CHEYENNE — Cheyenne Central walked off Riske Field disappointed in the result of its match with top-ranked Campbell County, but encouraged by its effort.
The Indians fell behind 2-0 before rallying to knot the score late in the first half during a 3-2 loss.
“They’re the No. 1 team in our conference right now,” Central coach Kaylin Olivas said. “Coming back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match and then holding them to a 0-0 score in the second half is hugely positive.
“It’s speaking to how this team is mentally starting to come about. I’m really enjoying them. We wouldn’t have done those things at the beginning of the year.”
Each team had a solid scoring opportunity midway through the opening half. In the 19th minute, a crossing pass from the right side generated a handful of shots right in front of Campbell County’s goal. That included one from Ava Newton that went just wide of the frame.
The Camels (10-1-0 overall, 8-1-0 Class 4A East Conference) got their first quality chance on a shot from 35 yards out by Payge Riedesel that was played wide and over the end line for a corner kick by Central goalkeeper Jenna Feldmann.
Campbell County took a 1-0 lead in the 22nd when Brooklyn Noble got separation on a defender and unleashed a shot from the right side and into the far side netting. Aubry DeWine scored off an assist from Riedesel for a 2-0 advantage in the 25th.
“We had some mistakes that they capitalized on,” Olivas said. “We did a lot of good things, but we still had a couple breakdowns they were able to take advantage of.”
Central (2-7-2, 0-7-2) started finding its offensive footing shortly after falling behind by two goals.
Sophomore Brenna Perriton slipped a ball past Camels goalkeeper Onna Castellanos, who was charging off her line. Perriton hurdled a diving Castellano to catch up to the ball and tapped it across the goal line to trim Campbell County’s lead to 2-1 in the 30th.
“Our build up created some good opportunities and great finishes,” Olivas said. “Those are things we’ve been working on, so seeing it out on the field was wonderful.”
The Indians stayed on the attack and knotted the score in the 38th when freshman Kaitlyn Meyrick sent a diagonal pass toward the left sideline and onto the feet of junior Sofia Etchepare. Etchepare got enough space in front of her defender to take a shot that got past Castellanos to tie the match 2-2.
“It was a perfect ball,” Etchepare said of Meyrick’s pass. “We had started picking up our pace a lot and getting a lot more chances by actually going to the ball. We started getting the 50/50 balls and creating opportunities off them.”
Campbell County took the lead for good just before halftime. Machiah Adsit’s corner kick from the right side hit off a crowd of players at the six-yard box and ricocheted toward the middle of the field. DeWine ran onto the ball and struck a vicious shot that found its way through traffic and past Feldmann into the far side netting.
“The goals we gave up in the first half were good shots and came despite our effort that was very good the whole game,” Feldmann said. “You can’t say those goals were because we didn’t work hard.”
DeWine nearly netted her third goal of the match with a hard shot in the 50th that forced Feldmann to dive to her left and make a save.
The Camels got 11 shots — including six shots on goal — in each half. Central took just seven shots in the match, including three on goal.
“That’s the first game all year we haven’t been scored on in the second half,” Feldmann said. “It may have been a loss, but there are so many positives to take out of it. Our defense did everything we could to not be scored on. We put it all on the field and played with a lot of heart.”
Central hosts Sheridan at 6 tonight at Riske Field.
CAMPBELL CO. 3, CENTRAL 2
Halftime: Campbell County 3-2.
Goals: Campbell County, Noble, 22. Campbell County, DeWine (Riedesel), 25. Central, Perriton (Custis), 30. Campbell County, Etchepare (K. Meyrick), 38. Campbell County, DeWine (unassisted), 39.
Shots: Campbell County 22, Central 7. Shots on goal: Campbell County 12, Central 3. Saves: Campbell County 1 (O. Castellanos); Central 9 (Feldmann).
Corner kicks: Campbell County 6, Central 1. Offsides: Campbell County 0, Central 0. Fouls: Campbell County 7, Central 8. Yellow cards: Central 1 (A. Taylor, 66).
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