TORRINGTON – The Torrington Lady Trailblazers played to a nil-nil draw at the end of regulation against Lander on Friday, forcing overtime, where Lander put in two goals in the final minute to get the 2-0 win.
“I told the girls I love soccer because you can outplay an opponent for 99 and a half minutes and still lose to game,” coach Travis Rapp said. “This tells us that no matter what position we are in, we can win a future game by working hard and continuing that push. The ladies won’t forget the lesson they learned Friday.”
The Lady Blazers picked their battles against Lander during regulation, taking several runs up the sidelines. Toward the end of the first 80 minutes, Torrington started putting more numbers up the field, trying to put in a late difference-maker. They had a couple looks at the goal, but could not convert, sending the game to overtime.
Torrington picked up right where they left off at the end of regulation. They possessed the ball for most of the first overtime period and got several shots.
“The girls knew we were in a good place physically and tactically,” Rapp said. “We controlled almost the entire first half of overtime. We just need to have the confidence to put some more balls on frame and give ourselves the chances for those goals.”
The second 10-minute overtime was a lot more of the same, with both teams putting together runs up the field. With 20 seconds left on the clock, Lander sunk a shot into the right netting to take a 1-0 lead with time dwindling. Torrington had one final push up the field on the kickoff, but the Lady Tigers took the ball the opposite direction and buried another shot with one second remaining to seal the win.

In the loss, Dani Masterson, Torrington’s third goalie of the young season, racked up eight saves. The Lady Blazers were outshot 10-7.
“You could see (Dani) gain more and more confidence on Friday against Lander,” Rapp said. “She was starting to run the position very smoothly and she lost on a one-on-one at the end of a hundred-minute game. Great growth and great effort from a freshman with a lot of pressure on her shoulders.”

Scottsbluff, Neb. 9, Torrington 0
On Thursday, the Lady Blazers and Lady Bearcats were set to compete in Torrington. Weather caused a series of delays, which meant the JV game had two 20-minute halves and the varsity game started later than usual.
“Whenever there is a delay and things don’t run smoothly it is going to affect a teams play, but both teams had the same delay, so I don’t think it affected the overall outcome of the game,” Rapp said.
Once the game did get underway, Scottsbluff came out hot, knocking through a goal within the first five minutes of action. By halftime, Torrington faced a 4-0 disadvantage that grew to 6-0 after the first 11 minutes of the second half. A goal in the final minute upped Scottsbluff’s advantage to nine.
Shelby Schainost recorded five saves in the game, but she was injured late in the first half, thrusting Masterson between the pipes in her first varsity action of the year. In relief, Masterson racked up eight saves.
Schainost is in the concussion protocol after the game against Scottsbluff. Jade Miller also suffered a back injury just before halftime on Thursday and she is day-to-day.
The Lady Blazers played Gering, Neb. on the road Tuesday after the press deadline. They return to the pitch to take on Douglas on Thursday. The varsity game is set to kick off at 4 p.m.