The snow is still lingering but the SVHS Soccer teams are battling through it anyway as they host Evanston in a March 21 contest scheduled for 1 p.m.
Corbin Tolman will be on the call for the match which will be counted toward the conference standings.
Lady Braves compete in Rock Springs
By Dahl Erickson
SVI Media
The Lady Braves soccer team played a pair of matches on Saturday after Friday’s games were canceled in Rock Springs with hazardous road conditions on I-80.
As a result the team played some augmented match-ups as the varsity team tied with Evanston in a 40-minute half and defeated the Laramie junior varsity 2-1. The first match officially was marked as a loss for Star Valley who took the opportunity to play their JV against the Devils in the second half.
The staff was pleased with several parts of the weekend.
“It was really exciting,” stated head coach Jessica Bagley. “We did just one 40-minute half with Evanston and then let the JV have a half. We tied that first game and then won our second game. Laramie scored first and then we came back and scored twice. That’s pretty rare for us to be able to come back and score when we’ve been behind and pick up the win. It was really nice for us to put into play what we’ve practiced. The girls kept increasing their momentum and things started clicking.”
Bagley said the Kylie Moyer scored on a free kick against Evanston with the Devils scoring on a penalty kick.
In the second game against the Plainsmen, Saylor Hurd, a sophomore, scored on a volley in the 6th minute and then Kenna Merritt scored the second goal outside the 18-yard box. Bagley credited the team with making some strides in their mental game.
“A lot of these girls are trying to overcome the obstacle of mental toughness so we’re having some high-pressure practices,” she added. “A lot of them are trying to cope with that situation so we’ve been talking a lot about that. We got some good feedback and we’re continuing to work on playing the way we practice.”
The team will see the Red Devils again this Thursday but will be on the home pitch with junior varsity scheduled for 11 a.m. and the varsity scheduled for 1 p.m.
“We’re excited,” Bagley continued. “We just saw them on Saturday and with that being our first game and them too, it’s nice to try and take back some of those moments we didn’t like in the other match. They had some through balls and they had a lot of really good runs, so for our defense that’s good for us to practice as we go into the match. We have a smart defense we were just green on that first day. Hopefully we’ll have Katie [Dandridge] and Willow [Aullman] back for that match.”
The program will be back in Rock Springs on Friday as they take on the Tigers with a varsity match scheduled for 3 p.m.
