The accolades and achievements keep piling up for Warriors

WORLAND - The 2022 boys soccer season ended with the Worland Warriors hoisting their fourth consecutive 3A State championship and improving their unbeaten streak to 67 straight games.

The Warriors closed out the season with a 17-0-1 record, their 17th win coming in the 3A State title game, where they defeated the Torrington Trailblazers 7-0.

Adding to their state championship run, the Warriors also had four players named to the All-State tournament team: Jorey Anderson, Court Gonsalez, Cole Venable and Jackson Wassum.

Venable was named the 3A senior player of the year and Gonsalez the 3A underclassman player of the year.

Anderson, Gonsalez, Venable and Wassum also made the 3A West All-Conference team.

Along with winning the state championship, the unbeaten streak and all the individual accolades, there are many impressive highlights that the Warriors pulled off this season. It's just a matter of where to start. For instance, the Warriors scored 18 goals and only allowed one goal during their three-game state tournament run.

That 18-1 scoring margin for the Warriors is their best mark in program history. For reference, the Warriors past three state tournament scoring margins went like so, 2018: 6-0, 2019: 11-0 and 2021: 13-0.

For the whole season, Worland scored 126 goals and only allowed 10. The goals scored and goal differential (+116) are also the best in program history, beating out the '21 team, which scored 121 goals and allowed seven goals.

Venable led Worland in goals with 53, Court Gonsalez was second with 21, Evyn Ruelas scored 11, Kolter Wyman nine, Carter Clark seven, Anderson seven, Omar Deniz six, Riley Blood three, Owen Page two, Koby Busch two and Tim Hamer, Jackson Wassum, Masen Decker and Trae Bennett one apiece.

Gonsalez led the Warriors in assists with 39, Venable was second with 22, Gavin Schneider 11, Wyman nine, Anderson nine, Clark seven, Wassum six, Deniz six, Blood five, Page four, Ruelas three, Tyson Swalstad one, Busch one and Ryan Deniz one.

The 53 goals scored by Venable in his final season as a Warrior put his career total at 102 goals, which was done in three seasons as the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID.

"Cole has put in so much work. People don't necessarily know. If we're not going to an offseason tournament, he's going with Jackson to play in a tournament. He plays all the time and has a goal in his backyard, and works at it every day.

"The big difference with Cole this year from previous years is that Cole got in the weight room this year," said WHS boys soccer coach Ron Overcast. "He didn't get moved off the ball very easily. His strength paid off. He works hard in practice, and he's just a likable kid."

And for all the impressive stats and individual accolades put up by the many Warriors this season, all that the team was focused on was winning. Many of the Warriors described the team as a family, and all of them were determined to contribute and lift up the family in any way they could.

"It's really been an amazing ride," said senior Koby Busch. "We're just a huge family, and that's why we broke every huddle saying 'Family.' We're just a big family, and that's what made us special and helped us improve every day. Everybody loves each other, and it's just a special team."

Added Overcast, "That's really the cool part about this team, how good of friends they are. They do everything together and part of what makes us so good. When they broke the huddle, they broke it with family. It is a family, and we have each other's backs, and we wanted to make this year very special."

Getting to that fourth straight title took a lot of work on the Warriors part. While they returned most of their attack from the previous season, their defense, specifically the back line had to be rebuilt.

This is where the Warriors worth ethic and selflessness came into play, yet again. Even late in the season, players who were willing to play where Overcast and his staff asked and played to the best of their abilities.

Led by Anderson, Wassum, Trae Bennet and Riley Blood, the Worland defense was just as dominant as it ever was during this four-year run.

"Trae has worked so hard. He does a ton of the offseason stuff, and you saw that come to fruition this year in his game. I think Trae is possibly the best center back in the conference. Riley was having a tremendous season, but two anda half weeks before state starts, he has to have his appendix taken out. We moved Jorey back to that spot, and when Riley came back, we moved him to the outside. That really shored up our back four at state.

"That's the cool part about this team," said Overcast. "They were focused on winning as a team, and guys were willing to make sacrifices for the team. Whatever it took to make the team stronger, it ended up paying off for us."

Added Blood, ""It was a grind all offseason. We had a bunch of guys working during fall soccer and indoor soccer, trying to fit in for our defensive players that we lost and striker, but we figured it out."

Playing on the back line for Wassum came down to contributing to the team any way he could, "I just love to play. I'll play wherever Ron puts me, I'd play goalie if he asked me to. I just love to play the game and would do anything it takes to be out here," he said.

This four-year run by the Warriors has been unreal and felt like something pulled from a movie, even for the players who helped make it happen.

"It's surreal. I think it's just a lot of dedication and hard work by the players on the field," said Cole Venable. "It's been a whirlwind. I'm so thankful for the opportunities I've had, the coaches who have coached me and the players I got to play alongside. I couldn't be happier for my experience as a high school player."

But for all the surrealness of this streak, it's something that many of the Warriors are proud of and appreciative to have played a part in it.

"It's something special that you get to be a part of and lucky to come up in such a great program," said Jorey Anderson. "We came in as freshmen, and they were already successful. We all wanted to be successful and bought in and did whatever it took to maintain that success. A great coaching staff made it possible too. No one cared about stats, we just wanted to win and get a state championship. We had fun, and it's just a crazy feeling."

The four consecutive state championships and unbeaten streak have brought their fair share of adversity for the Warriors. Since that first title in 2018, there hasn't been a game where Worland hasn't seen a team's best effort.

Dealing with that level of pressure from game to game and still coming out on top is a testament to the Warriors perseverance.

"Sometimes it's overwhelming, I don't even know what to say. It's an incredible run. A team will be hard-pressed to put together what we've put together since 2018. But that's another thing that's underappreciated, the pressure that's on this program and these boys. To know every game you're going to get the other team's best shot and for these boys to handle that pressure and stay focused is really impressive," said Overcast

"We just had to keep on grinding and grinding. It led us here, and it's been an epic journey. I just think our culture really defines us and keeps us dominating these teams. We're ready for anything that comes at us," said Busch

This year's Warrior seniors closed out their careers with another state championship and never lost a game during their Warrior soccer careers.

"These seniors kept working and working. They won a state title their senior year. I think why I was hard on them was because I was worried they were complacent, and at times it felt like we were getting bored with the regular season. I didn't want them to think that we could just flip a switch, and they'd play at a high level.

"Practices were rough this year, and the seniors and the whole team responded well. All of the seniors stepped up big time. Evyn had a great last four weeks of the season. Every senior contributed this season. Koby Busch made plays for us this year. Wassum was a stud. Riley had his best season. The seniors really did step up and had the best season of their careers," said Overcast.

For the eight Worland seniors, Anderson, Blood, Ruelas, Schneider, Venable, Wassum and Wyman were starters, while Busch played a reserve role. While some players time in the program was shorter than others, the Warrior culture of hard work and perseverance impacted each senior.

"We've got a lot of great players, and I just try to do my part and contribute any way I can in any role," said Wyman. "Not losing a game makes you wonder how great of a team we have and the culture we have. We just carried on the legacy of the seniors before us, and it was just a fun time."

Ruelas joined the program this season after his family moved to Worland in 2021.

"It took some time to get used to, it was different from my old school in California, but it felt like family, and I feel like I've always been here with them," said Ruelas.

Schneider joined the program the summer after his sophomore year and worked his way up to becoming a starter.

"What I learned is that if you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you want to do. I told Cole, as a sophomore, that I was going to start playing soccer. I went every day and worked with Cole, Jorey, Court and all my teammates. I had a goal of wanting to put myself in that starting lineup, and here we are two years later, and I did that, and we got the fourth championship," said Schneider.

While the Warriors sent their eight seniors off with the best win of the season, next year's returning players are already eager to prove themselves and make their mark on the program.

The Warriors bring back several key contributors with Gonsalez, Clark, Deniz, Bennett and keeper Kade Weber for next season. The remaining voids in the Warriors lineup will be up to those reserve players to fill.

"We've got five key pieces coming back. Tyson had a really good tournament. He was out there flying around during state. Owen Page got some minutes at state and looked good out there. Nathan Decker as well, he played center back in the championship game. One of the Torrington kids was coming right at him at full speed, and Nathan took the ball right off his foot. That was an impressive play," said Overcast. "We've got some good players coming up and got some really good players coming up from the eighth grade."

Next year, Worland is moving to the 3A East due to Riverton moving up to 4A and Green River coming down to 3A. Riverton had been in the 3A East before with their move to 4A, and with Green River dropping down to 3A, the conferences would have been even more unbalanced.

Regardless of their conference, if the Warriors are determined to keep this unprecedented run going, much of that success will depend on the amount of work put in this offseason.

"We took several of them down to state so they could experience it, and I asked them afterward if this wants them to get better, and they all said yes. Hopefully, they'll start working in the offseason. Most of our kids play three sports, and it's a matter of time management for them. They almost have to make some time to get out to an open field and get some touches and work on their technical skills. They seemed excited and motivated to carry this on, and a lot of it will depend on getting in that offseason work when they can," said Overcast.