The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team is one win away from a regional championship after topping Western Wyoming Community College 4-1 in the semifinals of the Region IX playoffs Friday afternoon at the Landers Soccer Complex. The Cougars, who outshot the Mustangs 20-7, will face the top-seeded Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles, who topped Northwest College 8-0, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex. The winner of the regional tournament will host the District Playoffs Nov. 5-6, while the runner-up will get an at-large berth.
WNCC freshman Kristi Blicharz said they played well except they need to finish their scoring opportunities.
“We came out really strong and put together a lot of connecting passes with a lot of supportive, which made us win our game,” she said. “Getting those connecting passes is important, especially against a team like this with a high defense, it is easy to get caught offside. If we play a lot of connective passes and supportive play, we can work through their defense. That is how we got our goals.”
The Cougar women literally controlled the Mustangs from the opening kick as they had five prime scoring opportunities within the first eight minutes of the contest. Finally, the Cougars made the most of their offensive dominance as Brittany McNeil scored the first goal of the game as she took the pass around mid-field and outrun the defender to put the ball in to the back of the net with 35 minutes left in the first half.
WNCC kept playing well offensively as they had a number of scoring opportunities, but misfired on several chances. The Cougars finally netted their second goal as McNeil delivered a corner kick to the middle of the box, where Kristi Blicharz headed the ball straight into the net for a 2-0 halftime lead.
The Cougars didn’t let up in the second half. Just five minutes into the final period, Ashley Gleason took a pass from Jordan Lutkin and scored from the outside on a fading shot that found the top corner of the net for the 3-0 lead.
Twelve minutes later, Tiffany Snethen recorded a goal as she took a rebound off the goalkeeper and had an easy tap in for the fourth goal of the match. Lutkin had the assist on the goal.
Western Wyoming finally scored with under two minutes to play as a Caitlyn Chesnovar scored off a rebound off WNCC goalkeeper Jessica Taylor for the easy tap in.
What won the game for the Cougars was playing smart on the field.
“It was important for this team to play smart because we played them twice before, the first time they won and the second time they won,” she said. “So it was important for us to play smart because we know this team and how they do.”
WNCC’s trek to a regional title won’t be easy as they face a talented Laramie County squad, who is ranked No. 10 in the nation.
Blicharz said they have to come ready to play, which includes making the most of their scoring opportunities.
“We definitely need those shots on goal that we had today to make sure we capitalize on because we will be getting very limited shots on goal against LCCC,” she said. “We will need to put away the chances that we will get.”
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