SCOTTSBLUFF, NE – Despite playing one of the better games of the season the Laramie County Community College men's soccer team dropped their Region IX Semifinal match with Western Nebraska 1-0 in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday afternoon.
"We started slow in the first half, but we knew what we had to do for the second 45 and unfortunately (Western Nebraska) got a goal and that's all it takes," Head Coach Fernando Perez said.
The game was a mixture of early counterattacks and feeling each other out and not a whole lot of offense came from the first 45 minutes. The Golden Eagles saw Luke Hyatt make several impressive saves in goal in the first including a one-on-one breakaway from Eduardo Oliveira that was deflected away by Hyatt to keep the game level going into the second half.
Perez said his message to the team going into the second half was simply to bring the intensity back to their side of the pitch.
"I told them that's who we are and that's what we keep doing because it works in our favor. You could see the whole shift change and we kept the energy and levels going our way. That's what we told the guys they needed to do, and they did," Perez said.
The ball stayed with LCCC for much of the final 45 minutes, but it was the ability to counterattack from the Cougars that was the difference maker. In the 83rd minute, a surge up the middle set up a 3-2 run for WNCC and the Cougars were able to unbalance the LCCC defense, opening up another look for Oliveira and he didn't miss this time.
That put the Golden Eagles into scramble mode to get the equalizer, and while they were able to launch a few crosses into the 18-yard box, the timing never was there for the finish and the match ended along with the LCCC season in a 1-0 loss.
The lone shot on goal in the second half from WNCC was the lone nail in the coffin. Hyatt performed well in goal, making saves on all six shots on goal in the first half. The Golden Eagles also weren't able to capitalize on a pair of second half corner kicks that set them up in dangerous positions.
The team will be bringing back a solid core but is losing some big pieces, particularly on the defensive end with the graduations of Jonathan Ruvalcaba and Brandon Young as center backs.
The team also loses goal scorers Alvin Udoto and Roy Mendoza-Huerta. Perez said the whole group of sophomores did what he asked them to do in leaving the program better than they arrived.
"I told them at the end of last year they could do something big, so you need to raise the level. You saw early on this season beating the number one team they raised the expectations. There have been some bumps and bruises throughout the season as always, but I am very proud of the sophomore class and I hope that rubs off onto the freshman class as they become sophomores," Perez said.
LCCC has already been hard at work in the recruiting classes and have several athletes already signed for the 2025 season. They are also bringing back one of their leading attackers in Cooper Johnson along with several players who showed promise throughout the year in Tristan Villanueva, Darrian Gates II, and Vincent Renton.
The Golden Eagles will be announcing their spring schedule in the coming months. Keep an eye on www.golccc.com for more information as the offseason continues.