No. 5 Lady Warriors rack up 18 goals in two wins

Domination. That best describes the Worland Lady Warriors play in their two 3A East girls soccer games last week.

On April 11, the No. 5 Lady Warriors (4-2-1) traveled to Newcastle, where they beat the Lady Dogies 6-2, and on April 14 at Warrior Stadium in Worland, they downed Torrington 12-0.

Both convincing wins resulted from the Lady Warriors defensive focus and intensity.

"We haven't had much of an opportunity to focus on scoring goals. We've worked on it, but it hasn't been the focal point of practice," said WHS girls soccer coach Jesus Davila. "Our focus has been on our backline, our 1-v-1 defense from every player on the field and being physical and aggressive. Because of that, we are creating opportunities to score. We've been passing the ball well and being technically sound in the middle of the field. We're switching, and that's created opportunities to score. The girls have been very good at putting shots on frame and getting those goals."

Rivers Carrell led the Lady Warriors in goals and assists against Newcastle. The junior had two goals and three assists. Scoring Worland's other four goals were Nayeli Aguayo, Brenna Argeris, Emma Hunt and Keira Woffinden.

Aguayo had two assists and Carley Venable one assist in the win over Newcastle.

Both games last week saw the Lady Warriors get off to fast starts, thanks in part to their defensive pressure. Worland's back line and midfield worked together to create a suffocating, ball-winning defense at midfield and attack third.

Worland was able to maintain the defensive pressure for all 80 minutes. This was due to Davila creating a defensive point system that rewarded players for forcing bad passes or getting the opposing team to reset their attack.

"The girls were very aggressive against Newcastle. They were first to the ball. We've been talking about starting faster because we've given up some early goals this season. In the first five minutes, I wanted to see their defensive intensity. I told them every time we were in a 1-v-1, and they closed the space quickly and broke down. If they forced a bad pass, that's a point they get. If they forced a player to drop the ball, that's a point. If you block a pass from defensive pressure, that's a point. Then lastly, winning, stealing the ball is a point.

"The girls went out, and from the start, that's all they were thinking about. The performance was higher than we've had in the past. The girls side, it was helpful because it allowed them to focus on that defensive aspect," said Davila. "If we can be defensively sound, not just on the back line but get the midfield to play physical defense, the girls are going to be difficult to beat."

Aguayo led the Lady Warriors in scoring with a haul of goals, finding the back of the net four times. Hunt had three goals for the hat-trick, Carrell had two goals, and Argeris, Keira Warren and Woffinden had one goal each.

Argeris and Carrell led the team in assists with three, while Aguayo, Hunt and Woffinden had one apiece.

The Lady Warriors host No. 3 Buffalo this Friday at 3 p.m. Buffalo (3-1) is coming off a loss to Douglas in which they fell 3-2 on 7-6 penalty kicks.

This season in 3A soccer, during the regular season, if a game is tied at the end of regulation, the game goes directly to penalty kicks.

Worland has avoided penalty kicks this season, but the potential for PKs is something that Davila keeps in mind.

"That is something that's always in the back of my mind. Our job is to put away teams in the first 80 minutes of the game to avoid those shootouts. We practice penalties almost every day because it's something the girls have to be ready for. It's not just for the girls shooting but something for our goalies to see penalty shots taken at them.

"We've got Buffalo this week. We're evenly matched with them, and when you face a good team, you have to be ready for everything, including penalties," said Davila.

While Buffalo might drop in the WyoPreps rankings after their loss to Douglas, the Lady Warriors know they have to be ready for whatever Buffalo throws at them.

If Worland can defeat Buffalo Friday and beat Rawlins on Saturday in Rawlins, it puts them in the driver's seat to win the 3A East conference.

"We know they're going to be a tough team. They want to win the No. 1-seed, and so does Douglas and we want to win the 1-seed as well. Buffalo is in a place where it's urgent to win. I expect them to come out with a lot of pressure and intensity. I expect our girls to be ready and compete at a high level. We want to see great 1-v-1 defense. Be a technically sound team moving the ball. We need to work on our clears, out of the air and on the ground.

"Buffalo plays a 4-4-2, but their back four is more of a diamond, similar to what Cody plays. We'll have to get used to breaking them down, and that's what we'll work on this week. We can continue to be defensively solid and will work on patterns to break down a back four in a diamond formation," said Davila.