TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School boys’ soccer team went with 2-1 during a three-game, weekend home stand.
The Blazers got wins over Riverton and Lander Valley but fell in the opener of the three games in overtime to Rawlins.
On Thursday, Torrington dropped the team’s lone 3A East Conference matchup of the weekend 2-1.
Rawlins got on the scoreboard first in the 24th minute of the first half.
“I thought we showed our true age in this game,” THS coach Jeshua Arnusch said. “We are young, and at times, our youth showed. We had some big turnovers, and we didn’t use the middle of the field. We can’t just attack the sidelines because then the defenders get behind the ball and sit goal side on us.”
The score remained 1-0 in favor of the visiting Outlaws until the 60th minute when junior Nate Gutierrez slipped the ball past the Rawlins goalkeeper.
In overtime, Rawlins connected on what proved to be the game-winning goal in the closing moments of the match.
Torrington outshot the Outlaws 29-7.
“They just happened to have two goals bounce in and find their way into our net,” Arnusch said. “We have to shoot better and finish and find some combinations up top and we will be fine.”
The next day, Torrington got a pair of goals from senior Josh Posten and Gutierrez in a 4-1 win over the Riverton Wolverines.
“I was really happy with the way we bounced back tonight,” Arnusch said. “We did a lot better job of holding our shape and switching the fields.”
Posten put the Blazers on the scoreboard in the 25th minute, and Gutierrez backed the score up with a second goal two minutes later.
“I also thought that Nate played awesome, especially on defense,” Arnusch said. “He also had a great volley that was beautiful.”
In the second half, Gutierrez found the back of the net for a second time in the 56th minute.
Six minutes later, Riverton got on the score board, but Posten tallied his second goal of the game in the 75th minute to cap off the victory.
On Saturday, the Blazers rolled to a 5-2 win over the Lander Valley Tigers.
Torrington got two goals from senior Josh Kinglsey and additional scores from Posten, freshmen Chase Miller and Ryan Clapper.
“I was really happy with how we played a counter attacking style tonight,” Arnusch said. “We did a great job of creating opportunities against their back line. I thought Josh Posten and Ryan Clapper did a great job of wearing out their back line.”
The Blazers (5-3 overall and 1-1 in the 3A East Conference) now have some time to work on some things before getting back at it against Scottsbluff on Thursday.
“We get a week to work on some of the things we haven’t focused on yet like throw-ins, shooting and aerial assaults before we play Scottsbluff,” Arnusch said. “They always give us a good game and will be quick. It will be a new kind of challenge for us.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex in Scottsbluff.
