WORLAND – The Torrington High School Blazers roared into the 2024 spring season, capturing second place at the annual Pinnacle Cup hosted by Worland from March 22-23.
Kicking off the tournament against Newcastle, Torrington cruised past the Dogies, 6-0, in the opening game. Advancing to the semifinals, the Blazers defeated Green River in a tie-breaking shootout, 2-1.
Torrington found itself in the championship game against the defending state titleholder, the Worland Warriors. Worland prevailed following two neck-and-neck halves by a single point, 3-2.
“The Pinnacle Cup was a great weekend for Torrington and a good way to start the season,” coach Gabe Bartlett said.
Torrington controlled the scoreboard in both halves against the Newcastle Dogies. A solid Blazer defense completely shut out Newcastle while the Torrington offense scored six goals.
“We got off on the right footing against Newcastle,” Bartlett said. “This was a good game to start the tournament.”
Green River proved a tougher nut to crack. Halftime found Torrington and Green River locked in a scoreless stalemate. Both teams kicked in a single goal in a physical second half to reach a 1-1 deadlock at the end of regulation.
Refusing to throw in the towel, the Blazers won the overtime shootout, 8-7, with goals by juniors Kaiden Riggs and Elijah Hatch, sophomore Anthony Arnusch, junior Skyler Thomas, senior Greysen Shields, sophomores Beaux Shimic and Jace Schlagel and senior Leo Belli.
Junior goalie Ayden Shimic made one crucial save on a penalty kick by Green River.
“Green River is a talented team, one of the top teams in the state,” Bartlett said. “We went down (early) in the second half, but the boys didn’t give up and came back to tie the game up at the end.”
The Blazers progressed to the championship game against the Worland Warriors. Worland won the first half, 1-0. Undaunted, Torrington battled back to match the Warriors in scoring, 2-2, during a tight second half.
“We were down in the first half, but in the second half (against Worland), we dominated the field with a new formation,” Bartlett said.
Overall, Bartlett was pleased with the Blazers’ performance at the tournament.
“I talked to the boys afterwards and we realized that we can beat any opponent in the state,” Bartlett added. “Our defense is solid. Our midfield is solid and we are changing our offense up. We also did well in set pieces, including corner kicks.”
Hatch led scoring for the Blazers over the weekend, netting three goals. Arnusch, senior Adam Bartlett and Thomas each contributed two goals to Torrington’s cumulative total.
Arnusch delivered five assists during the three games, with Hatch making two assists and Thomas one.
Ayden Shimic posted 17 saves on 21 total shots.
