TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School boys’ soccer team returned to the pitch for the first time in more than a week, and the Blazers came away with a 2-0 victory over the Rawlins Outlaws on Wednesday afternoon.
It was a back-and-forth contest through the first 30 minutes of the match.
“It was a good win. They have some pretty salty midfielders who can handle it,” THS coach Gabe Bartlett said. “At the beginning of the game, we were trying to steal it from them instead of keeping them in front of us. If we kept them in front of us, they struggled to get it down. We did a better job of that in the second half.”
A penalty by Rawlins inside the penalty area gave Torrington a free shot. Blazer junior Deagan Keith connected on the kick, giving THS a 1-0 advantage.
The Blazers and Outlaws continued to battle back-and-forth through halftime and into the second half.
Despite having many attempts at the Rawlins goalkeeper, Torrington wasn’t able to find the back of the net again until the 67th minute.
“We had some beautiful soccer – inside-out – and didn’t get some early shots to fall,” Bartlett said.
Blazer junior Kieser Wolfe’s shot attempt ricocheted off the Rawlins’ goalkeeper’s hands, and Torrington’s Ty Prall finished off the goal.
It proved to be the final goal of the game as Torrington improved to 4-2-1 on the season with the victory.
It was the second shutout of the season for the Blazers and the first since March 30 against Gering, Neb.
“It’s good to have Kyler (Shields) back (in the goal),” Bartlett said. “You really don’t have to worry about him much. He’s a solid keeper. And, it opens up Aidyn Saucedo where we can get him up, running around.”
Now, the Blazers turn their attention to a 3A East Conference showdown with the Douglas Bearcats.
“The last Douglas game left a bad taste in our mouth,” Bartlett said. “These boys want that a lot. We’ll have to come out and play composed. They like to be physical to the point of driving our guys a little batty. We have to be prepared for that.”
The teams battled to a 1-1 tie, and the winner of the match will have a leg up on a possible No. 1 seed from the 3A East.
Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Torrington.
