Wolves beat Natrona Co. schools

The girls varsity soccer team at Green River High School had a successful weekend, defeating two visiting Natrona County teams.

The Lady Wolves won their game Friday afternoon against Natrona 4-1, and against Kelly Walsh Saturday, 2-1, after going into overtime.

Friday's game success was tribute to the team's hard work leading up to the game.

"It went well for us, we always prepare for a tough game against the Casper schools," head coach Tracy Wyant said. "We played good soccer and made sure to mark their important players."

Wyant said within a minute of the game, the wolves made a goal. The goal was finished with teamwork. Grace Johnson passed the ball and Chezney Mamalis was there to kick it in and finish it.

The team had been struggling with finishing goals recently and this weekend they were able to overcome that.

"Finishing has improved," Wyant said. "Talking is going to resolve a lot of issues. Communication is huge; it fixes a lot of small issues."

Two freshman players stepped up their game Friday as well. Wyant said she pulled in two freshman girls from the Junior Varsity team for the game due to other players' injuries. Freshman Zoe Turner and Adriana Barahona pulled their own weight during the game, both making a goal each.

"They stepped up when we said we needed help," she said.

"It was a good, well-fought game," Wyant said. "It was a confidence booster for us and I thought they fought very well."

The girl's game against Kelly Walsh Saturday was a tougher battle in part due to the weather. They had a slow start, Wyant said. The game started with wind and rain in their faces.

"Battling weather conditions make it difficult," she said.

Kelly Walsh scored one goal on Green River before the wolves put a stop to it. They score first, but Green River scored second. By the end of the game, the two teams were tied, 1-1. The game went into overtime, and on came the wind and rain again.

"We knew we had to either get a goal or win," Wyant said.

With the wind at their back once more, they went offensive and went for the attack. They went for it, stayed in front of Kelly Walsh' goal, shot, their goalie fumbled, and Green River's Turner was there to finish the shot. Afterwards, the team changed to defense and held the score until the overtime clock ran out.

"We had to work really hard for that one," Wyant said. "We should've won that game in regulation. We prevailed."

"We changed formations a couple times depending on what we needed to do and got the job done and they played really well."

The girls' battles against the Casper teams are far from over though and it's no time to give them any slack.

"We have to up our game every time, just ready for a battle. They (Casper) want redemption; We have to prepare for an even tougher game next time we meet them," she said. "Just because we beat them once, doesn't mean we'll beat them twice."

The girls' next conference game will be against local rival Rock Springs Friday.

"It's our rivals, we gotta get the job done," Wyant said.

To beat Rock Springs, the team will need to stop any key players on the opposing team, and stop any time or space on the field to the opposing team.

The boys teams also walked away from the field with wins against the Natrona County schools. Green River defeated Natrona 3-0 and took a win against Kelly Walsh 2-1.