Hays’ OT Heroics Lift Cody Fillies to Back-to-Back 3A State Titles [VIDEO, PHOTOS]
The Cody Fillies made it back-to-back state championships in 3A girls’ soccer nearly two weeks ago, thanks to a 1-0 overtime victory against the Lander Valley Tigers in the title match at Thunder Basin High School in Gillette. Grace Hays scored in the second half of OT to give Cody the 2026 crown.
After 80 minutes of scoreless soccer, the 3A girls’ title game went to overtime. Neither team tallied in the first half of OT. With less than eight minutes left before a possible shootout, Cody senior Ellie Talich sent a through ball ahead to junior Grace Hays, who split defenders and ran onto the ball. Hays touched it past Lander keeper Ang Rudd with 7:44 left before a possible shootout ensued. That was Grace’s 44th goal of the season.
Cody won their second consecutive 3A girls’ soccer state championship and fourth in the last five seasons. It was their eighth title in school history.
The Fillies stormed the field to celebrate their latest conquest. After that, WyoPreps caught up with Hays, keeper Macy Ball, who made nine saves in the match, and defender Mali Ivanoff. We discussed the feeling of another championship, the winning goal by Hays, some of the keys to beating Lander, how they shut down the Tigers’ attack, and more.
The Fillies completed the 2026 season with an overall record of 15-1. Lander went 12-5.
WyoPreps has photos from the 3A championship match between the Fillies and the Tigers. You can see those in the photo gallery below.
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Cody vs. Lander 3A Girls Soccer State Championship match 2026
Gallery Credit: David Settle, WyoPreps.com
