Wranglers toughen through hectic week

Robert Galbreath, rgalbreath@pinedaleroundup.com
Posted 4/15/21

The Wrangler boys’ soccer team buckled down for an intense week featuring three home games.

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Wranglers toughen through hectic week

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 PINEDALE – The Wrangler boys’ soccer team buckled down for an intense week featuring three home games.

On Friday, April 9, Pinedale challenged 3A West opponent Cody on the turf. Both teams scrapped for the ball in a close match that ended with Cody taking the win by a single point, 2-1.

“During this game, we didn’t play our best but we did compete the entire game,” said head coach J.D. Dudrey.

Senior Landon Preece shot the ball into the net to score Pinedale’s goal off an assist by junior Braydon Simmons. Senior Keegan Gehlhausen entered the field as goalie for his first game and tallied up 20 saves.

Less than 24 hours later, the boys were back on the field for a match against another 3A West rival, Powell. Despite resistance from the Wranglers, Powell held the ball and took the win, 4-0.

“We actually played better this game than we did against Cody,” said coach Dudrey. “Kellen Schupp had a great game on the defensive side.”

The Wranglers hit the turf a third time for a showdown with 3A West team Lander on Tuesday, April 13. The teams not only faced each other, but also battled deteriorating weather conditions including a cold, sustained wind from the southwest.

Lander seemed to be everywhere at once and set the momentum early with a quick run of goals to take the win, 7-0. Coach Dudrey said Pinedale put up a strong fight against a tough opponent.

“Lander looked like the best team we have played so far this year,” he added. “Although we didn’t play our best game, I was very proud of the kids because they played hard for the entire game even when the match was well out of hand. This says a lot about the boys and we will use this game to learn and get better. Braydon Simmons played a good game for us in center midfield.”