For the second consecutive match, the Mountain View High School girls’ soccer team found themselves in a situation no team would really consider ideal.

Tied 2-2 Friday at the end of regulation on the road at Bridger Valley rival Lyman, the Lady Buffalos were headed to their second overtime shootout in as many games, having had to go through the same thing a week earlier against Lander. The Lady Tigers had come out on top that time 4-3, though Mountain View took the experience as a teachable moment.

“It was kind of like a reflection of, “I’m really glad we did this last week, because maybe we’ll get it done this time,’” said MV head coach Jessica Moretti.

Lesson learned. The Lady Buffalos outscored Lyman 3-2 in the shootout to earn the win, as well as the much-needed points that will keep them in the hunt for a state tournament berth.

“I feel like both teams really feel a lot of weight with this game, because of the rivalry,” Moretti said. “It’s a high-stress game for both of them. And for us, it was a game that we had to come away with – it was really important to make sure that we are in the spot to have that chance of still getting to state. So that was huge for us to get those three points. There was a lot riding on that, as far as the playoffs go.”

Both teams played stellar defensively for much of the first half. Mountain View (3-4, 2-4 in the 3A West) finally broke the stalemate with just over two minutes to play in the first, when Ellie Stoddard broke loose on the right side, beating keeper Owen Hansen for the score. The first half would end with the Lady Buffs leading 1-0.

Lyman wasted no time bringing the match back to even at the start of the second half, as senior forward Karly Sabey stepped in front of a Mountain View pass and brought the ball up the left side of the pitch. Making a nice move on a defender at the top of the box, Sabey found the back of the net to tie the match 1-1.

Stoddard answered with her second goal of the match with just under nine minutes gone in the second half, a nice shot from the right side just outside the box that went over the head of keeper Hansen.

The Lady Buffs held a 2-1 lead until late in the second half, when Lyman was awarded a penalty kick with just under four minutes to play in regulation. Sabey converted the kick for her second goal of the contest, and regulation ended in a 2-2 tie.

Setting up for the shootout, Lyman went with the lineup of Lexi Snyder, Kelsie Nebeker, Karly Sabey, Natalee Nebeker and Owen Hansen, who did double duty as keeper, as well. The Lady Buffs had Kennley Winn, Kai Bell, Ellie Stoddard, Kara Willett and Taylor Antonino, with Charlee Porter in net.

Stoddard, Willett and Anotonino scored for Mountain View in the 3-2 win, while Sabey and Hansen scored for Lyman. Hansen got a piece of Mountain View’s final two goals, but couldn’t quite make the saves.

Both teams will now prepare for  a visit from the teams from Park County next weekend, as Powell and Cody make their annual trip to the Bridger Valley. Moretti said it will be a tough weekend of games, against two of the best teams in the state.

“Cody and Powell are so good,” she said. “We have to play both sides of the ball – nobody gets a break. If not, they’ll just pick you apart. We have to make scoring difficult for them, and hopefully, we can score a few of our own. We’d like to steal a point from one of them, maybe get into a tie situation and go into another shootout – I would love that. And I tell the kids that all the time – Why not? We’re definitely the underdogs, but the goal is to go in, and see if we can get a point somewhere, somehow, so that at the end of the weekend, we’ve benefited our standings. That’s definitely our goal.”