Laramie, Thunder Basin play to draw

LHS goalkeeper Declan O'Connor had a busy frame with five saves. Junior Sammy Heaney left the game two minutes into play after being tangled up with a Bolts' midfielder and falling to the ground.

He spent the remainder of the first half stretching and jogging on the sideline, but did not substitute back into the game. Junior Zack Cotterman entered play and took over the position.

The opportunity for Cotterman came after his first big minutes of his varsity career in Tuesday's 6-1 against Cheyenne South. After that game, Laramie coach Andy Pannell credited Cotterman with responding well to more playing time.

"He was able to come in and play big minutes for us," Pannell said. "(O'Connor) played the best game of his young soccer career. He had some big saves in the second half, and he looked calm doing it."

Heaney started the second half, but left a minute into the action. He was struck in a nerve and struggled to put enough weight on his foot to cut, according to Pannell.

Not long into the half, the Bolts nearly found paydirt. Bolts' senior Aiden Swan blasted a shot off a free kick from 35 yards out.

O'Connor leaped and tipped the ball over the net for the save. A minute later, LHS threatened with a golden chance of its own.

"My coaches are always on me to talk more," O'Connor said. "I was trying to do that as much as I can, and trying to keep everyone in check with what's happening."

Added O'Connor: "We played very well defensively. Five goals versus zero is a big improvement. We need to create more chances offensively and it'll go in."

Junior Paulo Mellizo was almost left with enough space in the box to put a foot on the ball, but a fast-closing Thunder Basin defense prevented the shot from being taken.

Mellizo got another chance shortly after off a free kick from 20 yards out. He was inches away from breaking the tie, but Bolts' goalkeeper Spencer Clabaugh dove and got his hands on the ball.

In the 66th minute, Thunder Basin had the best chance in the game for either team to that point. A pass from Class 4A East's leading point-getting senior Ricardo Ruiz was tapped backwards to a closing teammate in sophomore Irvin Cabrerra.

"We can see defensive improvements from the first time we saw them," Pannell said. "We made a couple of chances. So, if we have to play defensively and take our chances we will."

Added O'Connor: "Catcher (Pannell) played great. I'm always yapping at him to not let people turn. (Cotterman) played great, and everyone contributed today."

Cabrerra fired a shot with velocity behind it, but a crouching O'Connor was there to smother the ball. The Plainsmen saw that chance and answered with their best moment of the game.

"Even as these guys were firing off shots at him, he never looked bothered," Andy Pannell said. "He had an excellent excellent night."

With 10 minutes to play, a corner kick from senior Catcher Pannell was headed by the Bolts out of bounds rewarding Laramie with a throw in. As the ball was tossed into the box, Clabaugh left his feet to catch it at it's highest point.

He bobbled the ball and it dropped behind him with an empty net. Unfortunately for LHS, the Thunder Basin backline was able to bail him out booting the ball out of danger.

The Plainsmen had their last push to score in the 75th as Mellizo fired off two shots in the matter of seconds. Clabaugh had his head on a swivel and saved both to keep the game tied in the final minutes. 

LHS (6-3-3 overall, 4-3-3 Class 4A East Conference) travels to the Capital city for a road game against Cheyenne Central (10-0, 8-0) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

"Given the circumstances, losing Sammy (Heaney) hurt us badly," Andy Pannell said. "From there, we were scrapping it together. Given what a good team Thunder Basin is, this was a good result."

LARAMIE 0, THUNDER BASIN 0

Halftime: 0-0.

Goals: 

Shots: Laramie 11, Thunder Basin 18. Shots on goal: Laramie 8, Thunder Basin 12. Saves: Laramie (O’Connor) 10, Thunder Basin (Clabaugh) 8.

Corner kicks: Laramie 3, South 3. Offsides: Laramie 0, South 0. Fouls: Laramie 6, South 10.