Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
3A State qualifier match vs. Newcastle Saturday at 2 p.m. at Worland High School
Lady Warrior Casey Wassum takes a shot on goal while teammate Brooke Seidel looks on during a May 5 match against Douglas at Worland High School.
BUFFALO - The final match of the 2017 regular season turned into a nightmare for the Worland Lady Warriors Tuesday night at Buffalo High School.
Tuesday's matchup between the Lady Warriors and Lady Bison, who are both tied for third in the final WyoPreps 3A girls soccer rankings, was a 5-1 rout in favor of the Lady Bison.
For WHS girls soccer coach Danielle Warren her team's loss to Buffalo felt similar to their 6-2 loss to the Cody Fillies last year which was also toward the end of the regular season.
"It reminded me of our game last year against Cody," said Warren. "I was impressed with some of our individual efforts but for the whole game we were reacting to Buffalo. At halftime we talked about transitioning as a unit. We need everyone stepping toward a player when they have the ball. We were leaving Buffalo wide open in the middle and that really hurt us."
Buffalo used their physical style of play to wear down Worland and ultimately control the match.
"It was a physical game and the girls were getting upset that they weren't calling anything but like I told them we can't control the refs only how we play. Buffalo played very aggressive and outhustled us, and that's their mentality when they play us. They rough us up to try and break us down and it worked on Tuesday," said Warren.
A loss like Tuesday's this late in the season might lead some to hit the panic button for the Lady Warriors but last season they were in a similar situation after their Cody loss, yet rallied to make the 3A championship match. It's because of this that Warren still has faith in her team and knows they have what it takes to make another run to the championship.
"I have all the faith in this team and they will go as far as they believe. They are a phenomenal team and right up there with the best of them. They're well-conditioned, have the talent, the high soccer IQ and the talent to be among the best," said Warren.
One silver lining from Tuesday's loss could be the bulletin material that the Lady Bison provided for the Lady Warriors. After the match Buffalo could be heard saying "Here comes the state championship ladies!" If each team takes care of business the two can meet up in the semifinals of the 3A state tournament in Sheridan May 18-20.
"When Buffalo made that comment at the end of the game and wrote us off it added salt to the wound and I think that's going to be good motivation for the girls as we start the postseason," said Warren. "They're a competitive bunch and they can come back from this."
Next for the Lady Warriors will be the 3A girls state qualifier against the Newcastle Lady Dogies at noon Saturday at Worland High School.
With the start of the postseason the Lady Warriors will look to impose their will on each and every match.
"The only way to win in soccer is to play as a unit and a team. We need to stop reacting to teams and start dictating our style of play on the game," said Warren.
