I thought our boys played great defense today. Our throw-in rotations looked so much better. (Junior) Anthony Arnusch and Beaux Shimic did a good job of taking away the middle and (junior) Jace Schlagel and (senior) Carter Blevins had great spacing.”

Coach Jeshua Arnusch

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The Blazers square off against Rawlins at home on Friday, April 11 at 4 p.m.

WORLAND – A long bus ride for the Torrington High School Blazers soccer team culminated in a decisive 2-1 overtime conference victory against the Worland Warriors on Saturday, April 5.

Both teams fought to a 1-1 stalemate at the end of regulation with Torrington scoring one goal in the first half and Worland responding with a goal in the second.

It all came down to the overtime shootout. Torrington opened with three penalty kicks by seniors Elijah Hatch and Kaiden Riggs and junior Beaux Shimic.

Senior goalie Ayden Shimic dove for two saves while a final penalty kick by senior Skyler Thomas clinched the win for the Blazers.

Overall, coach Jeshua Arnusch was pleased with Torrington’s road win.

“I thought our boys played great defense today,” Arnusch said. “Our throw-in rotations looked so much better. (Junior) Anthony Arnusch and Beaux Shimic did a good job of taking away the middle and (junior) Jace Schlagel and (senior) Carter Blevins had great spacing.”

The Blazers dug deep when it mattered for overtime.

“I was very happy with our goalkeeper (Ayden Shimic),” Arnusch continued. “He stepped up and made a few huge saves, especially against Worland in penalty kicks. The sky is the limit for him. He works so hard every day and is extremely coachable. I see gains every day from him, especially in his punting consistency.”

“Skyler Thomas had some great mental toughness,” Arnusch said. “I was happy to see him show up and win the game in penalty kicks after the beating he took during the game. I knew he could step up after sitting out the entire second half. That’s why he is a captain – he leads by example.”

A tenacious Blazer defense shut out Worland in the first half, including nine saves by Ayden Shimic. Schlagel and Riggs cleared the backfield with powerful kicks while Blevins sent the ball back into Worland territory with a header late in the first half.

The Blazer offense kept the pressure on the Warriors’ defense with strikes into Worland’s side of the field and shots on goal by Arnusch, Beaux Shimic and Hatch.

With 4:45 remaining in the first half, Torrington took possession. Sophomore Nathan Lira sent the ball to sophomore Braxton Carlson with a header. Carlson launched a kick straight into Worland’s goal.

“Braxton played his best game of the season,” coach Arnusch said. “His goal was a perfect hit and he has played two solid games in a row. He plays with extremely high IQ next to the sideline.”

Torrington led, 1-0, at halftime.

Worland answered with a penalty kick in the first five minutes of the second half to tie the game, 1-1. 

Ayden Shimic collected seven saves in the remainder of the second half while on offense Hatch and Arnusch both made shots on goal.

Torrington won the overtime shootout, 4-2, to seal victory for the Blazers.

Torrington hosts Rawlins on Friday, April 11 at 4 p.m.

“This should be a tough game,” coach Arnusch said. “We need to improve on our defensive positioning between our midfield and defense. We can’t have big pockets of space. If we can have our outside backs attack the next pass on down the lines defensively, I’ll be very happy.”