There was high drama for the Laramie Plainsmen on day one at state soccer. The Plainsmen survived a shoot-out for a 3-2 win over Kelly Walsh.

Laramie won the shoot-out 4-3, as the Trojans missed their second and fifth shoot-out kicks.

Head coach Dan Benford said there was relief in the victory and gave credit to the opposition for great game.

“We started slow today and found it hard to match the intensity of Kelly Walsh. We had to rely on our talent to keep us in the game. I give it to Kelly Walsh for not giving up each time we struck to go ahead. Happy to be moving on.”

The Plainsmen got on the board first when Anthony Castano found the back of the net on a penalty kick in the 34th minute. It was 1-0 at half. Kelly Walsh answered and tied it with a goal in the 51st minute.

Laramie took a 2-1 lead in the first half of overtime on Lucas Thorsness goal off a feed from Blake Moore in the 82nd minute. The Trojans responded yet again. They scored in the 94th minute.

In the shoot-out, Cameron Campbell, Castano, Paul Gonzales and Ryan Petersmann made their kicks. KW missed their second kick. Despite a save by the Trojans keeper against Alexis Eleuterio, the fifth kick for Kelly Walsh went wide and gave LHS the sudden death victory.

The Plainsmen will face Sheridan in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The Broncs beat Natrona County 1-0 in their first round match.

Sheridan has won two of the three meetings this season against Laramie. That includes a 4-3 victory in the semifinals at the regional tournament last weekend.

The winner will face either defending champion Cheyenne Central or Riverton, who square off in the other semifinal.

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