Plainsmen boys open regionals against Cheyenne East

May 9—The Laramie boys soccer team will take the No. 5 seed into this weekend's Class 4A East Conference tournament in Cheyenne.

The Plainsmen will open postseason play against No. 4 Cheyenne East at 3 p.m. Thursday at Okie Blanchard Stadium. The first-round game will be a rematch after the teams finished in a 2-2 draw in the regular-season finale last week.

The Thunderbirds also beat Laramie 2-1 last month in Cheyenne.

"Coming into the season, we took East for granted a little," senior Catcher Pannell said. "The first time we played, it didn't go as well as we thought it would. The second time, we were able to figure some things out.

"Obviously, we lost Sammy Heaney to injury, which was a big, but some of our other players have stepped up and played big minutes for us. Now, it's time for us to turn the tables and take a win."

Heaney — a junior midfielder — went down with a foot injury during a 0-0 draw against Thunder Basin late in the season. Heaney was a box-to-box midfielder that acted as a connector on a lot of the Plainsmen's scoring chances.

Junior Zack Cotterman has seen an uptick in playing time since the injury, but not exactly at Heaney's old position. Heaney's absence has led to a formation change, causing senior Lucas Dillion to slide into Heaney's old role.

"(Heaney) being injured doesn't help our team at all," Cotterman said. "But, it has allowed us to train differently and forced us to find new ways to beat opponents."

In the immediate aftermath of Heaney's injury, the Plainsmen (6-4-4 overall, 4-4-4 East Conference) struggled to figure out what their identity needed to become in order to win games. Laramie coach Andy Pannell has relied on the idea of a collective effort moving forward.

"Our group relied heavily on Sammy to connect things in the midfield," the coach said. "Not having him is a big blow to us. It requires everyone else to raise the level of their game.

"These guys have decided that is something they're willing to do. Midfielders are the connective fibers on your team. Zack, Karson Busch and Lucas have all had their roles change. I'm proud of the fact they haven't caved after losing probably our most influential player."

Dillion is a player who has always possessed the skills to attack, but is so good defensively the team hasn't wanted to move him forward. In Heaney's old role, Dillion can't be as defensive, and has had to make the biggest adjustment of anyone on the team.

The experiment has already paid off for Laramie, as Dillion scored the game-tying goal in the second half against East last week. Andy Pannell said the physicality of running from box-to-box is the biggest change for him.

The Plainsmen have had to transform their formation into a 4-1-4-1 as a way to play more offensive-minded. With Heaney out, Laramie wants to avoid playing from behind.

"We had to bring in Zack in order to go on the front foot (offensively)," Catcher Pannell said. "As a team, we know it's more important to push forward, instead of waiting back in those blocks of four that we initially played."

Added Andy Pannell: "Even before the Sammy injury, Zack played really well in practice, and couldn't be denied. The amount of effort he's given us this year is in stark contrast to previous years, and it's been nice watching him develop."

Andy Pannell wants to see the team play its most organized soccer of the season against the Thunderbirds (7-4-3, 5-4-3) on Thursday. He feels the team has gotten too loose at times defensively and can't afford a repeat if the Plainsmen want to advance to state.

"Collective organization will seal our fate on Thursday," the coach said. "Effort on the defensive side of the ball is far-and-away the most important thing for the team at this point."

Catcher Pannell thinks the team needs to be more open-minded to switching field. He saw that aspect lacking in both games against the Thunderbirds this season.

"Switching the field and playing wide, versus just the middle, is something that would benefit us," the senior added. "We need to keep that in mind and cut out reoccurring mistakes. Being single-minded and only pushing one side of the field isn't going to help us."

Senior goalkeeper Declan O'Connor returned from a soccer hiatus and won the starting job during his first season playing in net. His teammates feel he has played a big part in Laramie's success this season.

"He's done an amazing job and stepped up big time," Cotterman said. "He's saved us in a multitude of games where the other team has had a chance to win or go up late. After not playing for a couple years, he's been a real contributor."

Added Andy Pannell: "I've been really pleased with (O'Connor's) play. He's risen to the moment with some big saves. He's coming into his own, and he's really won that position."

The Wyoming wind has had a big impact on Laramie's practices this week, forcing the team indoors. Although the Plainsmen won't have that luxury Thursday, they understand the changes that have to happen on the field.

"We have to keep the ball on the ground," Andy Pannell said. "You can't just put the ball in the sky. We're gonna have to move the ball on the ground side-to-side and be able to open things up."

Austin Edmonds covers Laramie High, University of Wyoming and community athletics for WyoSports. He can be reached at aedmonds@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @_austinedmonds.