GILLETTE, May 23 — The Wyoming High School State Soccer Tournament belongs to Gillette this year, and it belonged to a handful of teams by the time the three days were done. The story begins on Thursday, May 21, when both Sheridan and Buffalo made the trip to Gillette for the state championship tournament. Sheridan’s Broncs arrived as last year’s 4A Boys State Runners-Up.
Buffalo’s Bison came in as the defending 3A Boys State Champions. Four brackets were decided across the three days: 4A Boys, 4A Girls, 3A Boys and 3A Girls.
Sheridan’s long wait, and a familiar wall
In 4A Boys, Sheridan has won the state championship one time in school history, back in 2011. The Broncs opened on Thursday as the East’s top seed and beat Riverton 3-1. Kelly Walsh handled Thunder Basin 5-0, Cheyenne Central edged Green River 1-0, and Jackson beat Campbell County 3-1.
Friday brought the turn. Kelly Walsh beat Sheridan 2-0 in the semi-finals, and Jackson beat Cheyenne Central 1-0.
In consolation play, Thunder Basin eliminated Riverton 7-0 and Green River eliminated Campbell County 4-3. Saturday settled everything. Green River beat Thunder Basin 1-0 for the Consolation Championship.
Sheridan beat Cheyenne Central 2-1 for 3rd Place. And Kelly Walsh beat Jackson 4-1 for the Championship.
Overtime everywhere in 4A Girls
Sheridan’s girls have won the state championship one time in school history, in 1993, and their Thursday opener against Jackson went to overtime before Jackson won it 2-1. Thunder Basin beat Riverton 1-0 in overtime. Laramie beat Green River 6-4 in overtime.
Kelly Walsh beat Cheyenne Central 2-1 in a shootout, 6-5. Sheridan responded in Friday’s consolation round with a 4-0 win over Riverton, eliminating the Wolverines, while Green River eliminated Cheyenne Central 3-2.
In the semi-finals, Jackson beat Thunder Basin 1-0 and Laramie beat Kelly Walsh 3-2. Saturday: Sheridan beat Green River 5-0 for the Consolation Championship. Thunder Basin beat Kelly Walsh 2-1 in a shootout, 4-3, for 3rd Place.
Jackson beat Laramie 3-1 for the Championship.
Buffalo’s title defense ends short of the final
In 3A Boys, Buffalo opened its title defense on Thursday with a 6-0 win over Powell. Lander beat Torrington 8-1, Mountain View beat Worland 1-0, and Cody beat Rawlins 2-0. Friday’s consolation round saw Torrington eliminate Powell 6-2 and Worland eliminate Rawlins 1-0.
Then the semi-finals went against the defending champions: Lander beat Buffalo 1-0, and Cody beat Mountain View 2-1. On Saturday, Worland beat Torrington 4-1 for the Consolation Championship, Buffalo beat Mountain View 3-1 for 3rd Place, and Lander beat Cody 2-1 in overtime for the Championship.
Powell’s coin flip, and Cody’s overtime crown
In 3A Girls, Buffalo has won the state championship twice in school history, in 2006 and 2014. Powell won a coin flip over Cody for the West top seed. On Thursday, Cody beat Worland 5-0, Buffalo beat Mountain View 4-0, Lander beat Douglas 7-0, and Powell beat Rawlins 4-0.
Friday’s consolation round brought Mountain View a 2-0 win over Worland and Rawlins a 2-1 overtime win over Douglas, eliminating both Worland and Douglas. In the semi-finals, Cody beat Buffalo 2-0 and Lander beat Powell 2-0.
Saturday: Mountain View beat Rawlins 2-1 for the Consolation Championship, Powell beat Buffalo 4-1 for 3rd Place, and Cody beat Lander 1-0 in overtime for the Championship. What to watch next is the same question every Wyoming program faces after a weekend in Gillette. Sheridan’s boys and girls both left with hardware and both left short of a title.
Buffalo’s boys, a year removed from a championship, finished third. And Lander’s overtime win over Cody, like Cody’s overtime win over Lander in the girls bracket, is the kind of result that tends to shape the next season before it starts.
