Western Nebraska Community College’s Chris Guadarrama scored one goal and assisted on another in lifting the Cougar men’s soccer team to a 2-0 win over Iowa Western Community College Monday afternoon at the Landers Soccer Complex. Guadarrama, a Gering High graduate, said this is a good win for the team, who have now won back-to-back contests.
“It was physical out on the field,” the sophomore said. “These guys were big and they play every whistle of every second. They were one of the more physical teams we have played all year.”
Two of the big reasons for t
he Cougar men’s turn around is the fact they are playing hard for the full 90 minutes and their defense. The Cougars fell to Otero Junior College 5-0 on Wednesday and since then have shut-out their last two opponents, defeating Western Wyoming 3-0 and then stinging a quality team like Iowa Western on Monday.
“Our defense has been playing strong all year and this was one of our break out games,” Guadarrama said. “These guys were voted in the national poll, so for us to come out here and get a win like this is really huge. The defense was solid today.
“Also, us playing for 90 minutes was a big key. We have played two games like that, Western Wyoming and today, since we lost to Otero. It is hard to do that because we have some guys out and don’t have a full roster. So a lot of us had to step up.”
Several players definitely stepped up against Iowa Western. The defense played heroic in shutting down an offensive Reiver squad, who earlier this season broke the school record for assists in a game with 11. The Reivers came into Monday’s contest with a 7-2-2 record after falling to Laramie County Community College 3-2 in overtime and then defeating North Idaho College 4-1.
Monday’s contest was a physical contest as neither team could find the net in the first half. The second half was much the same as the first. WNCC had a prime scoring opportunity as his shot hit the crossbar five minutes into the second half.
WNCC finally broke the scoreless tie as Marcel Sales took a free kick and Guadarrama found the ball off a deflection to put the ball into the back of the net with 17 minutes to play for the 1-0 lead.
The Cougars wasted little time as they scored again less than a minute later as Guadarrama fed Jose Netto a pass, sliding the ball into the net for the insurance goal.
Iowa Western kept playing hard to get back into the contest, but the Cougar defense was too stellar on the day. WNCC goalkeeper Jesus Alvarado finished with four saves in net. Iowa Western also outshot the Cougars 14-9.
WNCC, 5-8, will next be in action Wednesday when they travel to Powell, Wyo., to face Northwest College in a Region IX contest. Guadarrama said these upcoming contests against Northwest and Western Wyoming are important.
“This is a really huge win, especially going into playing Powell on Wednesday. That is a Region IX game and we have confidence going into their place to play,” he said. “We are starting to show who we really are right know. We are going to be peaking for the playoffs. We will be a surprise, a sleeper, or a Cinderella team.”
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