WNCC men tie Dodge City 3-3

    The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team received a game-tying goal from Jose Netto to salvage a 3-3 tie with Dodge City Community College Friday afternoon at the Landers Soccer Complex.
               WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said that his team found the will to earn a tie on the day.
               "It was a slow start but obviously we tried to let them know upfront that it can be different from year to year," he said. "Dodge City has done a completely different recruiting job then they have in the past. They are a fantastic squad and it was a great game. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit and then the way we won it at the end of the match is something that will go a long ways in lifting the spirits of the guys in knowing that the never-say-die attitude that we preach in practice will go a long ways.
               "Of course we started slow but the second half we literally dominated them. They ahd three shots in that half and the ball very rarely left our half. We dominated play in the second half and took the game over. We should have done in the first half. We still have work to do to get better and continue to improve. I just take my hat off to the guys today. We played the way champions are made."
               The Cougars earned the tie with a second half that saw them dominate the Conquistadors in scoring two goals. WNCC entered the second 45 minutes trailing 3-1 and were being manhandled by the Dodge City defenders.
               Dodge City wasted dominated the first 30 minutes of play. Just 15 minutes into the game, Victor Millan put the Conquistadors on the board. DCCC went up 2-0 two minutes later as Marcus Moreno netted an unassisted goal.
               WNCC sliced the lead in half with 17 minutes to play on a header by Baboucarr Sarr, who took a pass from Erwin Sanchez off a free kick. The Cougars then missed on a prime opportunity to tie the game a few minutes later when Jose Netto had a penalty kick in which the Dodge City goalkeeper made a diving save.
               That save kept the momentum with Dodge City and the Conquistadors added a third goal when Junior Cruz planted a shot into the upper 90 for a 3-1 halftime lead.
               WNCC made it 3-2 with 23 minutes left in the contest as Sanchez scored off an assist from Netto. The Cougars then earned the gut-wrenching tie as Netto scored in the final minute off a pass form Manolo Garcia-Oronoz.
               WNCC dominated play, out-shooting Dodge City 21-12. The Cougars, however, only had 13 shots on goal.
               Rasnic said the key is for this team to play a complete game intead of only showing up for a half.
               "We need to play a full 90 minute game and not to underestimate your opponent," Rasnic said. " i think that happened a lot today. The guys thought they were going to play a different type of squad. These boys [Dodge City] came ready to play at a high level. What I told them at the end of the game is that we rose to the challenge  We brought the game back under control in the second half. They relaxed and they peppered Dodge City's goal all the time."
               Rasnic said this is a contest they can learn from.
               "We are going to build on this," he said. "I don't like ties, but it is better than a loss. We are just looking at coming out tomorrow [Saturday] when we play Pratt and play our best game."
               WNCC, 1-1, will be back in action Saturday when they host Pratt Community College at 2 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex.