Warriors continue dominance

WORLAND - May 18, 2019, was the last time the Worland Warriors soccer team took the field. In that game, the Warriors dominated Powell on their way to a second straight 3A State title. Jump ahead to March 20 of this year, and the Warriors dominance on the pitch has not missed a beat.

The Warriors defeated the 4A Sheridan Broncs 4-1 in their season-opening match last Saturday at Worland High School.

"That was a really great game for our first game in 22 months," said WHS boys soccer coach Ron Overcast. "There are things that need to be fixed, and we need to find some depth at positions. We played 70 minutes of that game, not 80. When we've got teams down, we can't let them get back up and even give them hope. But, it was a good win against a good, young Sheridan squad."

Wings Rudy Sanford and Cole Venable made life miserable for the Sheridan defense as both scored two goals apiece.

From the start of the game, the Warriors were in control, and Venable nearly scored the season's first goal in the game's opening minute.

Helping fuel Worland's attack was their midfielders and backline players. When Sheridan had possession, it wasn't for very long as a Warrior was right there to win the ball back.

The Warriors center-backs JT Klinghagen and Renaldo "Yahir" Rodriguez were stone walls against the Sheridan attack.

"We've got some really dynamic players. Our back four, Court Gonsalez at holding, those guys were studs today. Kolter [Wyman], JT, Yahir, [Jackson] Wassum and Court played so well and made things difficult on Sheridan. I expect big things from them all season long. We're really solid there. We've just got to create depth and get some guys coming off the bench to get some guys a rest," said Overcast. "Jorey [Anderson] played outstanding, but we just can't run these guys into the ground, they have to have some breaks."

Worland's ability to control possession led to opportunities for Sanford and Venable. And while the season started well, there's still room for improvement for this team.

"That back five were good [Saturday] I can't say enough good things. I thought Mack Page had an outstanding game, even though he didn't score. He was keeping their sweeper occupied the entire time, and then you have Rudy and Cole coming off those edges on the attack. We could finish better, but it was a great start to the season with all the new pieces.

"People would ask me what to think, but I didn't know what to think. Every team has to find their identity and figure out their DNA, and we've still got to do that. Part of that is closing out the game, and that was the only drawback to this game. Granted, we were up 4-0, but we've still got to finish those games out," said Overcast.

While they weren't tested too much, Worland's keepers, Trae Bennett and Kade Weber, had their moments during their time on the field.

"We're breaking in two new keepers back there in Kade Weber and Trae Bennett. I thought Kade had a really good game and Trae did there too, the one goal wasn't his fault," said Overcast. "We'll continue to work on closing out games, and we've got to get a little bit better in switching the point of attack. It's the first game of the year, and you're going to have things to work on. That's the good part, we won 4-1, and we can still get better."

The 2020 was season canceled due to COVID, but Saturday's win allowed Worland to extend their winning streak to 30-games.

Next, Worland prepares for a road contest against the Riverton Wolverines on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Riverton High School.