CASPER, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's soccer team remained undefeated in Region IX action with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against #19 Casper College on Saturday afternoon to wrap up the weekend double header.
The Thunderbirds struck first in the match with a goal in the 15th minute to put LCCC into a strange position in conference play. This was the first time in the last five matches the Golden Eagles had trailed, and they responded well with an answer in the 40th minute on a corner kick that was put away by Tayler Miller to even the game at 1-1 going into the halftime break.
The goal was Miller's second of the season and Head Coach Lugo Arenas praised her desire to compete in every aspect of the game.
"She has not fear of going up for 50/50 balls and puts her body on the line. She just has that nitty-gritty attitude to continue to compete that has her in a captain's role on our team is because she does those little things."
The second half was a tight defensive second half and neither team was able to break through the opposing defense resulting in a draw for the two sides.
Only eleven total shots were taken in the second half by both sides and only 15 total shots on goal were attempted in the match. It was a physical game too and Arenas said that was something they expected, and conditions added to the low shot attempts.
"With the wind being a huge factor in today's game, I think that's what attributed to some of those shots. It's one to be learned from if we come into a situation that is similar to this one then we have a good idea of what to do."
Kiara Kershaw continued her strong play after allowing the opening goal, making seven saves in the match to help force the draw.
The Golden Eagles move to 3-0-2 in Region IX action and get back to .500 overall with a 3-3-2 record on the season. The team also extended their unbeaten streak to five matches.
The draw is the second straight against a ranked opponent after also drawing Western Wyoming last week when they were #15.
"It would have been nice to pick up some of those wins in both of those games that we've drawn against the top competition in our region, but again, it's learning moments for us and knowing that more than likely we see them again and see what we can change the next time we see them," Arenas said.
Next week the LCCC women will be on their longest conference road trip of the season when they travel to Lamar, Colorado for a battle with Lamar Community College. Kickoff is schedule for 1:00 pm and more information can be found at www.golccc.com.