The Star Valley soccer teams picked up a pair of varsity wins on Monday afternoon as they hosted Evanston. The matches had been rescheduled from a postponement back in March which never had a prayer of taking place due to record setting snowfall and field conditions. 

First up was the Lady Braves who traded scoring opportunities with the Devils for the first 20 minutes before Aubrey Moyer was able to break the scoreless tie with her first of a pair of goals on the day. Just six minutes later, Katie Dandridge sent in a beautiful corner kick which was knocked around the box before being put in on the second ricochet by Kenna Merritt. This put the home team up 2-0, a score which carried into the half.

In the second half, Moyer found the back of the net again as she scored in the 56th minute and a 3-0 Star Valley lead. Dandridge had the assist on the score.

Star Valley’s fourth goal was a bit controversial as Merritt redirected a shot which was met at the line by the Evanston keeper. The center official deemed that the ball crossed the plane, giving Merritt her second goal of the game and putting the score at 4-0 in the 65th minute.

The Devils did avoid the shutout after a Star Valley handball in the box presented them with a penalty kick in the 76th minute. The game ended in a 4-1 final and was the Lady Braves’ second overall win on the season and their first within conference play.

In the boys varsity game, the Braves were looking for a bit of revenge after falling to the Devils in jamboree play in the early days of the 2023 campaign. Star Valley controlled the match but did not nab their first goal until the 26th minute as Jesus Allred beat the defense and the keeper for the score.

Just before halftime, McKell Merritt sent a deep kick hurdling toward the Devil box which was expertly controlled and redirected into the net on a full run by Kayson Haderlie in the 36th minute and a 2-0 halftime lead.

What had been a pleasant outing in terms of weather turned nasty in the early minutes of the second half with rain and sleet pelting the players for the better part of 30 minutes. This didn’t stop freshman Kristoph Bueller from beating the defense in the 51st to give the Braves a controlling 3-0 lead.

Perhaps just trying to let the clock expire, the Devils got a little lazy in the waning minutes as the keeper made an ill-advised pass to a teammate which was picked up and then buried in the back of the net by Kaden Roberts in the 75th minute.  The match ended in a 4-0 final which solidified the Braves as the #5 spot in the conference for the time being.

Both SVHS Soccer teams will be hosting Jackson Hole High School on Wednesday at Braves Field. The varsity boys game is scheduled for 2 pm with the varsity girls at 4 pm. SVI Media will be on hand to stream the varsity games here at svinews.com.