MEN'S SOCCER FALTERS IN SECOND HALF

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Coming off a win the previous weekend in Riverton, the Northwest College men's soccer team had its eye on an upset in Casper on Saturday, but a five-goal outburst by No. 19-ranked Casper College in the second half saw the Trappers lose 7-1.

The Trappers (4-9-1 overall, 1-6 Region IX) started the match with strong possession play, but the T-Birds (12-3-1 overall, 5-1-1 Region IX) got on the board first.

Powell High School graduate Garrett Morris got Casper on the board when a strong shot from 25-yards out found its way into the back of the net — giving Casper the lead 13 minutes in.

Northwest responded, finding opportunities in the attacking half, and finally got a key chance when Benjamin Lachaize was fouled hard in the box to earn a penalty.

In the previous matchup with Casper, Northwest earned two penalties but was not able to convert either opportunity in a 5-2 loss.

This time the Trappers didn't let the opportunity go by. Ricardo Farias da Silva stepped up to the spot and slotted it by the Casper goalkeeper who guessed the wrong way to tie the game 1-1 with 20 minutes left in the half.

After the goal, Casper started to control the tempo of the game.

Ten minutes later, an error on a reception by a Trapper defender found its way across to a T-Bird attacker who fired a shot into the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead.

"The goals that we conceded were soft," coach Rob Hill said. "Not taking anything away from Casper, I like the way they play. Sometimes it is a lack of desire to transition back to defend on our end."

Casper took that lead into the half, and added to it immediately out of the break.

Three minutes into the half the T-Birds scored on a corner kick, and scored another just four minutes later — swelling the lead to 4-1.

Casper added to it again in the 60th, 68th and 82nd minutes to secure the 7-1 victory.

"In the second half it just unraveled," Hill said.

Northwest returns home this weekend to play its final home game against Central Wyoming (3-9-1 overall, 1-4-1 Region IX) on Friday at 4 p.m.

The Trappers currently sit at No. 7 in the Region IX standings, and can lock up their position with a victory.

"At the end of the day it comes down to a knockout competition and we are in that," Hill said.

He is confident that his team still has the talent to compete against anybody in the region, but knows they must have the desire and work rate to pull off an upset going in.

If the Trappers lose they will be the No. 8 seed heading into the postseason.