Central, South girls match ends in scoreless draw

May 3—CHEYENNE — Cheyenne South and Cheyenne Central's girls soccer teams played to a 0-0 draw Friday night in the regular-season finales for both squads.

The Lady Bison were in control of the contest through the opening 65 minutes, and began to generate some of their scoring chances. However, high winds and a stout defense from both teams prevented either team from breaking the ice.

"There were good things, we just needed to knock one (of our shots) in," Bison coach Brandon McHenry said. "... We had our opportunities, and they were there, but their keeper made a good save in the first half, (but) I'm happy with (our chances)."

South dominated the first half of play, outshooting the Lady Indians 7-1 in shot attempts and 6-1 in shots on goal. Central's only shot that made it onto the frame in the first half was off a corner kick that was deflected onto the net.

While South was able to generate scoring chances with the wind at its back, Jenna Feldmann came up with six clutch saves to keep the Bison from running away with the contest. Her best save came just shy of the 25-minute mark, when she leaped to her right to knock a shot from Lawsen Quist out of play.

"Jenna is one of the best goalies I have ever played with," Central junior Ava Newton said. "When she is out there, it looks like she has been playing her whole life. She deserves the credit and kept us in the game tonight."

South took its pressure to another level to start the second half, according to McHenry. Even with the wind at its face, South continued to pressure and generate scoring chances.

"We were playing (a little timid) in the first half," McHenry said. "The second half, I thought we looked better. We were controlling and attacking the way we wanted to attack."

In the 61st minute, Central came up with its best scoring chance of the night.

Feldmann came out to play a loose ball, but kicked it straight to Quist, who rifled a shot on net. Fortunately for the Bison, senior defender Ekenna Little made a save with her left leg and kicked the ball out of the air and out of harm's way.

It was the spark Central finally needed to get its offense going. Over the final 18 minutes of play, Central had South on its heels and generated three of its five shots on goal.

"One of things we talked about was finding each other on those diagonal balls," Central assistant coach Abby Morillon said. "(We managed to find some success with that), and were able to send some through instead of them getting caught in the middle."

While Central's offense found its footing, its defense started clicking, as well. After allowing six shots on goal in the first half, the Indians allowed just one in the second half.

"The credit goes to our backline and being able to switch through them," she said. "Ekenna is able to take them one on one and get out of that, which is really helpful. Adelaide (Gonzales) is able to play off of Ekenna, and the other two freshmen are great at talking with the centerbacks on how to get out."

South will claim the No. 6 seed for next week's Class 4A regional tournament. The Bison will face either Thunder Basin or Sheridan in the first round, after the two teams finished tied in the standings.

McHenry said his team is not deterred by who they are playing, and feels like they have a good shot against whoever they end up with.

"It's been a close season, every single game," the coach said. "Whoever we play, we match up fairly well. I'm excited, and I think it is going to be good."

Central finishes the regular season as the No. 7 seed, and will play No. 2 seed Laramie to open next week's regional tournament.

CENTRAL 0, SOUTH 0

Halftime: Tied 0-0.

Shots: South 9, Central 6. Shots on goal: South 7, Central 3. Saves: Central 7 (Feldmann), South 3 (G. Cortez).

Corner kicks: Central 4, South 1. Offsides: Central 2, South 0. Fouls: Central 3, South 2. Yellow cards: Central 1 (Olivas, 60), South 0.

Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @MattAtencio5.