WNCC soccer teams host Northwest Wyoming in matches on Saturday

The Western Nebraska Community College soccer teams will find the challenge a bit tougher this weekend in Region IX matches against Northwest College at the Landers Soccer Complex on Saturday.

The Cougar women, 2-0, will face a first-year Trapper women’s team who has found success on the pitch in last weekend’s opening matches. The Northwest women are 1-0-1 on the season. Saturday’s home contest kicks off at 10 a.m.

The men’s game will be just as fierce as the Cougar men, 1-1 will face a talented Northwest team, 1-1-1, who tied Laramie County Community College 2-2 on Thursday. The men’s match is slated for a noon start.

Kristi Blicharz, who had back-to-back hat tricks last weekend, said these matches will be a lot more challenging.

“It will take us coming together as a team and focusing on our technique,” she said. “These are going to be more challenging teams than last weekend so were going to have to work harder.”

The Cougar women will open the weekend against Northwest on Saturday and then face another nationally-recognized program, Butler County Community College, Sunday at 10 a.m. in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Blicharz said that while they looked as if they played well against Hesston, there is still room for improvement.

“The team played well last weekend but the speed of play was slow and our touches were sloppy,” she said. “We looked good because we weren’t under a lot of pressure but this weekend we’re going to have to be better.”

The Cougar women combined for 19 goals in the two wins including three goals by Blicharz each day. Brittany McNeil also stepped up for tally six goals in the two matches, scoring two against Hesston on Saturday and then tying a school record with four goals on Sunday. McNeil also finished with 11 points on Saturday as she had three assists.

The Northwest women opened the season with an impressive 3-0 win against Dodge City Community College before tying Cisco Junior College 0-0 in 35 mph winds. The Trapper women were led by Sydney Heckel, who scored two goals in the win against Dodge City while Hannah Couldridge had a goal and an assist.

Like their female counterparts, the Trapper men have been playing well. Northwest opened the season with a 2-1 loss to Dodge City before coming back to drop Cisco 1-0. In Thursday’s regional showdown against Laramie County, the two teams settled for a 2-2 tie.

The Cougar men have showed some muster this season. The Cougars opened the season with a tough-luck loss to Monroe Community College 4-2 after leading the Rochester, N.Y., team 2-1 at halftime. But, the Blue and Gold men responded with a heart-wrenching 2-0 victory over Hesston as Marcel Sales and Jose Netto scored goals in the win.

Blicharz is hoping her team can garner another two wins this weekend before they have an important regional showdown Wednesday against Laramie County Community College on the road.

“This team looks good,” she said. “We have great players with some great talent. We just need to figure out how to come together and play as one.”