A fast paced start matched with a strong control of the game’s possession helped the Panther boys’ soccer team cruise past the visiting Pinedale Wranglers in their season opener 12-0.

PHS senior Keaton Rowton got things going for the Powell High School team on Saturday, as his finish from a cross put PHS on the board just five minutes into the contest.

The Panthers continued to apply pressure to the Wrangler defense, but were denied by the post multiple times. Powell finally extended its lead midway through the half, as sophomore Gunnar Erickson came off the bench and scored less than a minute after stepping on the pitch.

Erickson did not have to wait long for his next goal, as he scored again just minutes later to extend the lead to 3-0.

Rowton again got in on the scoring with his second goal of the half, giving the Panthers more breathing room.

Junior Cameron Carpenter then scored, after a move along the endline by senior Hawkin Sweeney set up a low driven cross for Carpenter to slot in the goal at the far post.

“Getting to that area and getting it back to the 6-yard box is a high percentage finishing area,” Panther head coach David Gilliatt said. “We have worked on it this week, but it is also something that we have worked on for three years.”

Sweeney opened up his scoring for the 2022 season at the end of the half, as the Panthers took advantage of only one shot by the Wranglers in the first half and led 6-0 at the break.

Powell again started the second half pressuring the Wrangler defense, but was unable to find the back of the net with shots hitting the post, sailing long or going right at the Pinedale goalkeeper.

Rowton eventually capped his hat trick, as he found the back of the net from another cross with 27 minutes left in the game.

The Panther pressure continued, and a low cross from senior Kaleb Brown deflected off a Wrangler defender and found the back of the net to make it 8-0.

But the Panthers were not finished.

Two minutes later Sweeney found the back of the net, and he did not wait long to complete the hat trick. Sweeney stole the ensuing pass back by the Wranglers and scored again just 20 seconds later for his third goal, making it 10-0 for the Panthers.

Later, junior JT Prosser found the back of the net for the first time, and Sweeney again stole the ensuing kickoff and scored for the fourth time — making the final score 12-0 for the hosts.

Powell got on the scoresheet in a variety of ways, including from corners, but Gilliatt feels it’s still an area to improve on, as they scored on only one of their nearly 20 corners.

“In high school you generally don’t see as many finishes on corners as the higher levels,” Gilliatt said. “I would like to see us be more dangerous on them. This year we have a lot of those same people on set pieces and ... I think we have a little more aerial threat than we have in the past.”

WORLAND JAMBOREE

After the home opening conference game, the Panthers will hit the road to take part in the Pinnacle Cup in Worland on Friday and Saturday.

Powell’s first game will be at 1 p.m. Friday against Newcastle.

If the Panthers win, they will advance to the semifinal at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday against either Lyman, Rawlins or Torrington. If the Panthers win both of those games, they will play in the championship at 3 p.m.

Should the Panthers lose in the quarterfinal, they will drop down to the consolation bracket, which begins Friday at 4 p.m. 

Losing in the semifinal would put the Panthers in the third place game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

“Any new team we can play against is a great experience,” Gilliatt said. “Obviously we want to win and get more games in, get more experience, and this is a great opportunity to get more games within a short period of time.”

POWELL 12, PINEDALE 0

Goals — Hawkin Sweeney 4, Keaton Rowton 3, Gunnar Erickson 2, Cameron Carpenter 1, JT Prosser 1

Assists — Garrett Morris 4, Sweeney 3, Chance Franks 3, Kaleb Brown 1