Miller makes back-to-back saves to lift East to shootout win over Rock Springs

May 17—CHEYENNE — With just 12 yards separating shooter and goalkeeper, shootouts in soccer are squarely to the advantage of the shooters.

So facing a 2-2 tie heading into the top of the fourth in the shootout with Rock Springs, Cheyenne East senior keeper Jaxon Miller knew he needed to come up with at least one save to give his team a chance to win the match.

The senior managed to do just that, making back-to-back saves in the fourth and fifth to give East a 3-2 lead in the shooting and a 4-3 win in the contest.

"Jaxon has been amazing (all season)," first-year coach Alex Stratton said. "During practice in our PKs, there have been times where he hasn't committed one way or the other, and today he made he came up with two massive saves. I'm very happy with what he has done this season. He's a true captain."

Shootouts can be even more nerve-wracking for goalies, who are forced to guess which way shooters are going with the ball. But instead of dwelling on what he can't control, Miller said he relies on his confidence to keep him level-headed.

"I just have been building my mindset constantly, and (have been telling myself) that I'm the best out here," Miller said. "I'm just going to make it look that way, and I'm going to make it (look like that in the other team's head) so that they don't have a chance."

Getting to the shootout was anything but easy for the Thunderbirds.

East started the match in a 2-0 hole in the first 10 minutes of play. In the fourth minute, Jr Benitez beat Miller to a ball and chipped it past him for Rock Springs' first goal of the game. In the ninth minute, Alex Herrera came screaming down the left wing and blasted a low shot past Miller for the Tigers' second goal.

But sometimes all it takes is one simple play to flip momentum the other way. That play for East came in the 25th, when it was awarded a free kick from the 15-yard line. Junior forward Connor Kling rifled the kick on net, where it hopped the foot of a defender in front and went into the right corner of the net.

"As far as the play goes, we felt confident," Stratton said. "Even down 2-0, we persisted, and a lot of that was because we dictated play. We were more offensive, so we had a lot more hope (that we would make a run)."

East continued to press following the goal, and with just over five minutes remaining in the half, Armando Hernandez fed a pass to Santiago Ramirez Munoz, who buried the chance from just outside the goalie box to tie the game at two.

"We noticed that our work rate was down, and they had all the momentum," Miller said. "We just got our work rate back, and (once) we got those two goals back, that just flipped our momentum."

With the wind at its back, East controlled most of the play to open the second half. In the 57th, a miscommunication between Tigers keeper Seth Atkinson and his defender allowed Liam Taylor to deflect a clearing attempt. The deflection went right to the foot of Hernandez, who buried the shot from about 20 yards out into the empty net to give East a 3-2 lead.

Following the marker against, Atkinson came up huge for Rock Springs. The senior made five difficult saves to keep East from extending the lead. His best of the game, and arguably the save of the tournament, came just past the 20-minute mark. With Hunter Sallee parked right off the left post, Atkinson dove to his left and reached back to his right to deflect Taylor's chance out of play.

In the 73rd, he was rewarded for his effort. Williams Meraz broke into the zone and fired a shot on net. Miller made the initial stop, but couldn't beat Carlos Macias to the rebound, and Macias tied the game 3-3.

Neither team scored in the extra time. In the shootout, Hernandez made the first attempt, but a high shot by Brenden Bohlmann put the T-Birds behind. Rock Springs made its first two attempts, but missed the third, giving Taylor a chance to tie the game. He made the attempt, and on the next attempt, Ramirez Munoz gave East the lead for good.

The marker set Miller up with a chance to win it for East, and on Rock Springs' final attempt, Miller went to a knee and lunged to his left to keep the chance out of the net. Following the stop, he was mobbed by his teammates.

"I knew they were going to try to go with the easy option," Miller said. "The right-footed shooter was going to go to my left every time if they are going to have it for sure. I went that way and made the save there."

East plays Natrona County at 11 a.m. Saturday for a chance at the fifth-place trophy. The goal coming to Rock Springs for East was coming away with hardware, and that opportunity is still alive. Now, the T-Birds must reset after an emotional game.

"We just have to get some downtime and team time," Stratton said. "(Thursday), we played a little whiffle ball and just the joy of having the team together (helped us reset), and that's what it's going to be."

EAST 3, ROCK SPRINGS 3 (3-2 SO)Halftime: 2-2. Regulation: 3-3. OT: 3-3. PK: 3-2

Goals: Rock Springs, Benitez (unassisted), 4. Rock Springs, Herrera (unassisted), 9. East, Kling (free kick), 25. East, Ramirez Munoz (Hernandez), 35. East, Hernandez (Taylor), 5. Rock Springs, Macias (Meraz), 73.

Shots: East 17, Rock Springs 10. Shots on goal: East 12, Rock Springs 7. Saves: East 4 (Miller), Rock Springs 9 (Miller).

Corner kicks: East 6, Rock Springs 5. Offsides: Rock Springs 3, East 0. Fouls: East 22, Rock Springs 18. Yellow cards: East 2 (Ramirez Munoz 78, Raymond 93), Rock Springs 3 (unknown, 27, Hamilton 40, Triminio 68).

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