WOMEN'S SOCCER STUMBLES IN CASPER CONTEST

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest women's soccer team dropped a key late season contest on the road against Casper College on Saturday, falling 5-0.

The T-Birds (8-4-1 overall, 5-1-1 Region IX) jumped on top of the Trappers (2-11 overall, 1-6 Region IX) from the start, taking an early 1-0 lead.

Casper added to the lead midway through the half, when a long curling effort found the top corner of the net and extended the lead out to 2-0.

Northwest had limited opportunities on the attacking end, which allowed Casper to take advantage one more time before the half.

Ten minutes before the half a ball went unclaimed in a scramble in the box, slipping through the Trapper defense and was tapped in to make it 3-0.

"Not to take anything away from Casper but all three of those first goals were on us," coach Rob Hill said. "There were definitely some errors that we made position-wise in the first half."

Northwest came out in the second half playing better possession-based soccer, but were unable to create any significant chances.

Casper started to press late, and a quick free kick from just outside the 18-yard box found its way into the net to make it 4-0.

One last goal came late, when a shot saved by NWC goalkeeper Audette Rodolph was blocked into the path of a T-Bird attacker and finished to make it 5-0.  

KEY FINAL WEEKEND
Northwest returns home for its final weekend of action, kicking off against Central Wyoming (2-7-1 overall, 0-5 Region IX) at 2 p.m.

The Trappers currently sit in the last spot in the playoffs, and have a chance to secure that No. 8 spot with a victory against the Rattlers.

"Central makes it tough on us," Hill said. "We will get a couple of starters back that we did not have and that will definitely help."

If Northwest loses, they will have to get a victory over Western Wyoming (11-7 overall, 5-2 Region IX) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Powell to secure a playoff spot.