WOMEN'S SOCCER FALLS SHORT IN OPENER

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

After two strong preseason matches the Northwest College women's soccer team came up short in its regular season openers at home last Thursday and Saturday — losing to Utah State University Eastern 5-0 and 3-1 to Truckee Meadows, Nevada.   

USU EASTERN 5, NORTHWEST 0
Opening up the season in the heat on Thursday afternoon the Trappers (0-2) welcomed the Golden Eagles (2-0) to town to open the season.

USU Eastern got things started early, scoring just four minutes after a tight through ball found its way behind the defense and was slotted into the net to give the visitors the early 1-0 lead.

An intelligent run that found its way behind the Trapper defense allowed for USU Eastern to score 18:30 minutes into the game, and give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

"Against USU Eastern we just didn't have that intensity," coach Rob Hill said. "We were giving the ball away way too often and they countered. There were far too many turnovers and unforced errors unfortunately."

The third goal of the first half came on a corner kick with 9:30 minutes left to give the Golden Eagles a commanding advantage.

Scoring in the second half continued on a free kick, and the final goal came with 15 minutes left on a goalkeeping error to make the final score 5-0.

"The gaps between the lines were so big and they were able to exploit that," Hill said.

NWC finished with 10 shots compared to nine for USU Eastern, and the Golden Eagles were forced to only make two saves on those shots while the Trappers saved the other four shots on target.

TRUCKEE MEADOWS 3, NORTHWEST 1
A day off allowed for the Trappers to regroup heading into Saturday, but some of the same errors occurred as Thursday — allowing for the visitors to build an early lead.

Truckee Meadows (2-1) opened the scoring after a ball bounced through the Trapper defense and was slotted past the keeper to make it 1-0 12 minutes in.

Just under five minutes later the visitors added to the lead on a strong shot, building the 2-0 lead.

Northwest got one back through Pressly Taylor, who scored on a tap-in after a cross was deflected off the post and bounced in front of an open net to cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the first half.

The Lizards put away the game with 14:30 minutes left  and seal the 3-1 win.

"It was a rough weekend," Hill said. "Not converting any chances that we had was tough to take."

Truckee Meadows outshot the Trappers 17-9, and had an 8-5 advantage in saves.   

HEADING ON THE ROAD
Northwest heads out on the road this weekend, making the trip south to Craig, Colorado, to take on Colorado Northwestern on Friday and Saturday.

"Even though these are regular season games I view them as preseason," Hill said. "There will be growing problems along the way. I think we have the talent and the depth, the biggest challenge this weekend is can we compete."

The Trappers remain on the road, heading to Gillette next Wednesday at noon to take on the Pronghorns.