Matt Scoggins Photo
RANGELY | The Lady Panthers played two games this past week with many different girls who had shots on goal. The first home game was played against Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) on Tuesday, April 9. As the teams started to warm up Mother Nature went from being sunny to windy and overcast. This proved to be a force that the lady Panthers had to play against along with their opponent.
As the game started lady Panthers senior Skylar Thacker came with the first score. Sophomore goalie Kacie Lapp had some tremendous saves against CRMS as the team continued to push to score. Our back defenders which consist of seniors Marlena Miller, Paityn Myers, Alanna Wiley along with junior Andrea Knight, and sophomore Shauna Lapp pulled CRMS offsides five times. With this being only the second game for more than half of the team, they stayed focused and never gave up. The girls’ increasing knowledge of the game has improved their skills. The team kept fighting and making their passing count but came up short with a loss to CRMS.
Saturday started early for the lady Panthers with a bus ride at 5:45 a.m. before sunrise to travel to Silt for a 9 a.m. game against Coal Ridge. The field in Silt was covered in snow when the Panthers arrived and the lines for the field were being shoveled off.
As the game started both teams had to make sure their passes were precise since the weight of the snow made the ball heavier than normal. The Panthers came out with the first shot on goal from senior Skylar Thacker only to be stopped by the Coal Ridge goalie, but that didn’t stop the Panther offense. Thacker had the first two goals of the game with nine total shots on goal. Junior Kacie Lapp scored the third goal and had three total shots and sophomore Megan Ward with three shots on goal. The Panther defenders and midfielders had a great game controlling Coal Ridge and pulled them offsides twice. It takes communication along the line to pull this off.
The midfielders—juniors Audrye Patch, Ashlynn Heck, Zoe Sheppard, Andrea Knight, sophomore Kacie Lapp, and freshmen Shuana Lapp, Aspen Low and Norrah Patch—worked well together. Freshman goalie Adelynn Halcomb was a little nervous but played with no fear. The girls keep improving and their hard work is paying off. The girls were excited with the early morning win 3-2 and headed home to get ready for prom. The Lady Panthers have two games this week traveling on Monday to Carbondale and Thursday to Aspen.
Special to the Herald Times
