TRAPPERS REBOUND IN ROAD SWEEP

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

A formation change sparked a scoring spree for the Northwest College men's soccer team on the road in Rangely, Colorado, this past weekend — leading to a pair of dominant wins over Colorado Northwestern Community College 6-1 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday.\   

NORTHWEST 6, COLORADO NORTHWESTERN CC 1
The long trip started Friday afternoon between the Trappers (2-2) and the Spartans (1-3-1) with Northwest looking to get its first win of the season.

Pedro Miguel Vilaca got the scoring started 19 minutes into the game, finding himself open in the box after a Ben Laybourne pass — slotting it into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Ricardo Farias da Silva added to the lead 13 minutes later, converting a penalty to double the lead to 2-0.

Farias da Silva got his second goal of the game with 7:39 left in the half after a strong effort on a rebound earned him the goal.

The Spartans instantly answered, scoring off the kickoff through a long ball in just 16 seconds to make it 3-1.

Northwest pushed out the lead in the second half through goals by Paulo Victory Gomez, Alan De Paula and Hugo Garcia Carbonel to help pull away and finish with the team's first victory of the season.

"The guys adapted well and caused a few problems for the opponents," coach Rob Hill said. "We were definitely able to dominate possession and create chances … Several people got on the score sheet and it was good to see that."

Northwest outshot Colorado Northwestern 24-6.    

NORTHWEST 4, COLORADO NORTHWESTERN CC 0
After the dominant victory on Friday the Trappers looked to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday, but were unable to find a goal for a majority of the first half.

The goal finally came with just under eight minutes left, when Vilaca converted a penalty kick and gave Northwest the 1-0 lead.

Another goal quickly followed four minutes later, when Laybourne finished off a pass by Vilaca to make it 2-0 heading into the break.

A long ball found its way into the box five minutes into the second half, with Vilaca finding Farias da Silva who finished it off and made it a commanding 3-0 lead.

The scoring was capped off by Vilaca, who finished off a Farias da Silva cross to make it 4-0 eight minutes into the second half.

"The weekend was a booster in terms of not just creating chances but finishing chances," Hill said.

That gave Northwest its second victory in as many days and helped continue the offensive spark the team was seeking.

The Trappers finished with 24 shots compared to the Spartan's seven.    

HOME MATCH SATURDAY
From this point on the Trappers will take on exclusively Region IX opponents, which started with Gillette College (0-2-1) on Wednesday afternoon.

"They need to understand that every game is a battle from here on out," Hill said. "Maintaining a high level of consistency is key."

That will continue on Saturday at home when Northwest will take on Central Wyoming (2-3) at 3:30 p.m. before heading to Casper to take on No. 13-ranked Casper College (3-1) at 4 p.m. on Monday.