POWELL, WY – A strong first half set the Laramie County Community College women's soccer team up for a win, but Northwest College was able to rally back to earn a 2-2 draw the Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon in the final game of the regular season for Region IX competition.
The draw sets the Golden Eagles up for a home game to open the Region IX postseason against Gillette College.
"There are a lot of good things to take away from it and we have a long week before next weekend's game with Gillette to prepare for those small moments that we can fix," Head Women's Soccer Coach Lugo Arenas said.
The opening goal for the Golden Eagles was a thing of beauty when Jentrie Porter lined up a free kick from just outside of the 18-yard box and bent it into the upper left corner of the goal to beat the Trappers goalie and set the tone for LCCC.
Pressure was the name of the game in the opening 45 minutes for LCCC, and while there was a bit of a seesaw feel, the pendulum and ball stayed on the Trappers half of the field for much of the opening half.
That pressure led to the second goal from the LCCC offense, aided by a misplay in front of the net by Northwest that led to a own goal in the 40th minute after a free kick from the left sideline ricocheted into the goal to put the Golden Eagles up 2-0.
"Similar to yesterday we just stuck to our guns and played the way we want to play instead of having to adjust to another teams play and it showed," Arenas said.
Unfortunately, the two-goal advantage didn't last long. Four minutes later, Northwest was able to earn a corner kick and a header by Pressly Taylor brought the Trappers back within one in the closing minute of the first to send it to the break with LCCC leading only 2-1.
Both defenses ruled the second half. After a combined 17 shots in the first, the two teams only managed ten total shots and only two on goal.
With twenty minutes remaining, the Golden Eagles settled into a more defensive shell to preserve the lead, and the strategy worked. Northwest couldn't get through the forest of LCCC defenders on the ground and had to resort to putting the ball into the air to go over the top.
That would end up being the key to solving the LCCC wall.
A ball over the defense with eight minutes left broke open Brook Travers who was able to clear enough space on the recovering defense to slip a ball on the ground to the right corner and even the match at 2-2.
"Any time you shut down, even for 30 seconds and especially this time of year, and those are the make-or-break moments for us," Arenas said.
The final eight minutes went by without any changes to the score despite a renewed assault by LCCC and the two sides had to settle for the draw to close the year.
Northwest picked up the third overall seed in the Region IX postseason picture with the win, holding a two-point edge on LCCC going into the playoffs. The Golden Eagles still earned a home game though and will face off against the Gillette College Pronghorns on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm.
More information on the postseason match can be found at www.golccc.com.