No. 1 Warriors put up double-digit goals again

WORLAND - The first WyoPreps 3A boys soccer poll was released last week, and shocking no one, the Worland Warriors were atop the rankings.

The No. 1-ranked Warriors held a 33-game winning streak going into their April 17 game vs. the Pinedale Wranglers. With their win streak on the line and No. 1-ranking, Worland wasted little time as they controlled the entire 80 minutes as they defeated Pinedale 10-0, extending their winning streak to 34 games.

"We were just anxious to play," said WHS boys soccer Ron Overcast. "It's weird, there are only four weeks left in the season, and we've only played five games so far. The kids were just anxious to get out and play. We're not going to worry about who we're playing. It's the time of the year when we play, we want to make sure that's the best game we've played this season. We talked a lot about the mindset going into this game, and the boys handled it very well."

Warrior Cole Venable had a haul, scoring four of Worland's 10 goals. Court Gonsalez and Yahir Rodriguez had a brace each, and Riley Blood and Gavin Schneider had one goal apiece.

Rudy Sanford led the Warriors with three assists, Gonsalez and Jackson Wassum had two assists each and Carter Clark, JT Klinghagen and Mack Page had one assist apiece.

Keeper Kade Weber had three saves for Worland.

The Warriors game versus Lander was moved to April 27, and that game would have been a better test on the Warriors transition. Still, from what Overcast saw in Pinedale, the Warriors transition from attack to defense to attack looked much better against the Wranglers.

"Our transition looked really good. We tweaked our formation a little bit, and I was really happy. Our center mids played really well against Pinedale. Carter Clark, Jorey Anderson and Court Gonsalez ruled the midfield. That's what we're looking for. We move a couple of people around just to see what or if we can get more dynamic with our attack.

"The adjustments we made after the Powell game are going to pay off for us. We were happy with the effort and the focus for all 80 minutes. It's about taking care of business and being 1-0 after every day," said Overcast. "We came out during the opening whistle and just got after them for the whole game."

Tuesday began a tough portion of the schedule for the Warriors, as they play four games in seven days. Friday's game at 4A Jackson is a non-varsity competition but will still bring its challenges. And while they downed 3A West rival Cody 8-1, moving to 6-0 on the season, they still have conference games against Lyman and Lander to close out this stretch.

"That will be a great learning experience for us. I'm excited to go play Jackson and see where we're at as a soccer team. Then we come back for Lyman, which will also be our Pink Out game, and that's a conference game and another chance for us to get better," said Overcast.

The Warriors host the Lyman Eagles on Saturday at 3 p.m., the game is a Pink Out game, and on Tuesday, they host the Lander Valley Tigers at 5 p.m.