NWC WOMEN SPLIT SEASON OPENERS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Starting the regular season with a pair of neutral site games in Ephraim, Utah, the Northwest College women's soccer team started the year 1-1, losing a difficult contest on Thursday to Yavapai College 1-0 out of Prescott, Arizona. The Trappers rebounded on Friday, defeating a Region IX opponent in Western Nebraska Community College 5-2 in a nonconference matchup.    

YAVAPAI 1, NORTHWEST 0
Facing off against the Roughriders (2-0) the Trappers (1-1) were unable to find their footing throughout the game, as it was Yavapai who got on the board in the first half for the lone goal.

That goal came in the 34th minute, as coach Rob Hill felt the Trappers lacked intensity throughout the match.

"We turned the ball over way too much … I think we completed more passes to Yavapai than we completed to ourselves," Hill said. "We created chances even though I don't think we played really well. We played pretty poorly to be honest."

Despite the loss, Hill felt the Trappers had several chances to tie the contest, but was OK with the team taking the loss in the end as he felt that served as a bigger motivator than had they won the game.

"There was just a lack of intensity, a lack of competitiveness, a lack of passion and we just showed it in everything we did. We were lethargic in passing, lethargic in defending. It was a struggle to watch, and it's a game that we shouldn't have lost," Hill said. "But also in the same token, I'm glad we didn't win it, because if we had won it playing as badly as we did, we'd never have had the lessons to talk about."    

NORTHWEST 5, WESTERN NEBRASKA 2
Getting back on the field Friday, the Trappers came out more motivated against the Cougars (0-2).

Brooke Travers got things started on the scoresheet, firing home a shot from outside the box in the 20th minute to make it 1-0.

"The first one was a brilliant goal, a really good volley from outside the box. One for the highlight reel," Hill said. 

Hill said that goal improved the mood of the Trappers, but they were only able to go into the halftime break up 1-0 before a scoring flurry in the second half.

Isabella Farrell got a goal 9 minutes in, doubling the lead to 2-0 and giving the Trappers some breathing room.

Bailey Wright joined Farrell in scoring her first goal as a Trapper, firing one home in the 66th minute to make it 3-0.

Western Nebraska got one back, before Elli Lewis opened her goal tally for the year in the 74th minute to make it 4-1.

Travers got her second goal of the game in the 79th minute before the Cougars got the final goal in the 86th minute to make the final score 5-2.

"The Western Nebraska game I was much more happy about. I wasn't so happy about us conceding the soft goals, but we could have had probably three or four more," Hill said. "The tempo was higher. Just everything about their attitudes and their body language was better. I still think there's room for improvement, because we still turn the ball over too much, but on the same token, we worked to get it back. So that was good to see the mentality."     

NONCONFERENCE WRAPS UP
Northwest now heads to the northwestern corner of the country for a pair of games.

The Trappers are scheduled to take on Pacific Northwest Christian College (0-1) at noon on Friday in Kennewick, Washington. Hill said the Trappers are still attempting to play that game, whether it is a scrimmage or official game, but the Gladiators currently have a number of injuries on their roster which may prevent the game from being played.

Northwest then heads to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, taking on North Idaho College (0-2) at noon on Saturday.

"That'll be a very tough game. We were 2-0 up against them last year. They went 3-2 and we managed to get it back to 3-3. So going away to their place it'll be very tough," Hill said. "If we start the way we did against Yavapai, we're going to be in trouble. So we have to have the same kind of tempo and mentality that we did against Nebraska, and just have that urgency."

Northwest then returns to Wyoming for its next contest, on the road to Rock Springs to take on Western Wyoming Community College on Sept. 5 to kick off Region IX action.