Off to a good start, the Laramie girls’ soccer team looks to build off of last year with a young team in 2022.

Laramie has only one senior on this year’s roster. They return seven starters and 13 letter winners from last season’s team that finished 6-6-1 in 2021. The LHS girls were 6-4-1-1 in the conference matches. They lost their first-round regional tournament game and did not qualify for the state tournament.

It’s also year two for head coach Justine Tydings. She feels things are going more smoothly to start this season compared to a year ago.

“Just feeling like the comfort level with my coaching style and them (the players) understanding how I coach, is a bit more at ease now. They already know what I expect of them. It’s just a little bit more relaxed, a little bit more composed. The understanding is there already, so I don’t feel like I’m kind of scrambling, starting from scratch for everything, and trying to teach concepts that I think are important. They already have that solid base.”

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This year’s squad is composed of sophomores and juniors, while a few freshmen are expected to contribute, as well.

Juniors Libby Goodspeed (defender) and Allison Beeston (midfielder) spoke with KOWB’s David Settle about the 2022 season.

Beeston is a returning all-state and all-conference player for LHS. Fellow junior Lexi Lucero was also all-conference last year.

Laramie opened their season last weekend with three victories over Evanston, Green River, and Star Valley at a jamboree tournament in Green River.

Coach Tydings was very pleased with how her team played, especially since they had just over half their normal varsity roster because it was Spring Break for Albany County School District No. 1 last week.

“I cannot say enough kind words about what they did, and how they did it. They rose to the occasion. They played their hearts out, and it was so fun to see new kids contribute, and own into the culture of Laramie soccer."

The Lady Plainsmen start conference play at home this weekend. They will take on Campbell County at 5 p.m. on Friday. The start time was moved up by one hour. Then, LHS will host Sheridan at noon on Saturday. Both matches are at Deti Stadium.

Coach Tydings added that even this weekend they’ll still be sorting some things out because they had players gone last week.

“It’s still finding that comfortability in their spots or in the rotation that they may be finding themselves in. There are still some spots that are really competitive right now (for playing time) that I haven’t really solidified who’s starting, who’s going to play the most minutes; those types of things. This week’s going to be the biggest test of that, especially to see who’s filling those roles and how they do in a game-like situation.”

Another part that Coach Tydings is much more knowledgeable about is what to expect from each opponent. She told KOWB that she has a better understanding of how all the teams play and what to expect from their personnel versus entering her first year in 2021.

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