Lady Plainsmen open home slate with win against Lady Camels

Apr. 17—The difference came down to the smaller battles all over the field, and one 45-yard blast from a free kick.

The Laramie High girls soccer team battled Campbell County for the entire 80 minutes Friday afternoon inside the University of Wyoming's Indoor Practice Facility and held on after a late rally by the Lady Camels for a 1-0 win.

It was the season's home opener for the Lady Plainsmen, which improved to 3-1-1 overall and in East Conference action. Campbell County dropped to 2-5 overall and 2-2-0-1 in the East. It was the second meeting between the teams after a close 1-0 Laramie win in overtime on March 27 in Gillette.

Both teams are just outside the top five and received votes in this week's first WyoPreps.com Coaches and Media Poll for the season.

The game-winning shot for Laramie was unassisted on a free kick from the right side of the field by sophomore defender Alexia Lucero in the 57th minute. She thumped the ball high in the air from a distance that snuck just inside the upper left corner of the netting. There was not much Lady Camel freshman goalkeeper Onna Castellanos could do to stop it.

"I've been practicing those for a while now," Lucero said. "I knew I had to hit that (free kick) because I had one before (in the game) and missed it for a goal-scoring opportunity. At first I thought I missed it, but it made me so happy when I realized it went in and it felt so good to have my first high school goal."

Lucero's first free kick chance was during the first half in the 20th minute from 35-yards out that was corralled by Castellanos, who made seven saves in the game.

The physicality of the game helped set up the free kick — a total of 11 fouls against the Lady Camels and six against the Lady Plainsmen. The tone of the game was also set in motion with both teams vigorously trying to win the individual battles to either gain or maintain possession of the ball.

"We were struggling as a team just trying to connect the passes because we were equally matched in the game," LHS senior midfielder Macie Carlson said. "So it was just fighting to get possession back and keep it on and on for the whole game.

"It was physical and we had to be strong in this game, which is something we haven't done as well in the past. It was good to see we could play strong, get the 50/50 balls and work hard as a team.

"(The win) was well-earned. We worked really hard, prepared for this and it was really good to see us come out with a win."

First-year LHS coach Justine Tydings echoed Carlson's thoughts about the importance of the physical play in the large expanse of the field between the boxes.

"We went into this game with an emphasis on 50/50 balls," Tydings said. "I was super proud of the team as a whole when they took command of that (pregame) goal and did a really nice job with it. For me, I thought that was the difference in the game — winning 50/50 balls."

Both halves were nearly a carbon copy of each other, with Laramie applying most of the offensive pressure early and midway through, and Campbell County ending each half with its best scoring chances.

In the 32nd minute before halftime, Lady Camel freshman Sydnee Steitz had a free kick from 30 yards out clang off the crossbar.

With less than 5 minutes left in the game, Campbell County freshman Aubry DeWine had a low shot from left of the box to the near post that was scooped up by Laramie senior goalkeeper Madeline Bershinsky, who made three total saves.

Then in the final minute, DeWine received the ball for a breakaway scoring opportunity with only Bershinsky left in front of her, and her shot sailed high.

Laramie outshot Campbell County 15-7 overall, and 8-3 on frame. The Lady Plainsmen had two corner kicks; the Lady Camels had one.

"The biggest thing is that (the defense) was organized and they know exactly what is expected of them," Tydings said. "They didn't panic even though there were some scary moments. That's good, and says a lot about their character and composure."

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.