blocked a Lady Broncs shot, only to see Elizabeth Perry fire the deflection in for a score in the 28th minute. PHS’ defense then held Jackson (11-1) scoreless until the 68th minute, when Julie Cervantetz fired a score near the top of the PHS box into the right corner past Hirsch.

“They played a really solid game. And Jackson really has a good program,” coach Haire said. “I’m so proud of how the girls played. The defense, in my opinion, shut them down.”

Haire did not have stats for his team.