SCOTTSBLUFF, NE – The Laramie County Community College men's soccer team couldn't find their offense on Saturday afternoon, dropping their final Region IX regular season match to the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars 1-0 and falling to 5-3-1 in conference play.
"I think we played our game in a sense, but at the end of the day the scoresheet is what matters, and we couldn't take the win," Head Coach Fernando Perez said. "I think our possession was good in some parts of the field, but we just couldn't execute in the final third."
The two teams battled to a 0-0 draw in the first half after being held to just two shots in the opening 45 minutes.
LCCC was able to generate six shots in the second half and finished the match with five on goal but couldn't find a way to get any past the Cougars goalie before surrendering a penalty kick in the final 16 minutes which gave WNCC the eventual win.
"I think we started off strong in the second half," Perez said. "I told the guys we were doing fine and that we needed to continue to execute in the second half. We had some momentum on our side, but it shifted a little bit."
The penalty was one of only three shots on goal by the Cougars in the match as Adan Herrera and the LCCC defense had done a good job of keeping the ball away from the net.
LCCC did have a pair of looks late in the match from corner kicks, but both were spoiled by the WNCC defense.
The loss was a costly one for the Golden Eagles, dropping them to fifth place in the conference standings and forcing them into a road match on Saturday, October 21st when they will travel back to Scottsbluff for a rematch with the Cougars in the opening round of the Region IX playoffs.
"To me, we know how they play and what they have," Perez said going into the postseason rematch. "I'm definitely excited if our boys can show up and compete against them."
The match is a rematch of last year's opening round game when WNCC traveled to Cheyenne only to fall to the Golden Eagles 4-2.
Kickoff of the quarterfinal match is scheduled for 2:00 pm. As of now, there is no stream scheduled. More information and updates on the match can be found at www.golccc.com.