LARAMIE — It was a goal party Tuesday night inside Deti Stadium in Laramie.
Pressure was the name of the game for the Laramie High boys during a 6-1 victory over Cheyenne South.
The Plainsmen added goals from senior Paulo Mellizo and junior Sammy Heaney in the first 15 minutes. Mellizo used fancy footwork to dribble past two Bison defenders and fired a shot past South goalkeeper Aiden Mitchell.
One minute later, Heaney used his speed to chase down a rolling ball and split two Bison for a clean look at the net. The move came after Heaney had been working with Laramie coach Andy Pannell on working through the back of the defense.
“I’m a lot faster than most people,” Heaney said. “We have the people capable of getting the ball through to me. I’m always looking forward and trying to make the right play for the team.”
Added Pannell: “In our new formation, Paulo is a little more centrally located. He was on the wing, and now, he’s in the center. It’s been transformational for him, and he’s playing the best soccer I’ve ever seen from him.”
The Bison’s first and only shot of the first half came off the leg of senior Kaleb Schaffer, but the ball didn’t have much juice behind it and lost steam rolling to Plainsmen goalkeeper Declan O’Connor.
“We didn’t start with our normal formation, and that had us discombobulated,” South coach Josh Eastman said. “That was due to not having some kids show up to practice and behavioral issues in school.”
In the following minutes, South collected the first of two yellow cards in the match. Mario Rojas earned the card after a foul 10 yards out after tactically fouling to prevent a goal.
Laramie fired a shot shortly after, but Mitchell snagged it out of midair for the save.
After taking the 2-0 lead into halftime, the Plainsmen scored again just four minutes into the second half. Senior Sam Hunter was assisted by Mellizo, giving Mellizo consecutive games with both a goal and an assist.
Five minutes later, Mellzio found the net for the second time. The goal came after a save from Mitchell that deflected off his left foot.
Heaney joined Mellizo in the two-goal club shortly after, also scoring off a deflection. Despite the deficit, South’s effort never altered, and the Bison added a goal of their own in the 62nd.
South’s Caden Hart blasted a high-arching kick from the right sideline about 40 yards down the field. The ball took a high bounce at the top of the penalty area that was misread by O’Connor and bounced into the net.
“It was truly a shot,” Hart said with a laugh. “It was one of those where you’re trying to set a guy up, but the high bounce went over his head and found the net.
“It made everybody happy, gave them a laugh and got us fired back up after being down.”
Laramie added one more goal in the 72nd minute off the leg of senior Paul Taufa. Mitchell deflected a shot from LHS senior Colby Bluemel that Taufa was able to put through on a second-chance shot.
“We’ve been more organized,” Pannell said. “Being organized on defense has allowed us to create more chances offensively. Our guys feel good and know they have a big game coming up against Thunder Basin.”
The Plainsmen (6-3-2 overall, 4-3-2 Class 4A East Conference) next hosts Thunder Basin (4-3-3, 3-3-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Deti Stadium.
The Bison (1-10, 0-9) will host the Bolts at 6 p.m. Friday in Cheyenne.
LARAMIE 6, SOUTH 1
Halftime: Laramie 2-0.
Goals: Laramie, Mellizo (Unassisted) 14, Laramie, Heaney (unassisted), 15, Laramie, Hunter (Mellizo) 44, Laramie, Mellizo, 47, Laramie, Heaney (unassisted) 62, South, Hart (unassisted) 67, Laramie, Taufa (unassisted) 72.
Shots: Laramie 25, South 4. Shots on goal: Laramie 12, South 2. Saves: Laramie (O’Connor) 1, South (Mitchell) 8.
Corner kicks: Laramie 7, South 0. Offsides: Laramie 2, South 0. Fouls: Laramie 6, South 7.
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