Poky gets brace from Lexi Wells, finishes regular season with one-sided win over Thunder Ridge
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POCATELLO — The Pocatello Thunder, who had already won their conference and clinched a playoff berth, finished their regular season with a lopsided victory over Thunder Ridge at Lookout Credit Union Field Saturday.
Poky (12-3 overall, 4-0 in conference) finished the match with more goals scored than shots on goal allowed, clobbering the Titans (5-8-2, 2-3-2), 6-0.
Head coach Mark Wetstein called his team’s performance “fantastic” and “dominating.”
“We played like we know how to play — the possession, the passing, it all just looking great,” he said.
Defensively, Pocatello maintained complete control over Thunder Ridge, allowing just two shots on goal — the first not coming until the 48th minute. Not only was the Titan attack limited in its opportunities, it was stymied all together.
Thunder Ridge was limited in its time in the offensive zone to less than 10 minutes.
Wetstein was very happy with the defensive effort his team put forward, saying the defense shut Thunder Ridge down before they could even set up offensively.
“They are the foundation of the team,” he said of the defense. “I stress a lot on the defense — I put a lot on them and hold them to really high standards because I fully believe (our success) starts with them.”
On the rare occasion when the Titans were able to get the ball into the Pocatello defensive zone, the Thunder mounted an effective counter attack and created either a goal or a shot turned away by Thunder Ridge goalie Cambria Sale.
The home team’s offense was not completely reliant on counterattacks, though.
Pocatello got the scoring started in the fifth minute, when senior Emily Holm found the back of the net.
The Thunder got goals from Marcella Bills, in the 18th minute, Hailee Pool, in the 45th minute, and Aryanna Gonzalez, in the 75th minute.
But it was senior Lexi Wells who may have been the one to put things out of reach, scoring in the 20th minute to give the Thunder a 2-0, then adding her second goal in the 25th minute, pushing the lead to three.
Wetstein spoke highly of the senior striker. This being Pocatello’s final game of the regular season, though, he took a moment to look forward a bit.
“She’s going to be sorely missed next year,” Wetstein said. “She’s a top goal-scorer. She creates things out of nothing and she’s a little cutthroat — she’ll finish it.”
Thunder Ridge was led by senior midfielder, and captain, Gisela Chavez, who was all over the field both making stops on defense and pushing the pace on offense. Given the go-ahead from coach Jason Lance, she just missed high — less than a foot above the crossbar — on a free kick from 35 yards in the second half.
The Titans have one more regular season game — Tuesday at Madison.
Pocatello will now wait until the district playoffs begin next weekend. According to Wetstein, their opponent will be decided Tuesday, when Preston and Century face off for the right to challenge the 5A South East Idaho Conference champs.
“Right now it’s just, keep playing the way we have,” Wetstein said. “We know we can’t let off the gas.”