CHEYENNE, WY - The No. 7 ranked Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles (10-1-1) beat the Western Nebraska Cougars (5-4-2) 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles provided the pressure in the first 20 minutes, nearly taking the lead twice when Jose Bencomo (Aurora, Colo.) and Chuy Gonzalez (Caldwell, Idaho) each put a ball just over the bar.
Western Nebraska opened the scoring in the 35th minute, getting around the Golden Eagles' defense to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
With two minutes remaining in the half, the Golden Eagles broke through, tying the game at one in the 44th minute thanks to a goal from Jared Ramos (Thornton, Colo.) who tapped in a cross from Daniel Barajas (Edwards, Colo.).
The Golden Eagles took the lead just a minute later when Roger Ibarra (Denver, Colo.) danced around the goalkeeper and put the ball in the empty net, giving the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead with just 10 seconds remaining in the half.
It didn't take long for the Golden Eagles to add to their lead when Noe Ortiz-Pena (Aurora, Colo.) stole a pass from the Western Nebraska keeper and put the ball in the net at the near post, pushing the lead to 3-1 in the 52nd minute.
Omar Castruita (Boulder, Colo.) scored 12 minutes later to increase the lead to 4-1 before Barajas gave the Golden Eagles their fifth goal, scoring on a penalty in the 87th minute to push the lead to 5-1.
The Golden Eagles are back in action on Saturday, hosting Casper at 1:00 pm.