ROCK SPRINGS – The Rock Springs Tigers soccer team battled both the weather and the Evanston Red Devils Thursday and were able to come out on top, 3-1.

The Tigers entered Thursday night’s game coming off a big win against defending state champion Jackson. Nic Kautzman and the defense came up big against the Broncs pitching the shutout, 5-0. Against Evanston, it was the offense that made a statement early.

It only took two minutes for the Tigers to put the first point on the board. Hector Quezada took the pass from Kingdom Wanjoku and blasted it in for the 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, the Red Devils were able to get behind the Tiger defense and put a shot just out of the reach of Kautzman to even the game.

With 24 minutes before the half, Quezada struck again. With an assist from Kyler Van Valkenburg, Quezada put the Tigers back in front. That was how the first half ended with Rock Springs up 2-1.

It didn’t take long in the second half for the Tigers to extend their lead. Quezada was on the other end as he assisted Kade Moeller who put the Tigers up 3-1. The score remained this way for almost three hours. With 14 minutes left, the game was delayed for a little over two hours due to lightning in the area.

The two teams returned to the field and finished the final 14 minutes. Rock Springs controlled the game after the delay to move to 2-0 in conference play and 3-1 overall.

While satisfied with the win, Rock Springs Head Coach Sean Grube said the Tigers still have several things to work on before tournament time.

“We came out with high intensity,” Grube said. “Capitalizing on our opponents mistakes is one of those things we need to improve on. We had several shots and we need to finish those to be successful.”

Defensively, Grube was pleased with the showing. He said they still have a couple of things they need to clean up but overall liked the effort and the intensity.

Rock Springs will be at home for their next game as the host one of the top teams in the conference, Natrona. They will then head to Worland for jamboree action over the weekend.

The Lady Tigers game was canceled due to the weather and will be made up on April 6. They will first host Natrona on April 4 and close out a busy week at the Green River Jamborees.

Rock Springs High School
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