WNCC soccer teams prepare for regional playoffs Friday, Sunday

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams will enter the post-season with optimism of winning at Region IX title after finishing the regular season strong the last couple of weeks.

The Region IX playoffs begin Friday when the WNCC men play a semi-final contest against Western Wyoming Community College at 3 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex. The winner advances to the finals against Laramie County Community College at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Soccer Complex.

The Cougar women, in the meantime, will have a one-match playoff with No. 8-ranked Laramie County Community College for the right to move on to the district playoffs. The women’s title match is slated for noon on Sunday at the Landers Soccer Complex.

Soccer coach Todd Rasnic said both teams have the potential to win the regional title, but it will take playing at the top of their game to achieve the goal.

“I think both men and women have a very real shot at winning the Region IX Playoff,” he said. “The men have a big task; they have to win the next two games to advance. We are going to take that one game at a time. We are completely focused on Western Wyoming.”

Both Cougar teams will have stiff paths to the title. The men must win two matches for the title. First, they must get by a Western Wyoming squad that comes into the match with an 8-8-2 record, while WNCC comes in at 7-9. The two squads split contests this season with the Mustangs earning a 1-0 win in Rock Springs before the Cougars won 4-1 10 days ago in Scottsbluff.

“We need to continue to play consistent soccer. Over the past three or four games, we certainly have gotten back into our rhythm and we seem to be moving into a direction that is positive,” he said. “I think as long as the guys can maintain the organization and remember to bring the team effort to the field, we will be in good shape.

“We certainly have the ability and talent to beat Western Wyoming, as evident in the last game we played, but we have to play consistent. That has to be achieved by any team that wants to advance to the district playoffs.”

Rasnic said the key to victory is finding the back of the net, something they have struggled at for the majority of the season. As of late, though, they have been connecting on their shots, including a big 2-1 double overtime win over Dodge City Community College on Sunday.

Against Dodge City, Gering’s Chris Thompson and Scottsbluff’s Geoff Critzer scored the winning goals. But, all season long, the Cougars have been getting scoring from a variety of players.

WNCC has received scoring from sophomores Eloy Matos and Renato Segalla, as the two lead the team. Also netting goals on a regular basis include freshmen Lazzaro Torres, Morgan Wall and Antonio Herrera-Young.

“We have been plagued a couple of games in not being able to find the back of the net, and we seem to be getting back on track from that. Hopefully, this weekend will be successful for the gentlemen,” Rasnic said. “They certainly are in a position where they have some momentum right know, and that is a big thing.”

Rasnic said if they get into the Region IX championship match, they can win the title against a LCCC team the team knows they can beat.

“We lost to LCCC twice, once in overtime, and the second time 1-0. It was just two of our bad games during the season and we didn’t play to our full potential,” Rasnic said. “We even had more or just as many opportunities as LCCC to win the game, and we didn’t pull it off. We are on track now and we have the talent and the ability that if we get out of Region IX, can compete well in districts.”

The women team, who are 9-6-2 on the season and winners of their last three matches, are finding success in finding the back of the net. The Cougar women started the winning streak with an 8-0 win over Western Wyoming followed by a 1-0 win over Garden City and then an impressive 3-2 win over Dodge City.

WNCC’s Bre Perkes, who set a school record last season with 26 goals, is starting to find her stride again, after missing several games with injuries and a bad knee. This past weekend, Perkes scored a goal against Garden City and then notched two goals against Dodge City. She now has 10 goals and 23 points on the season.

“The women are playing extremely well. They are very organized,” Rasnic said. “I have been moving players around all year, trying to find the right mix of players to get a little bit more speed on top.”

Other offensive threats for the Cougars include sophomores Paige Achatz, who tied a school record with four goals against Western Wyoming on Oct. 9, Amanda Arrant, Kiwi Wingert and Nancy Boyack. The team is also getting plenty of offensive threats from freshmen Ashley Quintana and Tamika Smith as well. Achatz and Smith each have five goals on the season.

But, for the Cougars to advance to districts, they will have to get past a LCCC team that is 12-2-1 and riding plenty of momentum after knocking off previous No. 1 ranked Young Harris College over the weekend 2-1. One day later, LCCC fell to No. 3 Schoolcraft College 4-3.

“They [LCCC] is a good soccer team. They have a lot of talent,” Rasnic said. “We started off the season with a pretty bright outlook and through some unfortunate key injuries; we were put into a situation where we had to fight through every game. Honestly, we have done very well. The women have a winning record this year and they are in a position where they can win Region IX.

“The first game against LCCC was a 6-2 loss and then we went to a 3-1 loss, but the game was a lot closer. In think having all our players back and healthy could be a big advantage. We are still missing some key players that we lost for the season, but one thing we did in the past, including last season, is fight through difficult situations and give 100 percent in every minute of every game. They have every chance to win as much as LCCC.”

The winners of the regional playoffs will advance to the district playoffs Nov. 2-4. The men’s districts will be held in Overland Park, Kan., while the women’s districts will be held in Salt Lake City.