Cougar women ready for soccer home-opener Saturday

It has been over a year since the last Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team took to the field.

Saturday that will all change when WNCC hosts Butler County Community College in a 1 p.m. contest at the Allan Landers Soccer Complex.

“We are really excited to have a lot of the Scottsbluff fans to come out see what we have to offer,” freshman Ashley Miller said. “I know there will be a bunch of people that are going to come out. The whole men’s soccer team will be out there cheering us on, and all the host families will be out there. They are all excited to have a girls team again.”

WNCC will take a 0-2 record into the match against a Butler team that is 2-0 after beating Coffeyville Community College 14-0 on Monday and then Northern Oklahoma Wednesday 7-2

The Cougars, on the other hand, are refocused after nearly defeating Rochester Community and Technical College. WNCC fell 3-2 after leading 2-0 at halftime. That narrow defeat came after a disappointing loss to Iowa Central Community College 7-0 the day before.

“That [narrow win] was a big eye-opener for me because the day before we didn’t play very well and I was worried about the rest of our season. I didn’t think we would do very well,” Miller said. “The Rochester game that we lost 3-2, made me real excited for the season. Now, I think we will do really well.”

The Cougars only have a roster 12-deep, and minus a few injuries here and there, the players play a full 90-minute game without any breaks. Miller said that is tough at times, but it will make them better for the future.

“There is much more running involved in soccer and playing with just enough players doesn’t allow you have a break,” she said. “Your break is your walking time and ball goes out of play on the field. You also need to know you can’t get hurt because we would be down some players.”

Miller said there still is plenty of talent on the team and the more they play together, the better they will be in the future.

“Our team will be really close because of this,” she said. “Than next year will have a lot more players and we will be really good.”

A win in the home-opener will also do a lot for the player’s moral down the stretch this season, including a big Region IX encounter with Laramie County Community College on Sunday. That match has a 11 a.m. start in Cheyenne, Wyo.

“I really hope to beat Butler,” Miller said. “It will give our team a lot of motivation and then it will get us really excited for LCCC.”