Albers not only scored the overtime winner, but he also netted the tying goal in the second half to help the Cougar men defeat Dodge City 2-1 in overtime.
Albers said this team needed the win.
“This is a very big win for us. It is another win going into the regional tournament, so it is nice to get a win especially coming from behind like we did,” the freshman from Spearfish, S.D., said. “This gives us a lot of confidence going into the tournament.”
What the Cougar men gained from the victory was the confidence that they can come back. After both teams went scoreless in the first half, it didn’t take the Conquistadors long to score in the second half. Obed Castillo found the net just 15 seconds into the half.
WNCC kept fighting, missing five prime scoring chances to knot the score. Finally, with 12 minutes left in the match, Albers took a pass from Lazarro Torres while going to the right, and placed the ball in the upper left of the goal.
The Cougars had kept shooting trying to win the game in regulation. Brandon Ludens missed on three prime shots and Albers came up short.
In the overtime period, Albers missed a shot from just outside the penalty box area with 8:22 to play. But, with 5:44 left on the clock, Albers was taken down inside the penalty box resulting in the penalty kick and the one-on-one shot with Dodge City’s goalkeeper Dalton Burkhard.
Albers, after taking a minute to check out the ball and concentrate on the shot, placed the ball in the upper right of the net just out of the reach of Burkhard’s grasp for the winner.
“I was trying not to think about it too much,” Albers said about the game winner. “I missed a shot before so I thought it was redemption for the shot at the keeper.”
WNCC had nine shots on goal compared to just one for Dodge City. The Cougars also finished with 12 corner kicks compared to the Conquistadors’ five.
The win was the Cougars second straight after falling to Laramie County Community College 5-0 on Tuesday. On Saturday, WNCC picked up a crucial 1-0 win over Western Wyoming Community College in thrilling fashion, followed by another heart-stopper on Sunday against Dodge City.
Albers said the new offense they instilled is starting to pay dividends.
“Right now we are still working on some kinks after we just put in a new system,” he said. “We are trying to come out hard and work through the system so we can get it down for the regional tournament. It seems it is working really well for us. We are getting some results.”
The Cougars, 6-6, will have two regular season matches left before regionals Oct. 17-19 in Rock Springs, Wyo. WNCC will travel to Hastings College on Thursday and then travel to Hesston Community College on Oct. 14.
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