WNCC soccer teams fall to Laramie County CC

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams played tough, but in the end, the Laramie County Community College teams were just a tad stronger, registering wins Wednesday at the soccer field on the campus of the LCCC.

The Cougar men suffered a 1-0 defeat in a contest where they outshot the Golden Eagles 9-8, but fell short on the scoreboard. The women, on the other hand, gave the No. 7 team in the nation fits before succumbing 3-1.

“We were in the [women’s] game until the end and unfortunately we let down a couple times on defense,” WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said. “Honestly, we are suffering from the injury bug this year. Some of the speed that gives us a threat on top is not there and we are missing some speed in the back. Those two things has caused us to lose some close ones. This was a good example of that.

“I was proud of the ladies today. They pulled together and they played hard. We were well into the first half tied 1-1. We scored the first goal. There are a lot of positives that we take from the game.”

Statwise, the Golden Eagles dominated play outshooting the Cougars 33-5. Of those shots, LCCC had 12 shots on goal compared to two for the WNCC. LCCC also had seven corner kicks to WNCC’s one.

In fact, the Cougars struck first in the match with 27:54 left in the first half. Ashley Quintana delivered a pass to Paige Achatz who put the ball into the back of the net. Achatz’s goal was in fact the Cougars first shot on goal for the game.

The lead didn’t last long. Fourteen seconds later, Megan Erickson netted a goal to tie the match at 1-1. LCCC took the lead at the 15 minute mark as Chelsea Eades scored on a nice shot to put the No. 7 team up 2-1.

The score stayed that way until the second half when LCCC scored first just 3 ½ minutes into the half on a goal by Shauna Fuentez.

WNCC didn’t quit. With about 33 minutes left, Tamika Smith rocketed a 25-foot shot from the middle that hit the top of the goal and ricocheted off the bar. WNCC had just one more shot on goal the rest of the half.

Rasnic said this team did well despite the fact that their sideline looked like a MASH unit missing three key players for the game. The team then lost two more players during the match for minor injuries.

“We have some work to do and we know that. We will continue to work and get better as a team,” Rasnic said. “We are going to hope that when we come out next time we will put a different team on the field for that Region IX playoff. That is what we are looking for in progress each game and I think we are getting there. I think the ladies are figuring how to play with this team and in the long run I think it will pay off.”

The men’s team played tough and was the victim of a late goal off a corner kick with 20 minutes in which Anthony Baldi found Johnny Garcia for the lone score.

“It was a pretty even contest. I felt like we lost most of our momentum because of our mid-field play where we lost the ball in the midfield area,” Rasnic said. “We let them get a stronger orientation then what we had in the second half and, unfortunately on a set piece, we didn’t defend it very well and they got a goal. Not taking anything away from LCCC, that was a good play with good strong players to the ball.”

WNCC did outplay the Golden Eagles in some aspect, but on the offensive side, it was all Golden Eagles. LCCC had 11 shots to WNCC’s 5 of which eight were on goal for LCCC and only three goal for the Cougars. That margin of shooting is starting to worry Rasnic.

"Unfortunately, we have been staying too much one dimensional in the attacking scheme. We have been working to get that changed up and come at teams with different aspects of the game. When we get pressured we seem to go back to that one-dimensional play,” Rasnic said. “We have some work to do and we are going to try to do it, try to figure out how we can make some changes to make us better. I think what you will see is a different team when we come out to play LCCC again on the men’s side.

The Cougar men still had some prime scoring chances in the second half. Renato Segalla had to good shots on goal, one two minutes into the game and the second at the 26 minute mark. Both, though, just missed.

Rasnic said his men’s team will put out a different team when the two meet up again in the Region IX playoffs later this month.

“We are going to keep working and those contests with LCCC, one in overtime and this one 1-0, tells me the games are within reach,” he said. “We are just going to push forward until we get to the Region IX playoffs and hope our guys can figure out their opportunities on top. We had very little pressure on our opponent on top today. That has to change.”

Both teams will be off until Tuesday when they host Western Wyoming Community College at the Landers Soccer Complex. The women’s match will begin at 12:30 p.m. followed by the men’s match at 2:30 p.m. It will also be the team’s last home regular season contest before the regional playoffs.