The Star Valley soccer teams hosted the top-ranked Jackson Lady Broncs and Broncs on Tuesday in what continues to be an extremely tough 4A West Conference slate. The local players were just three days removed from hosting #2 Kelly Walsh from this past Saturday and now have two more matches coming up before the weekend. Rankings are from the latest Wyopreps.com Coaches and Media Poll.
Lady Broncs: 11 Lady Braves: 0
On paper the two teams have a huge gap in the standings and that is how the match played out in Afton. Jackson improved to 9-1-1 on the season while the Lady Braves fell to 0-10 and have now lost 32 straight matches dating back to 2024.
The Lady Broncs scored four times in the first 20 minutes of the match and led 6-0 at the intermission. Senior Taylor Moe started off the scoring with a goal in the 13th minute which was quickly followed by a score from Ruby Hoelscher in the 14th. Sophomore Taryn Moe capitalized on a deft corner kick opportunity in the 17th minute and then Hoelscher added a 50-yard cannon shot goal on a free kick in the 19th. The younger Moe added a header goal from another corner kick in the 23rd before Metta Cuzon closed out the first half with a goal off yet another corner kick in the 36th.
In all, the Lady Broncs compiled 17 corner kicks and 44 shots on goal. The Lady Braves finished with four shots on goal and one corner kick.
In the second half, Moe completed the hat trick with her third goal in the 42nd minute followed by Hoelscher matching the hat trick in the 45th. Shiloh Thompson added another in the 48th before Lily Steinberg scored on rebound goals in back-to-back opportunities in the 61st and 63rd.
Cara Andrews started in goal with four saves before transitioning to field play. Wendy Ponce appeared in goal and displayed some fearless athleticism while compiling 15 saves against the Jackson onslaught.
Broncs: 8 Braves: 0
Despite a gutsy effort by the Star Valley squad and their goalkeepers, they were under fire for a full 80 minutes against a Broncs squad that peppered the net with 48 shots on goal that ultimately led to eight scores.
Kyrem Berestain-Martinez started off the scoring in the 5th minute before collecting a nifty assist to Liam Logan in the 23rd. Two minutes later, Ricardo Aguillar made the score 3-0 off a corner kick opportunity. The Broncs scored off a corner kick again in the 35th minute off a goal from Gonzalo Perez-Gutierrez and a 4-0 halftime tally.
Trenton Nelson finished with seven first-half saves for the Braves in goal.
The second half was an even more intense push by the Jackson offense who had 32 of their 48 shots on goal in the last 40 minutes. Will Collins finished with 11 saves as the Star Valley defense battled with multiple deflections. Jackson’s Grady Lewis scored in the 58th and the 79th for a pair of goals while Martinez added another in the 70th. Finn Beninga scored in the 71st.
The Braves finished with two shots on goal against the Jackson defense. The Broncs improved to 10-0-1 while the Braves fell to 1-8-1.
Star Valley will be on the road for Thursday matches in Evanston before returning home to host Riverton High School on Friday, May 1. Varsity matches are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. with streaming links at svinews.com and on the SVI Media YouTube channel.
