WOMEN''S SOCCER SPLITS TOUGH ROAD CONTESTS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

A difficult contest in Casper was followed by a victory in Gillette for the Northwest College women's soccer team, as the Trappers fell to the Thunderbirds 2-1 on Friday before defeating the Pronghorns 3-0 on Saturday.   

CASPER COLLEGE 2, NORTHWEST 1
Kicking off the weekend in Casper the Trappers (6-3-1 overall, 4-2 Region IX) took on the Thunderbirds (7-2-3 overall, 6-0-1 Region IX) with both teams looking to move higher in the region standings.

Northwest came out strong over the first 10 minutes, but was unable to find a shot to beat the Casper keeper before the hosts took control.

"We could have scored within 60 seconds but we chose to pass instead of shoot," coach Rob Hill said. "I thought the first 10 minutes we were absolutely superb. After that 10 minutes we kind of got a little bit flat, a little slow and a bit lethargic."

The Thunderbirds got on the board after a Northwest turnover near midfield allowed Casper to push the ball forward, finding space in the box for a cross.

That cross bounced around before being cleared out of the 18, before a shot awkwardly bounced past the Trapper keeper and made it 1-0 in the 12th minute.

Northwest and Casper both had opportunities the remainder of the half, but neither could find a goal and the Thunderbirds led 1-0 at the break.

Casper got its second goal early in the second half, when a cross found the Thunderbird attacker, beating the Northwest defender one on one and putting it in the back of the net to make it 2-0 in the 55th minute.

Battling against the wind for a majority of the second half the Trappers did not find many opportunities, but were able to get on the board late.

"We just weren't at our best," Hill said. "It was one of those days … I felt like we could have given them a better game had we been a little more competitive and a little bit more careful with the ball."

In the 85th minute a corner kick bounced around the box before it was eventually put home by Pressly Taylor which gave Northwest a chance to tie late.

The Trappers did not find an equalizer, and fell 2-1. 

"We played our best soccer in the first 10 and the last 10 minutes," Hill said. The last 10 minutes we pushed, scored off a set piece and then we kept pushing to try and get the equalizer. I just didn't think that we were at our best. I think the best performance so far for us in terms of managing, molding the effort and the mentality and the soccer probably was Western Wyoming. We have yet to replicate that, but it's hard when you're playing tough teams and then not tough teams."    

NORTHWEST 3, GILLETTE COLLEGE 0
After the loss on Friday the Trappers turned their attention to the Pronghorns (5-5 overall, 4-3 Region IX) on Saturday in Gillette.

Northwest got on the board first, when Brooke Travers found Taylor on a cross and Taylor put it in the back of the net to make it 1-0.

"I thought we came out and played pretty well," Hill said. "We passed the ball a lot better. I mean part of the problem with Casper was we weren't winning first and second balls, and so we were always on the back foot just because of that … Against Gillette, we did the complete opposite. We were winning 90% of the balls, we were on the front foot, we were looking to attack. The goals we scored were very good."

Taylor added a second to her tally, getting this one via an assist from Elliasen Lewis. Later Taylor returned the favor to Lewis and assisted her goal to make the final tally 3-0 against the Pronghorns.

"I was happy with that, much better performance, much better effort, and a much cleaner performance," Hill said.     

HOME GAMES END SEASON
Northwest now returns home for the rest of the regular season, starting with a contest against Central Wyoming (3-6-1 overall, 3-4 Region IX) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"They've got a couple of decent players that can cause problems," Hill said. "There's not an easy game … You still got to play, you still gotta do the basics, you've still got to perform and you can't take things for granted."

The Trappers then host Lamar Community College (1-7-1 overall, 1-5 Region IX) at 11 a.m. on Monday, making up a game that was postponed earlier in the season due to poor field conditions in Colorado.

Northwest will wrap up the regular season Oct. 11-12 at home against Western Nebraska and Laramie County Community College, making it four games in eight days at home for Northwest to end the year.

"I think that we're in a good place that the girls are not down about Casper," Hill said. "I think they just want to prove themselves and they want to go as far as they can in this region. The challenge is: Can we maintain energy levels? Can we stay healthy during that period? Because that's a lot of games now that we've added Lamar on Monday as a makeup game."