MEN SPLIT CONFERENCE OPENING WEEKEND

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

A tale of two matches saw the Northwest College men's soccer team split its opening conference matchups on the road this past weekend — losing 6-1 to Western Nebraska on Friday before rebounding for a 2-1 victory over Laramie County Community College on Saturday.    

WESTERN NEBRASKA 6, NORTHWEST 1
The weekend started in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, with the Trappers (5-3-1 overall, 1-1 Region IX) looking to start the Region IX season with a win over the Cougars (4-1-1 overall, 2-0 Region IX).

"We started off really well, and even hit the post a couple times," coach Rob Hill said. "Then Western Nebraska started to be more intense and had answers for what we did."

The deadlock was broken five minutes into the contest by the Cougars, and quickly doubled less than 10 minutes later.

The Cougars added two more goals before the halftime whistle to add to the Trappers' misery, with the scoreline sitting at 4-0.

Out of the break the score continued to swell, with two more coming in the first 25 minutes and the Cougars holding a 6-0 lead.

"They came with intensity and desire and capitalized on our mistakes," Hill said. "Fair play to Nebraska, they work hard defensively and shut us down."

Marco Marin Castillo got the lone goal for Northwest in the 79th minute, and the unbeaten streak for Northwest was snapped at five.

Hill said that he and the captains of the team gathered following the match, discussing the importance of holding the team together heading into the second match of the weekend.    

NORTHWEST 2, LCCC 1
That second match followed on Saturday, with Northwest continuing its trip into Cheyenne to take on LCCC (1-4 overall, 1-1 Region IX).

Ricardo Farias da Silva got the Trappers on the board eight minutes into the game, converting a penalty to give Northwest the early lead.

LCCC answered with a shot from outside, making it 1-1 inside the first 21 minutes.

Alan De Paula gave Northwest the lead back on a corner from Farias da Silva, making it 2-1 in the 34th minute.

Hill said the Trappers were unlucky or they may have taken a larger lead, having hit the post twice, crossbar once and been denied by a strong save from the LCCC keeper.

Northwest held off the hosts not allowing many opportunities for the Golden Eagles, as the Trappers earned their first conference victory of the season — Hill said he believed this was the first time Northwest had won in Cheyenne against the Golden Eagles.

"This was probably the most complete performance I've seen them have," Hill said. "It's a tough place to win. It was a very good performance and all credit to the guys."     

HOME MATCHES
Northwest returns home this weekend, looking to carry the momentum of the LCCC match into a pair of home matches this weekend.

That starts with a match against Northeastern Junior College (2-2-1 overall, 1-0-1 Region IX) at 4 p.m. on Friday at Trapper Field.

That will be followed by a matchup against Lamar Community College (0-8 overall, 0-2 Region IX) on Saturday at 3 p.m.

"It will be nice to get conference games at home and see how we do after a good weekend," Hill said.