PUEBLO, CO – After a defensive battle in the opening half, the Laramie County Community College men’s soccer team fell off of the pace of Otero College on Sunday afternoon in their 4-0 loss to the Rattlers in the Region IX Championship game.
Laramie County was led by their defensive effort which kept Otero from getting too many looks at the net during the opening 45 minutes.
Head Coach Fernando Perez said the team was working together as a unit during the opening minutes which led to the success.
“Their movement, attacking, exploiting the open space, completing connecting passes, and defending were all strong,” he said.
The second half changed that script early when Otero netted goals in the 46th, 53rd, and 60th minutes to take control of the game going into the final 30 minutes.
“We started strong in the first half but things changed and they were the better team in the second half,” Perez said.
The Golden Eagles tried to build pressure but were only able to manage 4 shots in the game with only one being on goal.
The season wraps up with LCCC holding a 7-7-2 record and finishing with a 5-2-1 record in Region IX play with their only two losses coming to Otero.
“I’m really proud of them,” Perez said. “We’ve come a long way and it’s not over yet. The sophomores get to move on to and the freshman get to come back and we have to work hard.”
Laramie County will be potentially bringing back 13 players from this year’s team, including Azael Marrufo who finished the year with three goals and one assist, Mario Ramirez who finished with two goals and an assist, and Owen Sanchez who finished with three goals.