WNCC soccer teams end season by falling to LCCC in Region IX finals

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams saw their seasons come to an end at the Region IX playoffs on Sunday.

The Cougar women had 13 shots on goal, but succumbed to the No. 8 Laramie County Community College women 5-1. The Cougar men managed just four shots on the day and fell 3-0 to LCCC. Both LCCC teams advance to the district playoffs starting Nov. 2.

“We certainly played an off game and unfortunately the Region IX finals match is not the game to do it,” WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said about the women’s game. “We were still battling [to the end] and we can’t take anything away from LCCC. They are a ranked team and they are one of the top teams in the nation. They played us smart and played us hard, and they came out and got the victory.

“It was a tough one. The weather conditions weren’t good, the wind were up. We had several opportunities early to get some momentum going and we couldn’t do it. Unfortunately, we paid for it and that is how the results ended up. Not a whole lot to say. We just need to regroup and build on that for next season.”

The Cougar women had plenty of scoring opportunities early on with three good shots in the first 10 minutes of the game. Bre Perkes missed on a good shot just six minutes into the match. Then, freshman LeAnna Paxton had two good shots, the second just hitting the top crossbar.

After that, LCCC rattled off three goals in a five minute period to take a 3-0 lead. Shauna Fuentez scored the first goal off an assist by Kim Yacouta at the 18 minute mark for a 1-0 lead. Just 45 second later, Megan Erickson scored off an assist by Meredith Hogan.

LCCC went up 3-0 at the 22:40 mark on an unassisted goal by Ayla Fowler.

The Golden Eagles wasted little time in notching the first goal in the second half scoring within on minute. Yacouta scored the goal off an assist by Hogan. Five minutes later, LCCC went up 5-0 on a Hogan goal, which was assisted by Kendall Clement.

WNCC avoided the shutout as Ashley Quintana took a pass from Paxton and drove the field in blasting the ball past LCCC goalkeeper Natasha Troxler for the final goals of the match by both teams.

WNCC finished with 13 shots, five on goal, compared to 15 shots for LCCC, and 11 on goal. Cougar goalkeeper Terri Huntington had 10 saves to Troxler’s four.

While the women’s team had plenty of scoring opportunities and did find the back of the net, the men’s team was not as fortunate. The Cougar men had just four shots, two on goal, compared to 14 shots, eight of which were on goal.

The difference in the game was Cougars came out flat and watched LCCC dictate play.

“I said the other day if we come out and play a first half like we did against Western Wyoming, we would be in trouble. That is exactly what we did,” Rasnic said about his men’s play. “We came out and played flat and we couldn’t get our organization going. We really just stepped out of our game, and whether that is pressure from the opponent or from our guys, we just have to learn to play consistent soccer in every game.”

The Golden Eagles scored first at the 20:28 mark on a set piece, a direct kick that Conrrado Deniz blasted into the net from just outside the circle. The Golden Eagles added another goal seven minutes before half as Jordan Byram scored off an assist by Carlos Saenz to give LCCC a 2-0 lead at halftime.

WNCC had some scoring opportunities in the second half early. The Cougars missed on a prime opportunity with 21:40 on the clock. Five minutes later, WNCC had another scoring chance that just missed.

LCCC added an insurance goal at the 15 minute mark as Lance Vue connected on an unassisted goal.

Rasnic said that both teams has good seasons. The Cougar women finished 9-7-2, while the men at 8-10

“The good news is for us on both squads is that our record has improved over the last three years on a gradual basis and I am planning on keeping that improvement going,” he said. “With that improvement comes the better possibilities of getting out of Region IX and getting to districts. We are going to keep pushing that toward that and with the players I am looking at, we should be competitive on both sides.”

Both squads lose some talented sophomores. For the women, the team will say goodbye to Stacey Agnew, Bre Perkes, Paige Achatz, Nancy Boyack, Kiwi Wingert and Amanda Arrant. All six were part of two years of rebuilding the women’s program after the team was suspended for a season.
The men’s team will also say goodbye to seven players, including Diego Campoverde, Renato Segalla, Edwin Enriquez, Eloy Matos, Geoff Critzer, Aaron Oesterle and Steven Estrada.

“We are just going to keep working and improving upon our players for next season with our recruiting and get a team in here that will compete and play strong against LCCC,” Rasnic said. “Hopefully, you will see that happen in the next year. It is one of those things were we had a couple of years of rebuilding, and hopefully we will get the kinks worked out and get the players here to be very competitive.”

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.

WNCC women's soccer downs Garden City, men fall to Broncbusters

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams split a pair of matches Saturday against Garden City Community College. The Cougar women won their second straight match in downing the Broncbusters 1-0. The men, on the other hand, suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to the Garden City squad.

“The women played really strong,” WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said. “We totally dominated.”

Even though they dominated play, the Cougar women had trouble finding the back of the net. The team had seven shots on goal. Both teams settled for a 0-0 tie at intermission. Finally, the Cougars found the back of the net as freshman Tamika Smith found Bre Perkes who deposited the ball in the back of the net at the 60^th minute.

"They [Garden City] had a strong defense,” Rasnic said. “It took us a little while to figure it out. Then, when we did, we scored. It was a good team effort.”

WNCC’s Terri Huntington picked up the win in goal getting three saves.

The men didn’t have as much luck, suffering the 2-1 loss, despite controlling the pace of the match.

“We completely controlled and dominated play,” Rasnic said about his men’s team. “It was very physical. We just couldn’t find the goal.”

The Broncbusters scored first at the seven minute on a corner kick goal. The Cougars had zero shots on goal, and two shots attempted in the first half as Garden City took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

Things were different for the Cougar men in the second half as they had eight shots of which two were on goal. WNCC tied the game at the 60^th minute as Eloy Matos delivered the ball to Renato Segalla who found the back of the net.

WNCC couldn’t hold the lead as Garden City came back and scored the go-ahead goal five minutes later and held on to the 2-1 lead.

The Cougar’s Cesar Bazana recorded three saves in net in getting the loss.

Rasnic said the Garden City men weren’t a bad team and is hoping his men rebound today when they face Dodge City Community College. The women will also face Dodge City today, and Rasnic said that the Dodge City women are not a bad team, having beat Garden City twice this season.

WNCC soccer teams host Western Wyoming in regular-season home finale

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams are looking to gain some momentum Tuesday when they host Western Wyoming Community College at the Landers Soccer Complex.

The women kick things off at 12:30 p.m. followed by the men at 2:30. The contests will be the team’s regular-season home finales, before they host the Region IX playoffs Oct. 19 and 21.

“We are pretty excited that we get to go against Western Wyoming in our last home game [before regionals],” women’s soccer player Paige Achatz said. “We are starting to get a little more healthy. The game with Coffeyville hurt us a lot. They were a tough team and took three of our players out at one time. Mara [Crouch] is still hurt and we don’t Jess [Aragon], one of our stronger players in the back, who tore her ACL.”

Achatz said that the women’s team is looking to perform better then they did the first time they played the Mustangs back in September. In that contest, the Cougars held a slim 2-0 halftime lead, before opening up the scoring for a 10-0 win.

“We have to come out stronger then last game since the score at the last game was 2-0,” the sophomore said. “We really need to come out a lot stronger and play harder as a team and work more combinations up top. We controlled the ball [the first match], we just weren’t get shots off as much as we needed to.

“We are hoping to get more shots off and build our confidence a lot more and prepare for this weekend against Dodge and Garden City.”

The Cougar men weren’t as fortunate in their first encounter with Western Wyoming, falling to the Mustangs in double overtime 4-3 in a game they controlled possession 70 percent of the time, hitting the cross bar 14 times.

“The guys lost to Western Wyoming in double overtime, and hopefully they can come out with a win this game,” she said.

Both teams are coming off of losses last week to Laramie County Community College, the men falling 1-0 and the women 3-1. Both teams are looking to gain some momentum heading into the final weeks of their seasons.

“We are fighting hard to beat LCCC this year,” Achatz said. “Hopefully the next three games will help us prepare for that [regional playoffs].”

After Tuesday’s contest, both teams will wrap up the regular season on the road when they travel to Garden City Community College and Dodge City Community College this weekend.

The Cougar men will then open the Region IX playoffs on Oct. 19 with a first-round contest. The men’s championship game is slated for Oct. 21 in the afternoon. The women will face Laramie County Community College on Oct. 21 at noon for the right to advance to the district playoffs.

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.

WNCC and Coffeyville women tie, Cougar men fall 2-0

It wasn't the most perfect Sunday for the Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer team against Coffeyville Community College Sunday on the road. The two women's teams had to settle for a 0-0 tie after double overtime, while the Cougar men fell 2-0.

The women's game, though, had plenty of offense. It was just a matter of neither team finding the net. WNCC had 12 shots on goal compared to Coffeyville's 11.

"We were playing on turf and it was a tough match," WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said. "We had a lot of good scoring opportunities, we just didn't score. They also had a good goalkeeper."

On the men's side, the Cougars fell 2-0. WNCC trailed 1-0 at halftime. Both teams had six shots on goal. Rasnic said this was a tough game because it was physical and he had some players out with injuries.

"It was a defensive battle. We just didn't finish on our scoring opportunities," he said. "We have to get to a point where we need to finish."

Both teams will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo. The men's match begins at 2 p.m. and the women's match at 4 p.m.

WNCC soccer teams defeat Independence Community College

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams survived tough playing conditions to claim two wins over Independence Community College Saturday afternoon on the road.

The Cougar men claimed a 2-0 win over the Pirates, while the Cougar women claimed a 3-1 win.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said he is proud of his team in getting the wins on playing on a field that was hard to organize a game plan.

“We played on a field that was the worst we have played on. It was hard ground and it was like playing on concrete,” he said. “Both teams had a hard time organizing a game plan. When the ball hit the ground, the ball bounced up like a dribble in basketball.”

Through the adverse playing conditions, Rasnic said his team played well to tune up for today’s contest against Coffeyville Community College – a team that will give his squad a test.

“They did great today especially since it was tough to play on that surface,” Rasnic said. “They persevered in a tough place to play. We played strong and used a lot of players to get ready for [Coffeyville].”

The Cougar men dominated play against the 3-9 Pirate team. WNCC scored first on a Renato Segalla goal 15 minutes into the game for a 1-0 halftime lead.

WNCC scored an insurance goal at the 59^th minutes as Lazzaro Torres fed Eloy Matos with a perfect pass for the score and the 2-0 win.

The Cougars only had 3 shots on goal while holding Independence to just one shot. Cezar Bazana had the only save in the game.

While the Cougar men were finding shots on goal coming at a premium, the women had a little more luck. The women outshot the 3-8 Pirate women 6-4 in earning the 3-1 victory. And, it didn’t take the Cougars long to get on the scoreboard.

In fact, just 46 seconds into the game, freshman Tamika Smith nailed a shot into the goal off an assist by Andra Ardito. WNCC added another goal with 40 minutes to play as Nancy Boyack scored off an assist by LeeAnna Paxton to give the Cougars a 2-1 halftime lead.

WNCC added an insurance goal in the second half at the 87^th minutes as Kiwi Wingert had an unassisted goal for the win.

The WNCC men and women will be in action today when they face Coffeyville Community College on the road.

WNCC soccer teams split contests against University of Colorado

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams split a pair of contests Wednesday evening against the University of Colorado Gold Squads.

The men recorded an exciting overtime win against Colorado winning 3-2 on a Lazzaro Torres 35-yard shot to win the game. The women weren’t as fortunate, suffering a 4-2 defeat to the Colorado Gold squad.

The Cougar men’s win, though, was thrilling. Trailing 1-0 after one half of play, the men scored two second half goals to force overtime. The first goal came on a Eloy Matos goal at the 63^rd minute of the game.

Colorado wasted little time in going back ahead, scoring one minute later to lead 2-1. WNCC, came right back as Aaron Oesterle scored at the 72^nd minute to tie the match forcing overtime.

In the overtime minute, WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said that Torres nailed a beautiful goal from 35-yards out that sailed in the upper 90 of the goal.

WNCC outshot Colorado in the contest 9-4 and dominated play.

The women played well as well, especially in the first half as they took a 2-1 lead into intermission. Nancy Boyack scored the Cougars first goal off an assist by Tamika Smith at the 23^rd minutes. Fifteen minutes later, Bre Perkes fed Paige Achatz with a pass to score the second goal.

WNCC couldn’t hold the lead giving up three second-half goals, including one on a penalty kick to give Colorado the win.

The Cougar women did outshot the Buffalos 8-7, but missed on several prime scoring opportunities. WNCC goalkeeper Terri Huntington had three saves in net.

The WNCC men and women will be back in action this weekend when they face Independence Community College and Coffeyville Community College on Friday and Saturday in Coffeyville, Kan.

WNCC soccer teams fall to CU’s top Gold squads

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams fell to the University of Colorado Gold squads Wednesday evening.

The Cougar women dropped a 6-0 match while the men fell 3-1. The Gold Club teams are the universities top programs, and WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said both teams are top-notch.

“Both Gold teams are very talented,” he said. “They were playing the ball around on one touches, which should help us in our one-touch game.”

The men played the top 4-year team the closest as the teams were knotted at 1-1 at halftime. WNCC scored first 5 ½ minutes into the match as Lazzaro Torres delivered a pass to Eloy Matos for the score.

The Gold came right back and tied the contest at the 10 minute mark. Both teams remained scoreless until CU scored in the 55^th and 75^th minute for the final score.

Both teams had five shots on goal and goalkeeper Cesar Bazana had three saves. Rasnic said this team is better then anything in junior college.

“They are the best team we have played all year,” he said. “They are better then San Jacinto, the No. 1 team in junior college [who WNCC lost to in the season-opener]. Our record does not indicate our good our team is. It will start showing now.”

On the women’s side, the Cougars were still hobbled by injuries, but still played CU tough. The Buffs held a 3-0 lead at halftime before scoring three in the second half. WNCC managed just two shots on goal against a stellar defensive. WNCC goalkeeper Terri Huntington had five saves in net.

Rasnic said this team was very good.

“We did fine today,” he said. “They played to the end and with a lot of heart. That is what I like about this year’s teams. We love setting these type of games up because it helps us to get our speed up to where we need it in a game.”

The Cougar women will be back in action Saturday when they host the University of Colorado White team at 3 p.m. at the Lander’s Soccer Complex. The men’s game with the CU White team has been cancelled.

WNCC men's soccer team defeats Great Falls 4-0, Castillo scores two goals

For more photos of Sunday's soccer match, go to the WNCC Athletic Photo Album at
wncccougars.albumpost.com

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team received two goals from freshman David Castillo and dominated from start to finish in recording a 4-0 win Sunday over the University of Great Falls.

WNCC assistant coach Nate Rock said his team executed the game plan to perfection.

“They played extremely well to day,” Rock said. “They played to my expectations and every single player gave me everything they had and that was the difference.”

The Cougars dominance started from the get-go with WNCC getting their first shot on goal just three minutes into the contest by Lazzaro Torres. Despite the shot going in, that intensity remained throughout the contest.

“I just asked them to come out and play without any reservations,” Rock said. “They controlled the pace of the game in every aspect.”

WNCC’s first goal, though, was an own-goal as one of the Great Falls’ players knocked the ball into their own goal to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game.

The Cougars kept the pressure on with three good scoring opportunities from Chris Thompson, Aaron Oesterle and Torres, but all came up short.

As much as WNCC was controlling the pace, Great Falls had their first prime scoring opportunity with 11 minutes to play in the opening half, but WNCC’s freshman goalkeeper Cesar Bazana came up golden. For the match, Bazana recorded seven saves in the shutout win.

The Cougars tacked on an extra goal just before half. Renato Segalla and Geoff Critzer teamed up with perfection passes to deliver a perfect ball to Diego Campoverde, who made a running horizontal header into the back of the net for the 2-0 halftime lead.

WNCC kept applying the pressure in the second half, netting two more goals. David Castillo, the backup goalkeeper, provided the excitement with both scores. Castillo’s first goal came with 34:24 to play as he scored off an assist from Antonio Herrera-Young.

Castillo’s second goal came with 13:22 to play in the match as Torres feed Castillo with a perfect pass that he rocketed into the back of the net.

“David played extremely well. He is someone that stepped in to give the forwards a break,” Rock said. “He had a lot of scoring opportunities and he really stepped up.”

The win over Great Falls, who fell to Laramie County on Saturday 1-0, was against a good team. WNCC is now hoping to ride the momentum into Wednesday when they travel to Boulder, Colo., to face the University of Colorado Gold Club team before returning home on Saturday to face the University of Colorado White Club team.

Cougar women's soccer team defeats Northern Oklahoma on Friday

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team got bak on the winning track with a spirited win over Northern Oklahoma Friday 4-3 to open the Butler County tournament.

The Cougars, losers of their last two contests against Barton County and Laramie County, received a balanced offensive output in getting the win.

Northern Oklahoma, though, scored first in the 10th minute. WNCC wasted little time in tying the match. Bre Perkes returned to her scoring ways by opening the scoring in the 15th minute with a goal. LeeAnna Paxton and Amanda Arrant assisted on the goal.

The Cougar women continued to find the back of the net. This time Perkes found Paxton for the second goal at the 31st. WNCC added another goal at the 43rd minutes on a goal by Alicia Ropkin off an assist by Andrea Ardito to take a 3-2 lead into halftime.

WNCC added an insurance goal in the 50th minutes of the second half. Perkes picked up her second assist on the night as she found Ashley Quintana for the goal.

The Cougars, 4-2-1, will return to action today a 1 p.m. when they take on No. 10-ranked Butler County Community College. Butler earned a 2-1 win over Cisco Junior College in the earlier match. Butler and Northern Oklahoma played earlier in the season and tied 1-1.

Cougar men, women fall to Laramie County in soccer on Wednesday

The Western Nebraska Community College soccer teams might have lost the battle on the scoreboard to Laramie County Community College Wednesday evening, but Cougar head coach Todd Rasnic saw plenty of positives that made him pleased.

The Cougar men lost a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime contest to the Golden Eagles. The Cougar women, on the other hand, fell 6-2 despite scoring the most goals on the No. 5 team in the country.

“I wasn’t disappointed today. We did some good things,” Rasnic said. “The LCCC women have only been scored upon in one other game. They only had two goals scored on them and it was in a game they lost. Actually, there were a lot of positive things that went on and I am looking forward to moving forward and trying to pick up some victories in the future.”

The Laramie County women came into the contest steamrolling their competition. And, early on, it looked as if they would do the same to the Cougars jumping out to a 2-0 halftime lead. It didn’t take them long to score the opening goal as Heather Myers scored off a pass from Chelsea Eades at the 36 minute mark.

The Golden Eagles added a second goal with nine minutes to play in the half on a Megan Erikson shot from an assist from Megan Koopman. LCCC outshot the Cougars 7-3 in the first half.

The second half was a different story as the Cougar women came out with a different mentality. Early on, the Cougar women had four good shots on goal, including two from Bre Perkes that just missed.

LCCC then got its offense uncorked over a six-minute period rattling off three goals to take a 5-0 lead. Kim Yaccuta scored the first goal with 29:09 left in the half. Three minutes later, Yaccuta fed Koopman with a pass for a 4-0 lead. Koopman added a second goal with 23:35 to play.

WNCC kept battling and made a game of it, avoiding the shutout. The Cougars netted their first goal with 19:45 to play as Perkes delivered a pass to LeAnna Paxton for the score. Three minutes later, WNCC scored again. This time Ashley Quintana threw the ball in to Perkes, who delivered the ball into the back of the net.

Neither team scored again until with under a minute to play when Eades scored the final goal for LCCC.

LCCC finished with 15 shots on goal and eight corner kicks, while the Cougar women had six shots on goal and three corner kicks. WNCC goalkeeper Terri Huntington had nine saves in net.

Rasnic said the difference in the women’s contest was depth. WNCC played without several players who are nursing injuries.

“He [LCCC coach] has a deep bench with seven or eight players, and right now with the plague of injuries that we have, we are sitting here looking at three players on the bench,” Rasnic said. “The depth of a program makes a big difference. As soon as we get some ladies healthy, the more chance we will have in being successful down the road.”

The Cougar men also played well and had a number of opportunities to win the game. They too, though, were playing without two key starters – Eloy Matos and Steven Estrada who are getting ready to play with their Puerto Rican national team against Cuba for a berth in the China Olympics.

“We are certainly hurting without our starting center back and one of our forwards, but they will be back on Sunday when we host the University of Great Falls,” Rasnic said. “Hopefully, we will have more opportunities to put a better game on the field. You will see that happen and see the win/loss ration change a little bit.”

The Cougars, though, just missed winning the game. WNCC wasted little time to score netting their first goal 12 minutes into the match on a Lazzaro Torres goal off an assist from Morgan Wall.

LCCC came back and knotted the score with 22 minutes left in the half on a goal by Jose Arenas for the 1-1 halftime tie. The score stayed that way through the second period despite the Cougars having a number of opportunities to put in a goal, including a missed shot just 30 seconds into the half.

In the overtime period, WNCC had the first prime scoring opportunity but a pass just missed a open Cougar player. Thirty seconds later, the Golden Eagles ended the match on a 35-yard boot from Conrrado Deniz.

WNCC had just five shots on goal and zero corner kicks, compared to nine shots on goal for Laramie County and six corner kicks. WNCC goal keeper Cesar Bazana recorded seven saves for the Cougars.

“We lost a couple games in the last week but you know what, we are playing right there with all of our competition,” Rasnic said. “Things will change and we have a lot of season left for both teams. We had some key players out today [on both teams] and what you will see is things will solidify a little bit more when we get those players back.”

The women’s team will have little time to heal from the Region IX loss as they hit the road for two matches this weekend in the Butler County Community College tournament Friday and Saturday. The men’s team will be back in action Sunday when they host the University of Great Falls at noon at the Landers Soccer Complex.

WNCC hosts Laramie County in soccer doubleheader Wednesday

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams will be looking to get back on the winning track after suffering defeats on Saturday. And, they will have a challenge when they host Laramie County Community College Wednesday in the men’s, women’s doubleheader.

The men’s match will kick off at 3 p.m. at the Lander’s Soccer Complex, with the women’s contest to follow at 5 p.m.

The Cougar and Golden Eagle men enter the contest with similar records. WNCC is 2-4 on the season after falling to Barton County Community College 4-2 on Saturday. The Golden Eagle men enter play with a 3-4-1 mark falling to Barton County 2-1 on Sunday.

Both women’s teams also feature the same kind of record. The Cougar women enter with a 3-1-1 mark, but are smarting a little after being shutout by a Barton County team on Saturday 2-0. The opposite can be said for the LCCC women. The Golden Eagle women have a 4-1-1 mark and defeated Barton County 5-0 on Sunday.

After Wednesday’s contests, the women will hit the road for two contests at the Butler County Community College tournament Friday and Saturday. The Cougar men will return to action Sunday when they host the University of Great Falls at the Lander’s Soccer Complex.

WNCC soccer teams drop matches to Barton County

It wasn’t the most perfect day for the Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams Saturday.

Barton County Community College came into Scottsbluff and shut down the Cougar’s offense in registering two victories. The Barton men came out on top 4-2, while the Barton women shut out the high-scoring Cougar women 2-0.

The WNCC women came into the contest having scored 25 goals in three matches, but on Saturday the team failed to find the back of the net while playing short a player for most of the second half plus losing a key scorer because of a knee injury.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said this is a match they must learn from, put behind and come out ready to play Wednesday when they host Region IX opponent Laramie County Community College.

“We certainly did not rise to the challenge today. We are going to shake it off and bounce back,” Rasnic said. “We have some big games coming up. Unfortunately we are going to be missing Stacey (Agnew) for one match and Tamika (Smith) is re-injured again. We are battling a lot of injuries. We don’t have Jess (Aragon) in the back with her knee injury from the last time we played Barton. We are plagued right now with injuries, hopefully we can bounce back as a team, put our best foot forward.

“It is a tough loss. I was frustrated. The team was frustrated. When you come out and having that kind of day, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. You just take it and move on.”

The Cougar women also battled the wind in the first half. Still, going against a stiff western wind, they found plenty of scoring opportunities. Bre Perkes just missed on a shot with 24 minutes left in the opening period when she took a shot on the left side and just missed going into the right side of the net.

In fact, for the game, Barton County out shot the WNCC women 10-5 with shots on goal.

In the second half, WNCC had the wind in their favor for a brief time until the wind shifted from the North causing an equal playing field for both teams. It didn’t take Barton long to score first as Renata Lecca stole the ball and went one-on-one with WNCC’s goal-keeper Terri Huntington and found the net less then three minutes into the second half.

A couple minutes later, WNCC received a red card violation and was forced to play the rest of the match a player short.

The score stayed that way until the 6:35 mark of the game when Lecca once again found the back of the net to put Barton up 2-0.

WNCC came back in a hurry and tried to get break the goose egg on the scoreboard. With just over six minutes to play, Perkes just went high on a good shot opportunity. The Cougar women also had three shots on goal with under two minutes to play, but neither one could buck the wind coming out of the northeast.

WNCC goalkeeper Huntington did have a good match, though, getting eight saves and stopping a number of Barton scoring opportunities. Huntington came up big, especially in the first half when the Kansas school had the wind in their favor, but stopping two shots at point-blank range.

While the wind was a factor for the women, the WNCC men also had to fight the wind in the first game of the day. Barton County, who had the wind in their favor in the first half, netted three first half goals to take a 3-0 halftime lead.

Barton’s Marcelo Carminatti scored the first two goals of the game, the first coming at the 31:45 mark of the half on a bicycle kick into the net. His second came less then a minute later off an assist by Oscar Narvaez. Narvaez scored the third goal of the half.

WNCC didn’t waste anytime scoring in the second half with the wind at their back. Just a minute into the half, Renato Segalla fired a free kick from about 40 yards out straight into the net.
WNCC continued their comeback slicing the lead to one, 3-2, with 16:27 to play when Chris Thompson recorded the goal off of some nifty footwork. Edwin Enriquez started the combination by delivering a pass to Geoff Critzer, who passed it to Morgan Wall. Wall then feeded Thompson for a point-blank shot.

That was as close as WNCC got as Barton County added an insurance goal with 2 minutes to play on a goal by Jose Reza.

Both teams had six shots on goal, while Barton County won the corner kick battle 3-1.

WNCC will have little time to recoup their defeats as both will host Laramie County Community College on Wednesday. The men will play at 3 p.m. and the women at 5 p.m. For the Cougar women, though, Rasnic said they will have little time on the practice field with a flurry of matches this week.

“We have Laramie County on Wednesday and then we will be leaving on Thursday for the Butler County tourney,” he said. “We are in a situation where we will need to get some players back or it will be a long three or four games. Hopefully, we can get back on a roll.”

It wasn’t the most perfect day for the Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams Saturday.

Barton County Community College came into Scottsbluff and shut down the Cougar’s offense in registering two victories. The Barton men came out on top 4-2, while the Barton women shut out the high-scoring Cougar women 2-0.

The WNCC women came into the contest having scored 25 goals in three matches, but on Saturday the team failed to find the back of the net while playing short a player for most of the second half plus losing a key scorer because of a knee injury.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said this is a match they must learn from, put behind and come out ready to play Wednesday when they host Region IX opponent Laramie County Community College.

“We certainly did not rise to the challenge today. We are going to shake it off and bounce back,” Rasnic said. “We have some big games coming up. Unfortunately we are going to be missing Stacey (Agnew) for one match and Tamika (Smith) is re-injured again. We are battling a lot of injuries. We don’t have Jess (Aragon) in the back with her knee injury from the last time we played Barton. We are plagued right now with injuries, hopefully we can bounce back as a team, put our best foot forward.

“It is a tough loss. I was frustrated. The team was frustrated. When you come out and having that kind of day, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. You just take it and move on.”

The Cougar women also battled the wind in the first half. Still, going against a stiff western wind, they found plenty of scoring opportunities. Bre Perkes just missed on a shot with 24 minutes left in the opening period when she took a shot on the left side and just missed going into the right side of the net.

In fact, for the game, Barton County out shot the WNCC women 10-5 with shots on goal.

In the second half, WNCC had the wind in their favor for a brief time until the wind shifted from the North causing an equal playing field for both teams. It didn’t take Barton long to score first as Renata Lecca stole the ball and went one-on-one with WNCC’s goal-keeper Terri Huntington and found the net less then three minutes into the second half.

A couple minutes later, WNCC received a red card violation and was forced to play the rest of the match a player short.

The score stayed that way until the 6:35 mark of the game when Lecca once again found the back of the net to put Barton up 2-0.

WNCC came back in a hurry and tried to get break the goose egg on the scoreboard. With just over six minutes to play, Perkes just went high on a good shot opportunity. The Cougar women also had three shots on goal with under two minutes to play, but neither one could buck the wind coming out of the northeast.

WNCC goalkeeper Huntington did have a good match, though, getting eight saves and stopping a number of Barton scoring opportunities. Huntington came up big, especially in the first half when the Kansas school had the wind in their favor, but stopping two shots at point-blank range.

While the wind was a factor for the women, the WNCC men also had to fight the wind in the first game of the day. Barton County, who had the wind in their favor in the first half, netted three first half goals to take a 3-0 halftime lead.

Barton’s Marcelo Carminatti scored the first two goals of the game, the first coming at the 31:45 mark of the half on a bicycle kick into the net. His second came less then a minute later off an assist by Oscar Narvaez. Narvaez scored the third goal of the half.

WNCC didn’t waste anytime scoring in the second half with the wind at their back. Just a minute into the half, Renato Segalla fired a free kick from about 40 yards out straight into the net.
WNCC continued their comeback slicing the lead to one, 3-2, with 16:27 to play when Chris Thompson recorded the goal off of some nifty footwork. Edwin Enriquez started the combination by delivering a pass to Geoff Critzer, who passed it to Morgan Wall. Wall then feeded Thompson for a point-blank shot.

That was as close as WNCC got as Barton County added an insurance goal with 2 minutes to play on a goal by Jose Reza.

Both teams had six shots on goal, while Barton County won the corner kick battle 3-1.

WNCC will have little time to recoup their defeats as both will host Laramie County Community College on Wednesday. The men will play at 3 p.m. and the women at 5 p.m. For the Cougar women, though, Rasnic said they will have little time on the practice field with a flurry of matches this week.

“We have Laramie County on Wednesday and then we will be leaving on Thursday for the Butler County tourney,” he said. “We are in a situation where we will need to get some players back or it will be a long three or four games. Hopefully, we can get back on a roll.”

WNCC women shut out Western Wyoming, men fall in double overtime

Western Nebraska Community College’s Amanda Arrant is starting to hit full stride for the women’s soccer team.

Wednesday, the sophomore from Hooper, Utah, turned in a hat trick to help the Cougar women remain unbeaten with a dominating performance against Western Wyoming Community College Wednesday on the road with a 10-0 win.

The Cougar men, playing short-handed as starters Eloy Matos and Steven Estrada are back in Puerto Rico, fell 4-3 in double overtime. WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said his men’s team dominated play despite falling short on the scoreboard.

“We had the ball 70 percent of the game. We hit the cross bar about 14 times,” WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said. “They had a great keeper who made a lot of great saves against us. We couldn’t get too much by him. There were some quality shots taken on him and he came up to the challenge and saved a bunch of them.”

The Cougar men jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead as Renato Segalla netted the first goal at the 43^rd minute. A minute later, Segalla delivered a pass to Morgan Wall as the Alliance freshman put WNCC up 2-0.

Western Wyoming sliced the lead in half at the 54^th minute, only to see the Cougars grab a 3-1 lead as Edwin Enriquez scored in the 57^th minute. The Mustangs bounced back tying the match in the 70^th minute to force overtime.

Neither team scored in the first overtime. Western Wyoming finally broke the ice in the second 10-minute period, scoring with 2:15 left in the period for the win.

WNCC outshot the Mustangs 14-8 and had 15 corner kicks to their nine.

Rasnic said they felt the difference without Matos and Estrada not in the lineup. Both are training with the Puerto Rico national team for a match against Cuba next week with the winner qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

“We felt that today and two of the goals they scored on us were on throw-ins,” Rasnic said. “They through the ball in across the middle and scored on the tosses.”

While the men’s team fell on hard times, the women’s team continued their torrid scoring spree. The Cougars have now scored 25 goals in their last three matches. Wednesday, the team notched another 10 goals.

WNCC grabbed a 2-0 lead at halftime. Bre Perkes scored the first goal off an assist by Kiwi Wingert at the 11^th minutes. Wingert netted the second goal off a pass from Ashley Quintana.

The Cougar opened up the match in the second half scoring eight more goals, including the hat trick by Arrant late in the game.

First, though, LeAnna Paxton started the goal-scoring spree with an unassisted shot. Perkes then netted her second goal of the match off passes by Tamika Smith and Wingert for a 4-0 lead.

Smith notched back-to-back goals to push the lead to 6-0. Quintana assisted Smith on the first goal, with Wingert and Nancy Boyack getting assists on the second goal.

Arrant then scored three straight goals. The first goals came off of passes from Andrea Ardito. Wingert assisted on the third goal.

Paxton finished off the scoring with an unassisted goal for the 10-0 lead, which pushes the team’s record to 3-0-1 on the season heading into Saturday’s home-opener for the women’s team.

“I thought we put a pretty weak effort onto the field in the first half,” Rasnic said about the women’s team, who were playing their first game in over 10 days. “At halftime we had a discussion of what we need to change. We made some adjustments on the field and we started to open up the game.”

The Cougars’ offense continues to get better each match and Rasnic said Arrant is playing well.

“Amanda had three goals and she was telling me she had a hat trick,” he said. “She has stepped up this season a lot more then last year. She did a lot of extra work in the off season and it is certainly showing of how she is playing this year.”

The Cougar women out shot Western Wyoming 29-1, and the Mustangs goalkeeper finished with 19 saves.

“When you are playing a weaker opponent, it sometimes takes a while to break their defense down,” Rasnic said. “These ladies are pretty smart. They will break it down by halftime and then come back out and destroy them.”

Both teams will return to action Saturday when they face Barton County Community College at the Lander’s Soccer Complex. Action begins at noon with the men’s contest.

“The Barton County tie (on Aug. 25 for the women) is about like the game we just got done playing with the men. We absolutely dominated play in that game against Barton and ended up tying them,” he said. “I expect the ladies will be interested in showing everybody that they can beat Barton. I think the men’s team will bounce back as well.”

WNCC soccer teams open up season in Great Bend, Kan., this weekend

Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer coach Todd Rasnic likes the make-up of this year’s ball clubs after four weeks of practice.

Now, Rasnic will see what the teams can do in a regular match as both soccer teams open play Saturday in Great Bend, Kan. The women open against Barton County Community College at 3 p.m. The men have a tougher opener, facing pre-season No. 3 ranked San Jacinto College-South at 1 p.m.

“Whenever you are playing an opponent like that (ranked third in the nation), it is always a challenge and 50 percent of the game will be desire and who wants the game worse,” Rasnic said about the men’s season opener. “Do we want to set ourselves in our first match as a contender for this year. It is a good test for and I didn’t plan on playing the No. 3 team in the nation right out of the hat. That is what happened and we will deal with that. It is an opportunity for us to see what we need to do to be successful.”

Same philosophy holds true for the Cougar women team. They, too, will have a tough test against a Barton County squad that will be improved over last year when WNCC defeated them 3-1 behind two goals from Bre Perkes.

"I don’t think they will lay down on the field and let us run over them this year,” he said. “Certainly Barton County is a competitive program. Last season they had a new coach and I expect this season the recruiting process has gone better.”

Both Cougar teams, though, are much improved from a year ago. Last year’s women’s team struggled with numbers. This season that same team has plenty of depth, if they can shake the injury bug.

“I believe we have done what we need to do to get quality players that can come in and step up the play for us,” he said. “We are battling pre-season injuries with three or four players who have been struggling with injuries, which has been a concern for me. But, I have my two players back who have been recovering from their ACL injuries – Perkes and freshman Tamika Smith.”

The Cougar women finished last season with a 6-8-1 record in fielding a team for the first time since the 2004 season. Rasnic said he will be disappointed if this team doesn’t with a better overall record.

“I look at it this way in that the women’s program should be a strong program this season. There is no question about that,” he said. “We have some great recruits and strong players we brought in, and down the road as the season progresses, we are going to continue to get stronger and stronger.

“I fully expect to come back with three wins this weekend because they are a strong team and very competitive players. They are not going to make excuses for their game because they are short a sub or two. They are going to come out and give it everything they got just as we did last year.”

Rasnic is also hoping for a much better record on the men’s side. Last year the men finished with a 5-9-1 record. Rasnic said his men’s team will get a taste of just how good they will be.

“Honestly I don’t see any weaknesses in the lineup in any particular area for the men,” he said. “But this will be a great test for us and we will see where we fit into the spectrum of team’s nationally,” he said. “When you play a team that is ranked in the top five, what you come out with is the understanding of how close you are to that team. If we come out on top I will know that we have a good chance of going a long way this season. If we come out (with a loss) and it is a tough contest all the way to the end, I am still going to believe that we have the potential to be a team that can contend.”

The men’s team has loads of talent with a good combination of freshmen and sophomores. One newcomer that has really caught Rasnic’s eye is sophomore transfer Stephen Estrada from Puerto Rico.

“Stephen Estrada has made his presence known since he has been here. He is a sophomore and I expect great things from him,” he said. “As for returning sophomores, we look at Eloy to really get to that next level and produce more goals for us. Edwin Eriques, after his medical red-shirt last season, will also be looked for great things. Those players, in combination of the rest of the players, and we should have a good team.”

Other returners that will stand out for the men include Diego Campoverde of Quito, Ecuador; Renato Segalla of Santo Andre, Brazil; Geoff Critzer of Scottsbluff; and Aaron Oesterle of New Tripoli, Penn.

The rest of the men’s line-up are all freshman, including two goal keepers in Cesar Bazana of Americana, Brazil, and David Castillo of Aurora, Colo.

The other freshman include Chris Thompson of Gering, Morgan Wall of Alliance, Shayne Tower of Scottsbluff, Nikko Ouzounis and Lazzaro Torres of Aurora, Colo., Mark ZIgray and Antonio Herrera-Young of Windsor, Colo., Julio Cajes of Quito, Ecuador, and Carlos Miranda of Caguras, Puerto Rico.

Rasnic is very impressed with this year’s men’s team.

“The gentlemen we have do have are of high character who have an extremely high work rate,” he said. “This year’s team has come out demonstrating good character and that is what I am looking for; players that will play all the way to that last whistle and give me everything they have. We are 11 players and one team.”

The women’s team is loaded with depth and talent just like the men’s team and Rasnic is excited to see the potential from the women’s team, which stems from a good, hard-nosed sophomore class that bonded together as freshmen a year ago. The sophomores include Perkes of Plain City, Utah, Paige Achatz of Great Bend, Kan., Stacey Agnew of Leicester, England, Nancy Boyack of Gering, Krystin Wingert of South Jordan, Utah, and Amanda Arrant of Hooper, Utah.

“What is driving this squad is the heart of the sophomore crew,” Rasnic said about the women’s team. “They have more heart and desire to play the game with more passion then any players I have coached. I think that is one of the reasons that all the adversity (injuries) that we have faced, they will be able to step up to the challenge and perform well.”

In fact, the sophomores are the ones that are helping mold the freshmen into the players they are, said Rasnic.

“We battled in the games last year and each game it ended up being a battle to the end. That was a valuable lesson for those ladies for this season,” he said. “I think that spirit has been relayed to the incoming freshmen. I look for great things for the ladies.”

Adding to the sophomore’s talents is a freshmen crew that are top-notch. Leading the list is goalkeeper Terri Huntington of Bluffdale, Utah, who was a standout at Riverton High. Smith, a scoring forward from Greeley, Colo., also is expected to add some pop to the Cougar offense this season.

Others players that could make this season a memorable one are Andrea Ardito of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Lara Markey of Windsor, Colo., Claudia Gomez, Alisha Ropkin and Ashley Quintana of Aurora, Colo., LeAnna Paxton and Jessica Arreguin of Greeley, Colo., Mara Crouch of Hillsdale, Mich., and Maria Garcia of Denver, Colo.

“We do have a lot of depth on the women’s side and once we get everyone healthy, we will be good,” Rasnic said. “I am looking forward to the weekend and I think we will have a good time. I think it will be productive for us and we will be able to see where we are at, what we need to work on and where we should go from there.”

After Saturday contest with Barton County, WNCC will face Cloud County at noon on Sunday and then Neosho County Community College on Monday. Rasnic is hoping both teams will be 3-0 when they return late Monday evening.

“The coaches’ dream is to come out 3-0, but I have been in that position before and I am realistic that when you bring in a whole load of freshmen it takes a few games to adjust to the speed of play in this division,” he said. “I think we can do that. I have every confidence that they can go down and be 3-0. I think it would be an incredible boost to our players if they come out 3-0 this weekend. It would go a long way for the confidence for the team.”

Soccer teams fare OK in Thursday's scrimmages in Denver

The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer teams played in the shadows of the Colorado Rapids' Dick Sporting Goods stadium Thursday evening and fared OK against Denver Elite soccer teams.

The women played one 30-minute period against three different Elite teams from around Denver and tied 1-1. WNCC's lone goal came in the first match-up as Bre Perkes, who set a school record last season with 26 goals, took a pass from freshman Tamika Smith of Greeley, Colo. for the score.

The women's team then tied the second team they played 0-0, before falling 1-0 in the third contest in the higher altitude.

The men's team also tied in their scrimmage 2-2 against the Colorado Elite Team, who just won a state title the weekend before. Most of the players on the Chiva's team range in age from 25 t0 35 with a vast knowledge of the game.

WNCC's two goals came in the second period as sophomores Eloy Matos and Stephen Estrada, both from Puerto Rico and on their countries national team who will play Cuba early next month for a spot in the Beijing Olympics, each finished with a goal.

Both teams will open the season next weekend, Aug. 25 in Great Bend, Kan. The women will open against Barton County Community College, while the men will open against pre-season ranked No. 3 San Jacinto College-South.