Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
10U Worland Bombers, r-l, Vivian Crawford, Harper Williams, Harper Davis and Laikynn Davila work through a defensive drill while Lady Warriors, l-r, Braelyn Robertson, Brenna Argeris and Reece Sanford and WHS girls soccer coach Danielle Warren look on during a practice with the Worland Lady Warriors soccer team at WHS on May 5. Look to B8 for more photos of the Bombers practice with Lady Warriors.
WORLAND - While they fell just short of pulling off the upset, the Worland Lady Warriors soccer team looks like a team just beginning to play their best soccer.
The Lady Warriors (7-6) went 1-1 in their two games last week. On May 5 in Lander, they lost to No. 2 Lander Valley Lady Tigers (10-3) 3-2, and on May 7, they defeated the Pinedale Lady Wranglers (2-12) 10-1.
Against Lander, the Lady Warriors led at halftime 2-0, but the Lady Tigers scored three goals in the second half, their third goal coming in the game's closing minutes.
"Our defense played great and their ability to hold the line and then even their overlaps coming out of the back," said WHS girls soccer coach Danielle Warren about her team's play in Lander. "Carly Venable and Emma Hunt have been amazing at offering support. I couldn't speak more highly of them, and they did an amazing job. Part of it was weather-related. We did lose our mark, and we weren't marking up, but it was hard to do in the rain."
In the bounce-back win against Pinedale, the Lady Warriors quickly applied the lesson learned from the Lander loss.
Up 5-0 at the half, Worland wasn't satisfied with a 5-0 win. Instead, they wanted to put the game beyond reach and to do that, they'd have to play another 40 minutes with laser focus. Which is precisely what they did.
"The first 65 minutes of the Lander game, they executed everything we've been working on. In the last 20 minutes, there were definitely things to work on. One of the things we worked on going into that Pinedale game was our stamina within the game, and we continued working the whole game. It was 5-0 at the half, and the girls said they needed to score another five. We just wanted to be more focused and on point the whole game," said Warren.
With the final week of the regular season here, the Lady Warriors close things out at home. First, they take on the Powell Lady Panthers today at 4 p.m. and, on Saturday, host the No. 1 Cody Fillies at noon.
As things stand, Worland has clinched their spot for the 3A State tournament and is currently the West No. 4-seed. They can move up to the No. 3-seed by going 2-0 and Mountain View losing one of their three games. Anything short of that, and they'll be locked in the No. 4 spot.
Regardless of seeding, the Lady Warriors are playing some of their best soccer right at the time you need to be at your best.
"That's one thing about the teams I've coached. Going into a state tournament, they're focused and driven and have always played hard at state. This team keeps fighting, and they're working hard all the time, and I love that. I'm excited about this team, and I think the sky is the limit," said Warren.
10U WORLAND BOMBERS
On May 5, the Lady Warriors invited the 10U Worland Bombers girls traveling soccer team to their practice, showing and helping the Bombers through some of the drills they work on in practice each day.
It was an opportunity for the Bombers to see how the high school team practices while allowing the Lady Warriors to share their knowledge about the game.
"I always like to think of my players as the future coaches of America. It's really fun for them to give back to the community and to inspire some of those girls to continue playing soccer. That's something we'll continue to do. It was a lot of fun," said Warren.
