The Cougar women, who captured the regional championship last season, will be looking for the chance to be back-to-back regional champions. They will begin that quest Friday at noon at the Laramie County Community College soccer field in Cheyenne, Wyo., against Western Wyoming Community College.
The Cougar women enter with a 7-6-1 record while the Mustangs have a 7-7-1 mark. LCCC, who is ranked 6th in the NJCAA polls with a 12-2-2 mark, awaits the winner in the championship match Saturday at 1 p.m. in Cheyenne.
The Cougar men will take to the field at 2:30 p.m. Friday against Western Wyoming. The Cougar men sport a 4-5-1 mark while Western Wyoming comes into the first-round match with an 8-7-2 record. LCCC earned the No. 1 seed with a 4-0 regional record and enters with an 8-7 overall mark. The Golden Eagles will face the winner Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Both WNCC and WWCC squads faced each other Friday at the Lander’s Soccer Complex with the Cougar women earning a 2-1 over the Mustangs, while the Cougar men fell 4-3 in overtime.
WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said his women’s squad will have the tougher road to haul, especially since they can’t sneak up on anyone like they did last year when they capture the regional title.
“We will have to go out and play better offense then what we have been playing this year,” he said. “Defensively we are O.K. Usually, if you are the one that won the region the previous year, the other teams are gunning for you. We will have to go out and not only prove that we can beat Western Wyoming but also go out and put some goals into the net against Laramie County. If we can get our offense going, we have a really good shot. We are hoping the ladies step up to the challenge and come out and play with the heart and desire that I am looking for.”
The one area that stands out for the Cougar women is their defense. The Cougar women have only given up five goals just once this season and that was Sept. 23 against Laramie County. But, the last time LCCC and WNCC battled, the two teams had to settle for a 0-0 tie.
Rasnic can’t rave enough about the kind of effort his defense has put out on the field. WNCC has only given up 12 goals in 14 contest this season, and just three goals this month.
“I think our women are in the top three in the nation in defense is concerned,” Rasnic said. “If you look at the scoring of our games this year, they are very low scoring affairs. Besides a few games at the first of the season, we haven’t give up more than two goals. Our strength is our defense this year and if we get our offense going, we are dangerous. I have to admit that we have struggled a bit in getting our offense going. We are looking for more consistency this weekend.”
The men’s team also boasts a strong defensive team. What has caused the men headaches this season is their unluckiness in scoring goals. Rasnic said if they can get their offense untracked, they have an excellent chance of advancing to districts Nov. 6-8 in Missouri.
“We have been in a lot of close contests and I usually don’t say this, but I think the men are the best team in Region IX,” he said. “Offensively, we have not really struggled because we had our moments. We were a serious threat to everyone that we played on the offensive side. We have some deadly weapons in the attacking third of the field, and at this point this weekend all we have to do is execute. We just have to step up to the challenge at the end of the year and play the way we know we can.”
The men have scored 13 goals in their last four contests, but could only come out of those contests with a 2-2 mark. That includes losing to Western Wyoming in the closing minutes of regulation and overtime last week. Western Wyoming scored in the closing minute to tie the match and then won the game with two minutes left in the overtime period.
“We struggled in finishing game. We had shots that hit off of cross bars,” he said. “Comparing the men’s and women’s teams, I would say the men have a much greater chance of coming out with a regional championship. That doesn’t mean they will. If they play well, they should walk away with a Region IX championship.”
Even if they lose, Rasnic will be pleased with the season as long as they give 100 percent.
“I told them all week that you only get one shot at it and from here on out, if we lose we are done,” he said. “I think it has been put in their minds that they have to come out with a great deal of desire this weekend and leave their best effort on the field. If they do that, no matter what the result is, we will be satisfied. “
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