ROCK SPRINGS – The Rock Springs Avengers U12 Boys Gold team traveled to Boise, Idaho on Oct. 8-9 and earned their first trophy as champions.

The Avengers played a difficult schedule against four of the top 20 ranked teams in Idaho that included the second and fifth-ranked teams in the state.

The Avengers started play on Saturday against the Idaho Rush White team from Boise and both teams played a tough, physical game. The Avengers had most of the opportunities in the game but found it difficult to break through their strong back line. The Avengers’ defense matched the Rush’s efforts, making things difficult for them to move the ball and the game ended in a 0-0 tie.

In the second game, the Avengers’ faced the No. 2 ranked team in the state, PVSC United Real. The team started slow and gave up two goals in the first half but scored two of their own to tie things up going into half time. In the second half the Avenger’s played up to their potential, holding PVSC scoreless while scoring three goals of their own. The team showed real heart by recovering from a couple of soft goals and largely dominated after the break.

On Sunday, the third game saw the Avengers’ comfortably beat Sawtooth United FC 3-0 with a complete game that was never really in question. With a clean sheet and three goals the Avengers’ finished first in their bracket and qualified for the finals against the fifth-ranked team in the state, The Boise Nationals Timbers.

The final game saw two evenly matched teams that played an aggressive and physical match. While both teams had many opportunities they both found it hard to find the net and the match ended in another 0-0 draw. To name a winner, the match went to penalty kicks and The Avengers were up to the task scoring on each of their five kicks. Even though the Avengers’ goalie had his hands on a couple of shots, the Boise Nationals scored on four of their shots but had one go wide making the Avengers’ the Champions.

The Avengers’ U12 Boys Gold team is made up of players from teams that have one a couple of Wyoming State championships but this is the first trophy the team has won together. Goals were provided by Hunter Jenkins, Braxton Cordova, Conner Politi, Azra Moses and William Hamilton while Payton Davidson, Ryland Kukkola and Beau Burdette provided support.

The defensive effort that included 3 shutouts in 4 games was led by Noah Weidner, Ryker Mikkelsen and AJ Fletcher with Hudson Conrad as the anchor in goal. Helping the team get to this level but not making the trip was Filiberto “Junior” Benitez-Moreno. The coaches include Ryan Conrad, Mike Jenkins and Andy Fletcher.

The Avengers are a competitive soccer club that travels throughout the mountain west states. If you would are interested in joining the Avengers or would like to know more about them you can find club information and try-out dates on their website at rsavengers.org