On the first bright day in weeks in Afton the sun was definitely shining on the SVHS soccer teams as they picked up a pair of wins over visiting Green River on Thursday, April 18.
In the girls varsity match the Lady Braves struggled to put together any type of offensive push in the first half as the Wolves peppered the Star Valley frame only to be turned away by the defense and keeper Josie Currie who finished the match with 13 saves.
After a scoreless first half, Star Valley’s second half tone was much more aggressive which resulted in the game’s first goal from Katie Robinson in the 50th minute.
Leading 1-0, the Lady Braves struck again as Emma Thomson put in a goal in the 60th minute. Green River did not pout and slashed the lead in half just a handful of minutes later with Ellie Kettering scoring for the Wolves in the 64th minute.
The Lady Braves were able to fend off the rest of Green River’s shots and also had a Chloe Thomson goal disallowed on a late offsides call to win the match 2-1.
In the boys match, the Braves were up against one of the hottest teams in 4A as the Wolves were coming off an impressive victory over top-rated Kelly Walsh but that momentum was gone nearly as soon as the teams stepped on to the Afton pitch. Green River was called for a foul in the box in just the 3rd minute and Star Valley senior Gerson Lozano easily scored on the penalty kick.
Lozano, Star Valley’s all-time leading goal-scorer, continued his torrid pace as he scored the game’s second goal in the 28th minute on an incredible free kick from approximately 40 yards out which beat the Green River keeper top shelf. Lozano recently signed alongside former teammate Noah Hutchinson to play for Central Wyoming College in Riverton next season.
On the other end of the field it was Star Valley’s keeper, Alek Lawson, who made a fistful of amazing saves in the opening minutes of the match to keep the Wolves off the scoreboard.
In the second half sophomore Brant Nelson battered though the Green River defense in the 46th minute to put the Braves up 3-0 which prompted a protest from the visiting sideline and a brief officials meeting. The goal stood as did the lead.
Finally, junior Cael Degado put in the game’s fourth goal late in the match in the 76th minute for a 4-0 Star Valley victory. Lawson finished with eight saves in goal including several heroic efforts against a very athletic Green River squad.
Look for more information on this match in the April 24, 2019 edition of the Star Valley Independent.
Both Star Valley soccer teams will be on the home turf again as they host Rock Springs on Saturday, April 20, with the varsity girls match beginning at 11 a.m. and the varsity boys match scheduled for 1 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast by SVI Media at SVInews.com.
