Cheyenne Central girls soccer cruises past Gering

Mar. 18—CHEYENNE — In sports, sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Cheyenne Central's girls soccer team proved this statement true in a big way Saturday against Gering, Nebraska.

The Lady Indians controlled possession for nearly the entire match against the Bulldogs, picking up a dominant 9-0 win to improve to 2-0 on the young season.

"(The offensive pressure) was good," second-year Central coach Kaylin Olivas said. "Sometimes when you come out and you are up five or six goals, players can become individualized. When we were there, I didn't see that as much.

"There was some good things that I saw, and there are things that I definitely know we can work on."

The opening 40 minutes of the contest were all Central. From the opening jump, Central's offense put heavy and consistent pressure on the Gering defense. They allowed the Bulldogs just two sustained trips into the offensive zone, neither of which resulted in any shots toward the net.

While the Bulldogs managed to hold the fort in the opening five minutes, things quickly changed. After Gering was called for a penalty in the box, senior Alyssa Brenchley stepped up to take the penalty kick. While she ended up ringing the shot off the far-right post, Mia Gerig followed it up shortly after with a shot in tight to give Central a 1-0 lead.

The floodgates opened following Gerig's goal. Just over two minutes later, Adelaide Gonzales scored off a cross from Brenchley to make it 2-0.

After nine minutes of more consistent pressure, Central scored two goals in less than 40 seconds. In the 20th minute, Brenchley booted home a shot from about 25 yards out. Her goal was immediately followed up by sophomore Sofia Etchepare, who cleaned up a loose ball in front of the net to make it 4-0.

In total, Central recorded 16 shots on goal in the first half and did not allow any against.

"We have been practicing (putting pressure on the defense) for the past two weeks," Brenchley said. "In this game, we always had someone open to pass to, so that is how we were able to hold possession."

Gering recorded its first two shots on goal in the 44th minute. The first was a harmless shot that was dribbled on net that was easily handled by senior goalkeeper Gracie Osterland. Osterland came up with a good save less than a minute later, when a shot was chipped on net. Osterland jumped and caught the ball to keep it out of the net.

Those two shots were as close as Gering would come to goals. Central ramped up the pressure again shortly after those chances, potting five more goals in the game. One minute after allowing those chances, Madi Moore scored to make it 5-0 after she stripped the Gering defenders of the ball and put home her shot. Taylor scored five minutes later to make it 6-0, and then Gering recorded an own-goal to bring the total to seven that was credited to Ava Newton.

Central got two more goals in the contest, coming from Etchepare in the 62nd and Alyssa Yoksh in the 79th. While the win was in dominant fashion for the Indians, Olivas knows the team can perform even better than they did on Saturday.

"Ultimately, I saw some good things, but it also gave me an opportunity to see some things we need to work on," Olivas said. "I am excited about it. I think we are progressing, and that is my point for every game is to get better."

Central will open its conference season on Wednesday against Cheyenne East at Okie Blanchard Stadium at 4 p.m.

CENTRAL 9, GERING 0

Halftime: Central 4-0.

Goal: Central, Gerig (Tafoya), 9, Central, Gonzales (Brenchley), 11, Central, Brenchley (unassisted), 21, Central, Etchepare (unassisted), 22, Central, Moore (unassisted), 45, Central Taylor (Flores), 50, Central, Newton (unassisted), 56, Central, Etchepare (Newton), 62, Central, Yoksh (Perriton), 79.

Shots: Gering 2, Central 29. Shots on goal: Gering 2, Central 24. Corners: Central 11, Gering 0. Offsides: Central 2, Gering 1. Fouls: Gering 3, Central 2. Saves: Gering 15 (Baard), Central 2 (Osterland). Yellow cards: Gering 0, Central 0.

Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MattAtencio5.