Westbrook's lone goal lifts Bolts to win over South
May 9—CHEYENNE — Cheyenne South's girls soccer season came to an untimely end Thursday at Riske Field at the hands of Thunder Basin in the first round of the Class 4A East Conference tournament.
The teams played an even first half, but a late second-half goal from Attie Westbrook lifted the Bolts to a 1-0 win.
"We just let one slip through," Bison coach Brandon McHenry said. "(Thunder Basin) capitalized and finished on it. It's just unfortunate, but that's the way soccer is."
Defense told the story of the first half, with both teams not surrendering much open field for the other and combining for just a pair of shots on goal. South got the first prime scoring chances of the first half, missing two headers narrowly wide of the right post.
Thunder Basin had two more dangerous chances following the near miss by South. Westbrook fired a corner kick to the right side of the net that was headed wide. She also had a chance in the ninth minute that handcuffed South keeper Gabby Cortez, but stayed out of the net to keep the game scoreless heading into the halftime break.
South recorded the first shot on goal of the second half, but was hemmed in its own zone for the remainder of the half.
"When we played them (in the season), we were running a different formation," junior captain Lawsen Quist said. "It was a struggle trying to figure out where everyone was and where we were supposed to be."
The two near-misses in the second half came back to bite the Bison late in the game. In the 63rd minute, Westbrook got loose behind South's defense and chipped a low shot past Cortez for the 1-0 lead.
It proved to be enough of a cushion to put the Bison away.
Thunder Basin continued to pour on pressure, not allowing South to cross midfield with possession with any consistency. South registered just one more chance for the remainder of the match, which came off a free kick from about 40 yards away.
Despite the loss, McHenry was pleased with the way his team played to close out the season.
"They worked hard," he said. "Every single game, they went out and executed and played soccer. That's all you can ask for as a coach is have the players play in the system and work their hearts out."
For the team, the loss adds an extra layer of motivation. While the Bison are losing a handful of key seniors, South returns most of its roster from this season, who will all be hungry to build on the Bison's best season in school history.
"I'm really excited for next year," Quist said. "We are going to have a pretty strong program, so I'm hungry for a great season."
THUNDER BASIN 1, SOUTH 0
Halftime: Tied 0-0.
Goals: Thunder Basin, Westbrook (unassisted), 63.
Shots: Thunder Basin 12, South 5. Shots on goal: Thunder Basin 9, South 4. Saves: Thunder Basin 4 (Shirley), South 8 (G. Cortez).
Corner kicks: Thunder Basin 9, South 2. Offsides: Thunder Basin 1, South 0. Fouls: Thunder Basin 6, South 6.
Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @MattAtencio5.
