WNCC women's soccer team wins overtime thriller 1-0 against Butler

Photos -- top photo is Ashley Gleason, second photo is of Rachelle Tekler, and third photo is of Daisy Rosales. More photos of the game can be found at http://wncccougars.smugmug.com/2010-Womens-Soccer-1

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Freshman Ashley Gleason made the play she needed in overtime to keep the Western Nebraska Community College women's soccer team unbeaten and unscored upon with a dramatic 1-0 overtime win over Butler Community College from El Dorado, Kan., Sunday morning in Cheyenne, Wyo.

The Cougars dominated play against the Grizzlies, who defeated Laramie County Community College 3-2 in overtime on Friday. WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said he saw a team of 14 girls battle for 98 minutes while at the same time playing with a lot of heart.

" These ladies showed me something today and I hope they keep up the hard work because it will be a good few days off for them to enjoy the win," he said. "These girls stepped up and showed heart. That is what the Western Nebraska Cougars are all about. I teach that every time I coach about playing with heart. Our motto this year is 'no whining and never give up.' We all saw a great demonstration of that on the field today. They left everything out there and honestly, that is what it takes sometimes to be champions."

The overtime period was the test for that heart that the Cougars' displayed. Gleason said that at the break before the sudden death overtime period, they talked about what they needed to do and that was to follow shots. That is exactly what Gleason did with 2:18 remaining in the first overtime period.

" At the break, we talked how we need to follow the other people's shots. We weren't doing it earlier in the game," the freshman from Loveland, Colo., said. "I was thinking that the whole time in overtime to follow the shot, get a head on the ball and get it in frame."

The winning shot started with Fernanda Acorinte feeding Brittany McNeil with the ball who took a shot on goal. Butler goal keeper Lassen Hare made the save, but the ball hit the top cross bar and bounced around a few times. That was when Gleason, with a defender tightly guarding her, went up to get the rebound, where she just got her head on the ball. Gleason calmly directed the ball into the net for the game winner.

Gleason said it wasn't easy being bottled up in the box, but she found a way to get her body on the ball.

"It was confusing in there, but I just wanted to get my head or some body part on it to get a goal," she said. "Coach told us they will be one of the hardest teams that we will play this season and they were. This was a huge win for us because we play Laramie County Community College on Wednesday and they are one of our toughest opponents, too. I think this really boosted our confidence."

Rasnic knew this was not going to be an easy contest, but he had a lot of faith in his players and the game plan he drew up.

"What a hard-fought battle," he said. "We got unlucky several times with a couple balls off the post and several shots on goal in the first half. We actually dominated the first half and in the second half I knew they were going to bring the pressure. I knew what type of team they are. This was the third straight year that we played against Butler and each time we went to overtime with the first two being losses."

WNCC actually dominated play for much of the regulation period, outshooting the Grizzlies 17-9. Neither team, however, could find the back of the net in the first 90 minutes. The Cougars, however, came close on a couple of occasions as they hit the posts, once by Fernanda Acorinte in the first half and once by Gleason in the second half.

Butler had their best chance to score with 5:30 to play as they had a free kick just outside the box, but WNCC sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Taylor came up with a huge save to stifle the scoring threat. WNCC marched down the field after that and earned a corner kick with 4:30 left in regulation and nearly punched the ball in the net before Butler's Hare made another save.

WNCC's dominance on the field showed as they finished with five corner kicks to Butler's four. The Cougars also outshot the Grizzlies in each half, 8-4 in the first 45 minutes and 9-3 in the second half.

The Cougars, who off to their best start in school history since the inaugural season in 2003 when they won 19 straight games, will face two more stiff tests this week. First, on Wednesday, they will face No. 11 Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne. Then, on Saturday, they will visit No. 13 Hutchinson Community College.

Rasnic couldn't be happier with what he saw on the field Sunday.

"We are just going to keep taking everything one game at a time and figure out our game strategy, and talk about how we are going to win games," he said. "If the players continue to execute the game plan, i think we will continue to have success."