Laramie pots 3 in second half to advance to regional final

May 10—CHEYENNE — A pair of goals from sophomore forward Ava Wallhead boosted Laramie's girls soccer team to a 4-1 win over Cheyenne East in the semifinals of the Class 4A East Conference tournament Friday in Cheyenne.

Both of Wallhead's goals came in the second half and helped propel the Plainsmen to three total in the second frame to pull away with the win.

"East is (one of our biggest rivals), and we always get mental when we play them," Wallhead said. "We just came in and were like, 'We got this.'"

Shaylee Lucero broke the ice in the 12th minute. After receiving a pass from Wallhead around midfield, the freshman dribbled around East's defense and fired a low shot from the 10 to the bottom-left corner of the net to give the Plainsmen a 1-0 lead.

"(Starting fast) was our goal from the beginning of the season, but more importantly today," Plainsmen coach Kim Whisenant said. "We moved some people around to change some things up and give them a different look defensively, and we did a really good job within our player personnel."

The Plainsmen continued to dominate the Thunderbirds throughout the first half, notching six shot attempts and five shots on goal. East's only dangerous chance of the half came in the 22nd minute, but Plainsmen keeper McKenna Barham slid to the top left side of the penalty area to deny the score. The save helped Laramie carry a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Wallhead notched her first goal of the game just two minutes into the second frame. A free kick by Laramie landed the ball deep in the box, where it pinballed off two East defenders in front and right onto Wallhead's foot.

East responded following the goal, and began to start generating pressure of its own. It was rewarded in the 53rd, when Marlee Monjares scored in a scrum to make it 2-1.

"The thing about this team is that they fight back and battle," East coach Rebecca Valdez said. "They always try to get one more back. They fought hard and were able (to do just that)."

While East pushed to try to even the game, it was not meant to be. In the 71st, Wallhead notched her second of the game from just outside the box to give Laramie a 3-1 lead.

The Plainsmen added another goal from Devani Romero just a few minutes later to put away any chance of a comeback.

"They were playing well, and were putting us under pressure," Valdez said. "We played a hard game yesterday, and I think we just ran out of gas."

Laramie will play for the 4A East region title at 2 p.m. Saturday against Thunder Basin, which is coming off a 1-0 win in PK's against Campbell County. While securing a top-two seed was imperative, locking up the East's No. 1 seed is even more critical, according to Whisenant.

"That's why I got players on and off the field today, because I knew that tomorrow was a big deal, too," the coach said. "To be able to come into state as the No. 1 seed is huge."

East will play against the Camels at 10 a.m. Saturday to decide the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. Valdez said her message to the team is simply to regroup and shake off the tough loss.

"Tomorrow is a very winnable game," Valdez said. "This is a tough group. With the upperclassmen, it's nice because they've been to state, know what it's about, and that seeding helps."

LARAMIE 4, EAST 1

Halftime: Laramie 1-0.

Goals: Laramie, Lucero (A. Wallhead), 12, Laramie, A. Wallhead (unassisted), 42, East, Monjares (own goal), 53, Laramie, A. Wallhead (Hansen) 73, Laramie, Romero (Garcia), 74,

Shots: Laramie 12, East 5. Shot on goal: Laramie 9, East 4. Saves: Laramie 3 (Barham), East 5 (Booth).

Corner kicks: Laramie 6, East 0. Offsides: East 0, Laramie 0. Fouls: East 6, Laramie 10. Yellow Cards: East 1 (Paskett, 49), Laramie 1.

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