Lady Broncs escape Laramie with a win against Lady Plainsmen
Apr. 18—Soccer can be a mystery when the stats are not close to what was on the scoreboard at the end.
The Laramie High girls soccer team executed just about everything they wanted except put the ball in the back of the net in a 1-0 home loss Saturday afternoon to Sheridan.
The Lady Plainsmen outshot the Lady Broncs 15-3 overall and 10-1 on goal inside the University of Wyoming Indoor Practice Facility. Laramie (3-2-1 overall and East Conference) had most of their scoring chances in the first half with eight shots, five on goal.
"We had far too many opportunities we didn't capitalize on, especially in the first half that kept (Sheridan) in the game and their momentum flowing," Laramie coach Justine Tydings said. "We should've put away a few of the opportunities we had."
A lot of the credit for denying Laramie from scoring was the effort from Sheridan junior goalkeeper Libby Gardner, who made five saves in each half.
"As a freshman (in 2019) she was one vote from being all-conference with three seniors ahead of her," Sheridan coach Kevin Rizer said. "She's quality, battled some sickness this week and did a great job."
The game-winning goal came from the only shot on goal for the Lady Broncs (6-3-1, 4-2-1-1) in the 47th minute.
Junior midfielder Hailey Herzog made a short pass from Sheridan's side of the field to senior forward Aria Heyneman on the right sideline. Heyneman turned up the field and raced past a Laramie defender for a breakaway opportunity. Her shot from the top-right part of the 18-yard box went high into the middle of the net.
"Aria is one of our leaders, a senior captain for us and our best player," Rizer said. "We kind of go how she goes — and she went."
Except for that quick burst from Sheridan, the Lady Plainsmen defense was stout for the other 79 minutes, 30 seconds. Other than the goal, Laramie kept Sheridan to one other shot, off frame, in each half.
"I'm really proud of our defense for doing what we need to be doing," Laramie sophomore defender Libby Goodspeed said. "Everyone is really strong back there.
"We had a lot of opportunities we could've capitalized on, but it's nothing we can't fix. I believe in our team and that we can go further."
Laramie pushed the offensive tempo even higher in the final 20 minutes with three shots on goal for a chance at the equalizer, including a free kick from striking distance with 5 minutes left from sophomore defender Alexia Lucero. Lucero scored the game-winning goal on a free kick in Friday's 1-0 win against Campbell County. But all attempts were safely gathered in by Gardner.
With just a minute left, there was a scramble for the ball at the top of the Sheridan box with Gardner venturing out to try to control it, but Laramie's shot went wide of the left post by inches.
"We are getting into a rhythm and I am proud of how they compete until the last whistle. They bring that fire every day," Tydings said. "It's still figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of each team we play and we can best match up with them."
It was the second meeting between the teams during the young season. The first was a scoreless tie after regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods in Laramie's season opener March 26 in Sheridan.
"I want to give credit to Laramie," Rizer said. "They are a class team, and we kind of got away with one I think. Laramie is very good and they always are. Laramie is a great soccer town and when (I coached) on the boys' side, it was the same thing with always a battle against Laramie."
David Watson is the WyoSports assistant editor. He can be reached at dwatson@wyosports.net or 307-755-3327. Follow him on Twitter at @dwatsonsports.
