Poky’s Gonzalez sets program goals record, leads Thunder back to state tourney

POCATELLO — For the sixth time in as many years, the Pocatello Thunder have qualified for the girls’ Soccer State Championships. And as was the case the last three years, the Thunder were led to the playoffs by striker Aryanna Gonzalez.

Gonzalez has been among Pocatello’s top scorers at the end of all four of her seasons with the team, including last year when she lost roughly half the year to a knee injury. This year, the senior has returned to the top of the state’s scoring list, with 36 goals in 21 games.

Adding to what had already been a great final year of Poky soccer, “Ary” scored four times Saturday, leading the Thunder to a 7-0 play-in victory over Jerome and the state berth, and earning the East Idaho Sports District 5 Athlete of the Week along the way.

Up big in the second half, Gonzalez admitted that she was pushing for her fourth score, to get No. 100 on her home field.

“I was just shooting shots towards the end,” she said with a huge grin.

Head coach Mark Wetstein said after the game that while records were not kept with the best regularity before his arrival at the school, he is confident in saying that Gonzalez is the first 100 goal-scorer in Pocatello girls’ soccer history.

“It’s crazy-impressive and probably a first for the school,” the coach said. “That’s got to be a first for Poky history. … We’ve had some big goal-scorers, but Ary’s consistency throughout her entire four years here, that’s why she’s got those 100 goals — it’s wildly impressive.”

Consistency has been the key to Gonzalez’s career success. She scored 17 goals as a freshman, then raised that total to 29 her sophomore season, helping Pocatello claim the school’s first girls’ soccer state title. As a junior, she scored 18 times before suffering a season-ending injury just 12 games into the season.

She still deals with some nagging pain in that left knee, Gonzalez admitted after the victory over Jerome. But it has not been enough to keep her from leading an explosive offense in goals, while finishing second on the team in assists, with nine, to fellow senior Brynlee Pool, with 26.

Having already been part of a championship-winning team in 2024 and a third-place finish in 2023, Gonzalez is hoping to help her team claim a third title. And her eyes are set firmly on an upset run to another state championship.

“Winning a state championship after a huge injury, after a huge setback, it would mean the world to me,” she said.

Gonzalez and the Thunder will open the state tournament Thursday as the 5A classification’s 6-seed, and face No. 3 Wood River in the opening round.