The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team’s run to the national tournament came to an end in a first-round contest in the District Playoffs in Overland Park, Kan., Friday.
The Cougar women, who captured their second regional title on Oct. 19, suffered a 2-1 defeat to North Idaho College. North Idaho will know face Johnson County Community College Saturday for the automatic berth into the national tournament.
WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said his team wasn’t on top of their game and contributes some of that to the three week lay-off between matches.
“We didn’t play well enough to win, obviously,” he said. “I don’t think we played our game at all and I think the time off didn’t help either. It was very difficult to keep their speed, their touch and their continuity of the flow going when you are laid off for three weeks. That really killed us.
“We were just as dangerous as the other team when we attacked, but we couldn’t keep possession of the ball. Still, the girls played as well as they could have under the circumstances and I want to credit them for playing well. It just wasn’t for us today. The other team was on their game. They were disciplined, they touched the ball well, they moved it around the field well, and when they had opportunities to score, they put the ball in the net, which is exactly what we knew would happen.”
North Idaho got on the scoreboard first by scoring with 10:08 gone in the match. The Cougars kept battling and with less than two minutes left in the opening half, Gering’s Keah Brost took a pass from Ana Jacobo and found the back of the net to tie the score.
The contest stayed deadlocked until the 63rd minute when North Idaho scored once again. WNCC did score another goal minutes later, but it was nullified because of an off sides call.
WNCC had seven shots on goal compared to North Idaho’s five. North Idaho finished with six corner kicks to the Cougars’ three. WNCC goalkeeper Terri Huntington had three saves in net.
WNCC, which finishes the season at 11-7-1, caps off an excellent season, and Rasnic said this bunch shouldn’t hang their heads in disappointment.
“They certainly did well this year and I am real pleased with the effort they put out,” he said. “They had a No. 11 ranking and made it to the district playoff and dropped that game only 2-1, so we are on the right path on being a team that can compete at the highest level in the national tournament.
“The team we played today, honestly, was just way more physical. They were stronger and more physical then we were and bigger. We just didn’t step up to the challenge.”
The Cougars will say goodbye to nine sophomores, who have been the leaders on and off the court. Rasnic said it will be hard to replace them, but they will field another solid team next year.
“We have some sophomores that have given it a lot of effort the last couple of years,” Rasnic said. “They are going to be moving on so I will have to spend my off season trying to replace them. But we will get it done and come back next year with players that will step in. We have a good crew of returning freshmen. I am just going to find players that can play that physical style because one you get beyond region, that is the way it is. We just have to be able to get in there and mix it up physically. We will get there.”
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