Neither team expected the conditions on Friday, and blustery conditions stifled both Cody and Powell girls’ soccer teams throughout their game. The Panthers lost the home contest to their rivals 5-0 as the season quickly approaches its end.

Early in the contest, both teams were frustrated by the wind, as any clearances by Cody (9-0, 8-0 3A West) blew back to the same spot and Powell (3-9 overall, 2-7 3A West) was unable to find a ball over the top.

Cody finally settled in, as the Panthers continued to struggle to find extended spells of possession despite playing in the Fillies’ half of the field for brief periods of time.

After being held scoreless for more than half of the first half, Cody got a breakthrough after a solo effort up the left wing ran past the Panther defense and found the back of the net.

Powell again tried to find a ball over the top from junior goalkeeper Taylor SanFillipo to freshman Kenna Cannon, but they were unable to find the right formula with the wind at their backs.

“Friday’s weather was challenging for both teams, but I told our girls ‘Why not take the wind at our backs and go for it,’” Panther girls’ coach Kaitlin Loeffen said.

Cody added another goal before the half, as it found the back of the net off a good passing effort up the right wing and got poked past SanFillipo to make it 2-0.

“I thought our girls did a nice job adjusting to the ‘ever changing’ ball as Cody attacked. We covered the give and go better this time around but need to continue to find marks quickly,” Loeffen said.

In the second half, the wind kept the Panthers from advancing out of its half for a large majority of the half.

Cody took advantage of Powell, as it struggled to get the ball out of its end on constant goal kicks.

Cody added its third goal of the game after a penalty kick was called, and SanFillipo guessed right but was unable to save the shot.

The Fillies continued their press, but they were unable to get their shots down to extend their lead for a majority of the half.

Cody added a fourth goal with 17 minutes left, and the final goal was added with 8:30 left as the Fillies pushed past the Panthers 5-0.

“I am continuously proud of our defense,” Loeffen said. “We adjusted our formation to have two stoppers in the back, Kabrie [Cannon] and Emily [Orr] did an outstanding job limiting Cody’s chances.”

FINAL HOME GAMES

Powell has two more opportunities in front of its home crowd, as it heads into two key games on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday at 4 p.m. kicks off the week against Lyman (3-8 overall, 2-6 3A West) as the Panthers try to get revenge on senior night after the Eagles defeated Powell 2-1 in the final minute in April.

On Friday, Powell takes on Mountain View (6-2 overall, 5-2 3A West) at 4 p.m. as the Panthers try to make a last second push toward the state tournament.

“I hope we have a solid week of practice and fine tune the areas we have seen growth this year,” Loeffen said. “I hope the girls enjoy playing the game as much as I do coaching. With limited wins, it can be easy to lose sight of why we play.”

After the two home games, the regular season wraps up next week in Worland on Thursday.