CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's soccer team got off to a hot start against Gillette College in their fourth Region IX match of the season and four goals in the first 20 minutes set the tone on the way to a 7-0 win over the Pronghorns to move the Golden Eagles to 3-3 on the year and 3-0-1 in Region IX play.
The opening goal came just three minutes into the match when LCCC took advantage of a window to take the 1-0 advantage on a Danielle O'Leary strike on a ball in the middle after the assist from Macey Woolcock.
The Golden Eagles quickly added a second goal on a breakaway from O'Leary and began to put their stamp on the match before the Pronghorns had time to react with only five minutes off of the clock.
Woolcock added another goal, and the English players were having a field day on the attack to pace the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 lead with only 15 minutes off the clock, taking advantage of deep balls to put pressure on the back line of Gillette.
"I know sometimes you have to deal with teams that have slow starts but it seems that either we have a group that mentally knows when to switch it on or has a drive that they utilize in warm up to carry that on into the game," Head Coach Lugo Arenas praised his team. "That's stuff that we are super happy with as coaches."
The offense didn't slow down with Aubrey Yantis adding her fourth of the season to make it 4-0 in the 19th minute and Gillette was left on their back heels as they couldn't find an answer for the LCCC attack.
The scoring died down until the final minute when the Pronghorns gave up an own goal that deflected off of a defender and into the net for a 5-0 lead at the half.
Early in the second half, a long lightning delay put both teams in the locker rooms for nearly an hour in the 53rd minute, but after a nearly one-hour delay, LCCC was able pick up where they left off, adding goals from Rachelle Pinto in the 65th minute and another by Caroline Kuhn in the 74th to go up 7-0 on the Pronghorns.
The Golden Eagles cruised the rest of the way as they finished off the win to extend their unbeaten streak to four and their third clean sheet in a row.
LCCC's offense was shining throughout, with 31 total shots in the match with 17 being on goal.
Kiara Kershaw finished the game with four saves of her own and the defense protected her well, only allowing nine shots total in the match.
"It just speaks highly of the grit and the mental toughness that they have," Arenas said. "It was funny because that was brought up at halftime between the group themselves, not even by us as coaches."
Woolcock led the team with three assists and a goal and continues to be a strong presence on the field that has really impressed during conference play and O'Leary finished with a new career best with the Golden Eagles to lead that stat as five LCCC women scored in the match.
"I think the biggest thing is just confidence," Arenas said. "I think she always knew that what she is doing now was always there, it was just having the belief to showcase that on the field. That and putting specific pieces around her that really make her excel.
The team now will prepare for a showdown with #19 Casper College on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm in Casper, Wyoming. The match has major postseason implications with the Thunderbirds entering the weekend as the top team in the Region IX standings on points.
"It's nice that this one is done and over with so we can focus on that match," Arenas said. "I know a win like this that we had today really has our ladies in the right mindset knowing how big tomorrow is, not just for them having that number next to their team's name, but also the implications that it can hold toward the end of the year when it comes to standings and potentially home field advantage."
Streaming information on Saturday's match can be found at www.golccc.com, as well as more information on the Laramie County Community College women's schedule.