With a dominant 4-0 win against Lander last Tuesday, April 29, coupled with a forfeit win over Pinedale on Saturday, the Powell girls’ soccer team locked up a state tournament berth for the third consecutive year.

POWELL 4, LANDER 0

Starting with a matchup against the Tigers (4-4 overall, 2-4 3A West), the Panthers (9-1 overall, 6-1 3A West) were hoping for a better scoreline than the previous 1-0 victory on the road.

Powell controlled possession throughout the first half, creating several chances while limiting the Tigers’ opportunities.

The Panthers finally broke through late in the half, when Jesi Agee received the ball and charged into the box.

“The ladies worked hard to keep possession, and this allowed us to get forward with more numbers and that gave us more quality opportunities around the box,” coach Danny Agee said. “It was an impressive improvement from the previous week.”

She was stopped inside the box after a strong tackle by a Tiger defender before she regained control and with some strong footwork pushed the ball past the keeper and made it 1-0 with 7:06 left in the first half.

Powell took that advantage into the break, but continued with much of the same attack in the second half that paid off in the final 20 minutes.

The second goal came on a long range effort by Ivy Agee, who fired it over the Tiger keeper with 20:43 remaining to make it 2-0.

Agee was not finished, as she added another long range goal with 1:32 left.

Adding insult to injury, she finished her hat trick with just six seconds remaining in the game, putting home a scramble in the box to make the final score 4-0.

POWELL 1, PINEDALE 0

In what was supposed to be the final home game of the season the Panthers were set to host the Wranglers (0-9 overall, 0-6 3A West) on Saturday.

Unfortunately, due to unavailability of Wrangler players they were unable to field a team and a 1-0 forfeit was awarded to the Panthers.

“It was a bummer not getting to play our senior day game as the ladies were really looking forward to the opportunity to play in front of family,” coach Agee said. “We are also trying to work to fine tune things before going to state so it was an unfortunate ordeal all around.”

That win guaranteed the Panthers had enough separation between themselves and fifth place to lock up a state tournament berth in Gillette in two weeks, with the Panthers fighting for a top two spot against rival Cody which handed the Panthers their only loss of the season.

LONG ROAD TRIP

Powell now heads on the road after taking the weekend off from competition, allowing the Panthers to get some rest and recovery before heading into the final stretch of the season.

“We have definitely been battling some injuries and some sickness, so the rest was useful for giving the ladies some time to recover. Hopefully we are able to hit it hard this week going into the final stretch before state,” coach Agee said.

The road trip starts in Mountain View at 3 p.m. on Friday, taking on the Buffalos (3-4 overall, 2-4 3A West), a team that Powell defeated at home 3-0 earlier this season.

Powell then takes on the Lyman Eagles (3-4 overall, 2-4 3A West) at 10 a.m. on Saturday, a team the Panthers defeated 9-1 at home.

“I think the main focus is to keep the team compact in our attack by keeping possession up top but also trying to be a little more patient in the attack to build up for higher probability shots,” coach Agee said. “The top teams can capitalize on easy turnovers so its important to try and limit them as much as possible.”

3A WEST STANDINGS

Wins earn three points, teams earn an extra point if tied at the end of regulation and lost in a shootout. Overall record then conference record

1. Cody — 10-1, 30 points; 7-0, 21 points

2. Powell — 9-1, 27 points; 6-1, 18 points

3. Lyman — 3-4, 10 points; 2-4, 7 points

4. Mountain View — 3-4, 10 points; 2-4, 7 points

5. Lander — 4-4, 12 points; 2-4, 6 points

6. Pinedale 0-9, 0 points; 0-6, 0 points