With no returning All-State or All-Conference players from a season ago the Powell Panther boys’ soccer team is hopeful a strong defense mixed with a young, improving midfield and attack can lead them to the state tournament for a seventh straight season.

Despite not returning any postseason honorees the Panthers bring back a significant portion of their defense from a year ago in seniors Landon Hernandez, Trevon Abraham, Jason Medina and Dexter Opps while returning two goalkeepers with varsity experience in junior Ryan Rivas and senior Truett Carter.

That returning experience at the back is something that coach David Gilliatt is hopeful will lead them this season, playing a style that builds up from the back to help generate its attack.

“I’d like to not see us just clear the ball, I want to see us build from the back more and even if that means giving the ball away a couple of times, maybe in bad times, I’d be more comfortable playing it out from the back,” Gilliatt said. “That’s a style that I would like to play. I don’t want to see us clearing plays in a panic from the back … All three of my captains are defensive players, so they’ll have a better view of the field and hopefully be able to direct traffic a little bit more.”

While the Panthers return a number of sophomores and juniors at midfield and forward, they’ll be looking to gain more experience. Several players have contributed to goals including Cody Fisher, Braxton Batt and Ethan Frame, all of whom played significant minutes a year ago.

“I think the challenge will be with the midfield linking up with our attacking players, and then being able to be creative enough to break down defenses,” Gilliatt said. “I think last year we lacked a little bit of offense, and we’ll see this year, it’s probably a little too early to say how we’re going to look against other teams. I would say there’s moments in practices where we’ve looked good … When we scrimmaged yesterday [Thursday], I had some of the more senior players playing together and it actually looked good.”

Gilliatt is hopeful that his attacking players will gain more confidence to trust themselves, and “improvise and adapt to different situations.”

“We can run combination passing in different plays every day in practice, but when it comes down to it, I need them to be able to take in information as much as possible,” Gilliatt said. “Take in information, assess situations and make good decisions on the go and ultimately, that’s what you hope for in life. If you’re a parent, instructor or a coach, you hope that you’re giving them the right tools and the right information to make good choices in life, and ultimately, that’s really what my focus has been on more so far this season.”

This season the Panthers are aiming for another state tournament berth, with the top contenders likely to be defending champion Cody along with Torrington, Lander, Buffalo and Worland.

In the west that means the Panthers will be battling for one of the four state spots against Lyman, Mountain View and Pinedale, as two of those teams will not advance to state after Green River moved up to 4A this season.

“I think all those programs have been improving,” Gilliatt said. “Our goal for the season is to qualify for state, and then just try to do well there, better than we have been.”

He said he wants his team to take more risks, using more creativity from attackers to try and score goals.

“I want to see us take some chances to play it from the back, and I want to see more creative attacks,” Gilliatt said. “I’m just optimistic about what we might be able to achieve this year … If they’re all in, I’m all in. I think we have some pretty high potential just based on what these guys want to put together and how much they want to grow as individuals and as a team.”

The Panthers will stay at home for their opening contest, taking on Newcastle at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Powell then heads on the road Saturday at 4 p.m. to take on Douglas.

“They’re great games to open up with,” Gilliatt said. “It’s similar to going to the Worland tournament in that they’re two games that are nonconference. We get a chance to look at two other teams that we won’t play during the regular season. I think both those teams have gotten a lot better. Douglas has always been a good team. Newcastle has improved a lot.”