Steel, Burgess lead Broncs to win over South
May 9—CHEYENNE — Sheridan's speed and athleticism proved too much for Cheyenne South during the first round of the Class 4A East Conference tournament on Thursday in Cheyenne.
Broncs senior Dane Steel and sophomore Christian Burgess combined for three goals and two assists to help lead the Broncs to a 4-2 win over the Bison.
For the first 20 minutes, the Bison dropped five defenders back in coverage with hopes of limiting Sheridan's attackers from finding gaps in the defense. The strategy worked wonders, as Sheridan's offense was unable to generate any dangerous scoring chances during that time.
"I was really impressed with our first 20 minutes," Bison coach Joshua Eastman said. "Our game plan was really working. We created a new adjustment to try to take away some of their wide balls and limit (Steel). That paid off."
In the 20th minute, Sheridan found the gap it needed to break the ice. Broncs leading goal scorer Kelten Crow received a pass from Connor Bateson just off the side of the net, and Crow beat South keeper Aiden Mitchell for the 1-0 lead.
Thirteen minutes later, Steel danced around four South defenders in tight and placed a perfect pass onto the foot of Burgess, who put home his first goal of the night to make it 2-0.
The Broncs out-shot the Bison 12-1 in the opening frame, and did not surrender a shot on net. Coming out of the break, Sheridan delivered the final blow by potting two goals in just under five minutes from Burgess and Steel to take a 4-0 lead.
"We just allowed that third goal a little too quick," Eastman said. "That freaked us out a little bit."
In spite of the deficit, South never quit. In the final 20 minutes, South began to generate some pressure of its own, and in the 65th minute, the Bison were rewarded. Senior captain DeMarcus Contreras broke up the shutout bid after slipping past the Broncs' defense and beating keeper Beck Haswell to the low-left side of the net.
"I noticed that we had a free kick, and if I could make a curving run, I could run onto the ball and tap it in," Contreras said. "That's exactly what happened. I widened myself and ran in as soon as the ball was kicked."
With under seven minutes to play, South made things interesting when a punt from Aiden Mitchell from the penalty area sailed far down the field, off a Sheridan defender and into the back of the net to cut the Broncs' lead to two.
When asked if he expected to score a near 100-yard goal in the game, Mitchell simply smiled and said, "No."
The goal sparked the Bison, who pushed to get even closer just 90 seconds later. However, the ensuing header off a corner kick in tight just missed the net.
It was the last gasp for the Bison, who were unable to push any closer. Despite the comeback coming up short, the final 20 minutes of play were emblematic of the heart and willingness to never give up that has been part of South's mentality all year.
"It just shows that we are a through-the-line team," Contreras said. "It just goes to show that, even if we are down a lot, we're going to fight with our hearts to the end, especially when it is possibly the last game."
SHERIDAN 4, SOUTH 2
Halftime: Sheridan 2-0.
Goals: Sheridan, Crow (Bateson) 20, Sheridan, Burgess (Steel), 32, Sheridan, Burgess (Steel), 41, Sheridan, Steel (unassisted), 44, South, Contreras (unassisted), 65, South, Mitchell (own goal), 74.
Shots: Sheridan 20, South 4. Shots on goal: Sheridan 12, South 2. Saves: Sheridan 0 (Haswell), South 8 (Mitchell).
Corner kicks: Sheridan 4, South 2. Offsides: Sheridan 2, South 0. Fouls: Sheridan 3, South 3.
Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @MattAtencio5.
