The Cougar men, 5-11, will open the regional playoffs bright and early at 8 a.m. when they face the top-seeded Otero Junior College Rattlers. The other men’s contest will have Laramie County Community College meeting Northwest (Wyo.) College at 10:30 a.m. The winners advance to the finals Saturday at noon. Only the Region IX winner qualifies for the district tournament Nov. 5-6 at the site of the winner of Region 1 (Arizona).
The women’s regional playoff has a little bit more at stake. The women will qualify the top two teams to the district tournament with the Region IX winner hosting the district tournament Nov. 5-6.
Top-seeded Laramie County Community College will face No. 4 Northwest Wyoming at 1 p.m. followed by WNCC, 8-8-2, facing Western Wyoming Community College at 3:30 p.m. The winners will advance to the championship match Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Both teams feel if they play to their potential, they have a chance to capture wins on Friday. Gering’s Chris Guadarrama said the men’s team has nothing to lose in the tournament.
“We are the Cinderella team and there are doubts against us,” he said. “We have to prove to a lot of people, including ourselves, that we can do it. If we can win, it will be big for us because we are the underdogs. But, this team can do it. We have a lot of good players and good talent. Once we come together as a team, we will be alright.”
The Cougar men have played well all season, just coming up short on the scoreboard. The Cougar men have suffered four one-goal losses during the season. They also had some hard-luck losses as well. This past weekend, the Cougar men fell to Western Wyoming 2-1 and then lost to 2-0 to North Idaho.
The Cougars have faced Otero twice this year, falling 4-0 and 3-0. Otero is in their first season in fielding a men’s soccer program.
Still, optimism remains high. Guadarrama said the team needs to play like they did in a 3-2 win against Laramie County back on Sept. 22 and not worry about past matches.
“We have to clear our minds and go in there thinking this is do or die,” he said. “We just have to bounce back from those two tough losses we had this weekend and play hard like we did against LCCC and Western Wyoming. We need to use those games as motivation.”
Guadarrama said the early morning start time shouldn’t affect them too much. They are entering that contest as if it was pre-season all over again when they had 6 a.m. conditioning sessions.
“When I first heard that we were playing at 8 in the morning, I said, ‘oh man,’” he said. “But we have to wake up because if we don’t wake up, it is go home. We just need to think it as pre-season. You have to give it your all – all you have.”
That is what the women’s team will also do, go out and give it their all. The women, who started the season with four straight wins, including a 1-0 overtime win against Butler Community College, have been rattled with injuries through the middle of their schedule. Most of those players are back as they head into the regional playoffs.
Leticia Lopez, a freshman forward/mid-fielder from Henderson, Nev., said this team has the makings to capture their second regional title in three years. But they need to stay focused.
“We need to stay focused and play as a team,” she said. “We need to get our combination play on track like this last weekend.”
The Cougar women seem to be back on track after going 0-5-1 during a stretch of their season where they had just 12 and 13 players available because of different injuries that affected the team. Since the return of some key players, the team has been playing well, including going 2-0-1 in their last three games, including a 2-1 overtime win over Western Wyoming and then tying North Idaho in double overtime.
Friday’s contest will not be easy, however. The Cougars and Mustangs split matches this year. Western Wyoming topped the Cougars 5-0 at the Landers Soccer Complex. Lopez said they have to play under control to win that first-round contest.
“We played them twice already in the season and they have a couple key players,” she said. “If we can shut those players down and play the way coach tells us to play with our combinations, I think we can come out with a victory. But, we just need to come out with confidence; that is really the key. We need to come out with our heads up high.”
Region IX Playoffs Schedule
Friday, Oct. 22
8 a.m. – Otero (12-2-1) vs. WNCC (5-11)
10:30 a.m. – LCCC (10-6-2) vs. Northwest Wyo. (7-4-2)
1 p.m. – LCCC (14-3-1) vs. Northwest Wyo. (3-7-1)
3:30 p.m. – WNCC (8-8-2) vs. Western Wyo. (10-7)
Saturday, Oct. 23
Noon – Men’s Championship
2;30 p.m. Women’s Championship
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