Panthers shut out Winona in first-round matchup

Thompson scored four goals for the Panthers, while Smith added three to help them pick up a 7-0 win in the first round of the Class I playoffs. Amory advances to the second round and will face Forest.

“We moved the ball really well as far as getting it to our wings in the outside channel, and we did a great job of adjusting whenever Winona dropped their back line,” Amory coach Nathan Clayton said. “Dylan (Thompson) had a huge day offensively. Cayden (Smith) made some good plays offensively in the midfield along with all of our midfielders.”

Amory wasted no time in getting on the board after Thompson scored off of a deflection two minutes into the game. Smith followed with back-to-back goals on assists from Walker Mitchell and Thompson at the five and 10-minute marks.

A minute later, Thompson scored his second goal of the day on an assist from Sam Black, and Thompson scored once again in the 31st minute to notch a hat trick before halftime. Drew Blair sent Amory into the half up 5-0 after making a save on a header from Winona.

Thompson and Smith scored the final two goals for the Panthers at the 41 and 47-minute mark to seal the shutout win.

“Our defense did a really good job of not allowing Winona to get any quality shooting opportunities, so anytime it’s a boring day for your goalkeeper, it’s pretty good,” Clayton said. “We hope to get a little bit better and fine-tune some things going into the second round against Forest.”