Your future, our focus
BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune
A dominant display led to two impressive wins at home for the Northwest College women’s soccer team, as the Trappers rolled past visiting Trinidad State College 13-0 on Friday and Otero College 5-0 on Saturday at Trapper Field.
NORTHWEST 13, TRINIDAD 0
Scoring came early and often for the Trappers (5-2-1 overall, 3-1 Region IX) against the visiting Trojans (0-8 overall, 0-6 Region IX).
Pressly Taylor got the Trappers scoring started early, slotting one past the keeper in the fourth minute to make it 1-0.
Six minutes later Brooke Travers doubled the advantage, and Nayelli Aguayo followed shortly in the 12th minute to make it 3-0.
Taylor got her second in the 15th minute, while Riley Noles scored a long range effort from center back in the 17th minute to make it 5-0.
“They (Trinidad) were more of a problem in the sense that we didn’t have a lot of pressure on the ball so it was difficult for us to play,” coach Rob Hill said. “But I think with the circumstances we did well.”
Ten minutes passed before the Trappers scored again, as Abby Derbyshire made it 6-0 and Olivia Bradley scored a seventh inside a half hour.
Travers scored her second in the 31st minute, Elliasen Lewis scored in the 33rd minute and Sara De Wit scored in the 35th minute to make it 10-0 at the break.
Heading into the second half with a running clock, Hill challenged his team to work on some weaknesses, forcing them to try scoring solely from crosses.
“To be 10-0 up at the half, I just told the girls to work on some of the areas that we’ve been struggling in, so connecting passes and then also timing our runs into the box,” Hill said. “I limited them to only scoring off crosses.”
Travers completed her hat trick in the 58th minute, while Lewis added her second in the 69th minute to make it 12-0.
Finishing out the match, Aguayo converted a penalty with two minutes left to make the final score 13-0.
Northwest recorded 50 shots (22 on target) in the contest compared to none for the visitors.
“It was good for us to keep a clean sheet,” Hill said. “There was lots of scoring opportunities, we probably could have scored more but I didn’t really want to run that up, there’s no point doing that.”
NORTHWEST 5, OTERO 0
Heading into Saturday the Trappers faced a stronger opposition in the Rattlers (3-3 overall, 3-3 Region IX), looking for the weekend sweep at home.
Northwest carried over its momentum from Friday, creating several scoring opportunities early, but unable to find the back of the net.
Taylor finally got the Trappers on the board midway through the half, finishing off a move by Lewis to make it 1-0.
“Still, I was surprised at how much time and space we had,” Hill said. “It took us a little bit to get on the score sheet.”
Taylor added to the lead late in the half, scoring her second of the contest on a shot just outside the box to make it 2-0.
Approximately 20 seconds later, after a quick turnover and push, Taylor found Sienna Fuller in the box and she scored to extend Northwest’s advantage to 3-0 just before the half.
That lead helped the Trappers to stay on the front foot in the second half, and add to the lead early in order to shut the door on the visitors.
“Going into the second half I think we knew that if we just got one it was going to be game over,” Hill said.
Aguayo scored after the ball bounced around in the box on a corner kick, making it 4-0 in the 60th minute.
Ten minutes later she scored again on a corner, giving Northwest the cherry on top for a 5-0 shutout.
“They were a little more competitive in terms of having us have to win the first and second ball,” Hill said. “Otero have typically been a very strong team and we got beat last year in the playoffs in the quarterfinals with them, but I was pleased to get six points and two clean sheets.”
Northwest recorded 27 shots in the contest (20 on target) to only one for the Rattlers.
DIFFICULT ROAD TRIP
Heading back on the road the Trappers are set to take on a pair of difficult opponents, starting with a trip to Casper on Friday at 1 p.m. to take on the Thunderbirds (5-2-3 overall, 4-0-1 Region IX).
Northwest then heads northeast to take on Gillette on Saturday, matching up at 1 p.m. with the Pronghorns (4-4 overall, 3-2 Region IX).
“Casper will be very tough, they’re always tough away. Gillette will have improved remarkably,” Hill said. “I think on the road it’s always going to be a challenge but I think these girls are in a good place.”
He added that the team continues to work on finishing crosses in the attack, as they begin to fine tune during the final three weeks of the regular season.
“It’s a habit they’ve learned and had for a few years. I think just getting them to recognize when to go, when to hold,” Hill said. “We tend to play the same ball, and when the defender drops to the 6 [yard box], nobody’s going for the cutback ball, which is the clear and obvious choice or the back post ball. So just getting them to make the right decision with the right technique and the right skill is really where we’re trying to challenge them.”
Northwest will wrap up the regular season with three successive home games over two weekends following the road trip.