Indians survive scare from Natrona County; advance to semifinals

May 16—ROCK SPRINGS — No. 1 seed Cheyenne Central found itself in a tighter game than anticipated in the opening round of the Class 4A state soccer tournament Thursday against Natrona County.

After going up 2-0, the Indians allowed a goal early in the second half, and found themselves nursing a one-goal lead. In the end, a late goal and lockdown defense helped propel Central into the semifinals with a 3-1 win.

"These first round games it doesn't matter who you play," Indians coach Dirk Dijkstal said. "It's always going to be tough and hard fought battle. Natrona came out and tested us, and they put us through a first-round test."

Central started the game missing senior captain Sammy Shumway, who sat out with an upper-body injury suffered before the state tournament. Dijkstal said his status is unknown for the remainder of the tournament.

However, Shumway's absence did not slow the Indians. In the ninth minute, Samuel Lucas Smith sent a free kick from the 20-yard line deep into the penalty area that was deflected in by Logan Custis to give Central a 1-0 lead.

Not even a minute later, Smith picked up his second assist, taking the ball in from the corner and feeding it to Roscoe Cone-LeBeaumont from inside the five for a 2-0 lead.

The Indians came away from the first half with four other chances to extend their lead, but big saves by Zach Hawley and a few high shots kept the score from getting any flarger. In total, they outshot the Mustangs 9-1 in overall attempts, and 5-1 in shots on frame.

"We were just having trouble finding the back of the net," Smith said. "Maybe it's first-game jitters at state, but we have to get rid of those in the second game."

The momentum Central built up carried into the second half, where it put its first two shot attempts on frame. Its most dangerous sequence came just shy of the 47th minute, where Custis danced around two defenders and blasted a shot off the inside of the crossbar that went straight down and stayed out. Cone-LeBeaumont was there for the rebound, but the attempt sailed harmlessly away from the frame.

In the 52nd, Natrona's Anthony Nopens fed a pass to Rogan Potter to cut the lead to one. Shortly after, the Mustangs got another chance off a free kick that just missed the far-side post.

"The goal happened from a transition where we had a center back step high," Dijkstal said. "We had a mental lapse and therefore, we were playing a man down. These things happen, and they can happen in a lull period."

Central's defense took over from that point, surrendering no shots on goal the rest of the way. Only two pass attempts made their way to Central sophomore keeper Leo Somerset.

The Indians' defensive efforts were rewarded in the 75th minute. Off their seventh corner kick of the contest, Andy Lam fed the ball all the way across the field and onto the foot of Tyler Davis, who blasted the ball to the top of the net to restore Central's two-goal lead.

While it was far from the performance Central wanted, the Indians did just enough to come away with the win.

"We started pretty good in the first and second half but, towards the end of that time, we lost our sense and stopped possessing the ball like we normally do," Smith said. "Bringing ourselves back together as a unit and finding our possession with the ball is the biggest key factor that helped us win."

Central will play at 4 p.m. against Kelly Walsh for a spot in the state championship match Saturday. The Trojans are coming off an 8-0 drubbing of reigning 4A state champion Thunder Basin.

The Indians know how much of a challenge that match will be, but are excited for the challenge.

"It starts with the defense, and after that, everything else will come through," Dijkstal said. "The biggest thing in these tournaments is to keep a clean sheet, and we'll do that tomorrow."

CENTRAL 3, NATRONA 1

Halftime: Central 2-0.

Goals: Central, Custis (Smith), 9, Central, Cone-LeBeaumont (Smith), 10, Natrona, Potter (Nopens), 52, Central, Davis (Lam), 75.

Shots: Central 20, Natrona 5. Shots on goal: Central 8, Natrona 3. Saves: Central 2 (Somerset), Natrona 6 (Hawley).

Corner kicks: Central 7, Natrona 2. Offsides: Central 7, Natrona 2. Fouls: Central 13, Natrona 10. Yellow Cards: Natrona 3 (Reyes 10, Turnbull, 77, Reyes 78) Central 2 (Pedersen 53, Custis 78). Red Cards: Natrona 1 (Reyes, 78).

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