WORLAND – The Torrington High School boys’ soccer team opened the season with a 2-1 record at the Pinnacle Cup Tournament hosted by Worland High School.
The Blazers opened the weekend with a 3-0 win over conference foe Rawlins.
“We had a pretty game. Rawlins may not be as strong as they have been in the past,” THS coach Gabe Bartlett said. “We basically handled that game as we should.”
Chase Miller scored twice, and Deagan Keith netted the third goal in the win.
“It could have been more, but we’ll take it for the first game,” Bartlett said. “It was a good way to start the tournament.”
In the semifinal round, No. 3-ranked Torrington fell to No. 2-ranked Powell Panthers 2-1.
It was a match which the Blazers were eyeing and one of the main reasons why they went to the tournament.
“Our kids came out a bit timid. They jumped on us early,” Bartlett said.
Powell jumped on the Blazers 1-0, but Josh Stitt’s equalizer was waved off after being offsides.
The Panthers added a second goal just before halftime, but coming out of the break, Miller scored his third goal of the weekend, cutting the deficit in half.
“We came out and scored right away, and it was basically a slugfest. We had our chances. The difference between us, Powell and Worland is not much. We are right there with them,” Bartlett said. “The kids played hard and played great.”
The loss dropped the Blazers to the third-place match against the Buffalo Bison. Torrington closed out the two-day tournament with a 2-1 win over Buffalo.
In the win, the Blazers were able to switch some things up and take a different approach with a different lineup to see what they could do in a real game situation.
“It was a whole different starting lineup, and they played pretty well,” Bartlett said.
The team used the match as a way to build some depth.
“We controlled that game too,” Bartlett said. “Even the kids who started who normally don’t start did very well against Buffalo.”
Kieser Wolfe and Cole Parriott found the back of the net for the Blazers in the win.
Lady Blazers 0-3 in Pinedale
The Lady Blazers opened the season winless at the girls’ Pinnacle Cup Tournament in Pinedale.
In the opening match of the season, Torrington lost 1-0 in a shootout to the Pinedale Lady Wranglers. Pinedale outshot Torrington 4-3 in the shootout to score the victory.
“We had chances to finish, but we couldn’t quite get there,” Lady Blazer coach Dave Cummings said. “The shootout was what it was. There was some consternation how it unfolded, but in the long run, if we make a couple more plays on the field, we don’t go to the shootout.”
In the consolation side of the bracket, Lyman handed the Lady Blazers a 6-0 loss.
“They were very physical and very disciplined group of girls,” Cummings said.
In the team’s final match of the weekend, Torrington fell to conference foe Rawlins 2-1.
“We had a couple of defensive miscues by some of our returning players that ended up being the difference in the match,” Cummings said.
Jade Brothwell scored the team’s first goal of the season about 18 minutes into the second half, scoring off a direct kick.
Cummings said the tournament was a great learning experience for the Lady Blazers, giving the team some ideas on where they need to improve, especially in the area of conditioning.
“When you go from 3,500 feet to 7,000 feet, that really gives you a firsthand reason why conditioning is so important in this sport,” he said. “Getting to see two teams we would only usually see at the state tournament and one of our conference opponents, it was a very good weekend. All of the girls grew a tremendous amount.”
Both Torrington soccer teams travel to Douglas on Friday, April 1. Varsity girls’ match kicks off at 3 p.m. with the boys to follow at 5 p.m.
