Your future, our focus
Final Homestand This Weekend
The Northwest College men’s soccer team lost another pair of road games, pushing their losing streak to five and setting up a potential quarterfinal preview on Saturday.
Losses at Western Nebraska and Laramie County on Friday and Saturday dropped the Trappers to 6-7 overall and 3-3 in Region IX play, relegating them to, at best, a third-place finish in the region.
“Looks like right now, as things stand, we’ll end up going down to play Otero in the Region quarterfinal,” NWC head coach Rob Hill said.
The 11-4 (7-3 in Region IX) Otero Rattlers will come to Powell for the final regular season game on Saturday, though Hill said it won’t affect a possible playoff rematch.
“It’s another game that we have a chance to find a little bit of form,” he said. “And also just kind of get some pride back. We’ve gone six games without a win, and we’re just looking to restore a bit of pride and belief back in ourself.”
Hill said the Trappers gave it everything they had, but had to do so a man down, in a 1-0 loss in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on Friday.
Freshman keeper Nate Snyder was ejected from the game with a red card in the 23rd minute for a challenge that “the referee deemed to be a goal-scoring chance,” Hill said.
From that point on Northwest “invested everything emotionally and mentally into winning that game,” but couldn’t put any of its seven shots on goal.
The Trappers did what they could with 10 players, but the burst of emotional energy that sparked from Synder’s red card couldn’t be sustained through the end of the match.
“People put some of their best efforts forward, but as the game’s going on and you’re not scoring, and you’re playing with 10 men, you’re just getting (more and more) tired. And Nebraska was able to use that extra man.” Hill said.
Down a man, and a goal, the coach was proud of the pure team effort he had always hoped for, even if it came in a losing effort.
“There was some real glimpses of team effort and just the fact that they invested so much, it showed they really cared about the outcome, cared about the team,” Hill said.
Unfortunately for the Trappers, Friday’s effort and loss may have hindered them during Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Laramie County.
“The next day, it was difficult for our guys to pick themselves up from that,” Hill said.
Laramie County struck early, continuing an ongoing problem for Northwest.
Golden Eagles striker Rafael Munoz scored in the third minute to put the fatigued Trappers on their heels right from the start.
“Just a lapse of concentration, and we seem to do that, we don’t seem to keep clean sheets,” Hill said.
Sophomore keeper Alex Basulto stopped 11 of the 15 shots he faced in the game.
Freshman Mitchell Pinney scored in the eighth minute on an assist from Danny Mort to breathe some life back into Northwest, but as has happened too often this year, the momentum didn’t last long.
Munoz scored again, just one minute later, as LCCC retook the lead.
Munoz completed his hat trick before the end of the first half.
“All just very silly goals that were conceded. Defensively we’ve got to be a lot sounder,” Hill said. “Not taking anything from LCCC, (Munoz) is a good striker.”
But Hill noted missed chances for his own team to take the lead.
“We could have gone 2-1 up, we missed an absolute sitter of a chance,” Hill said. “It was 3-yards out believe it or not.”
Down 3-1 at half, a day after overexerting themselves in a noble but futile effort, the Trappers couldn’t muster the energy to mount a second-half comeback.
“It was a big hill to climb,” Hill said.
The Trappers haven’t won since earning a 3-2 result at Sheridan on Sept. 23.
“It’s unfortunate, but there’s glimpses of us turning it around,” Hill said. “And I still believe that we can turn this season around and come good at the end when we need to.”
Northwest hosts Trinidad State at 3 p.m. on Friday and Otero at 1 p.m. on Saturday.