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NWC Comes Up Short In Exhibition
Rocky Mountain College defeated Northwest College by a 4-0 count on Monday in exhibition soccer action in Cody. It was the first-ever appearance in Cody by the Trapper women’s team, which has featured a number of Cody players in its brief history.
For women’s coach Kaylin Olivas it was a largely wasted opportunity for her side to showcase itself to the local fan base.
“We just didn’t show up,” Olivas said afterward. “We played 15, maybe 20 minutes of Northwest College soccer and the rest of the time we really looked like we didn’t want to be here.”
Coming just two days after Olivas had lauded her team’s defensive play in a 2-0 loss to the same Rocky Mountain College side, the result was particularly disappointing. The visiting Bears scored just seven minutes in to the contest, but needed almost 30 additional minutes to tally their next.
Many of those minutes were controlled by the Bears though. Rocky Mountain College consistently outfought, out-jumped and outran the Trappers to loose balls to keep the focus of the action in Northwest’s defensive third of the field.
Rocky extended its lead to 3-0 just minutes out of the intermission. The teams played the rest of the second half scoreless until RMC converted a free kick from above the box into a goal in the final seconds of the contest.
“We just weren’t hustling to the ball,” said Olivas. “Rocky was getting to every loose ball. They were winning practically every fight for it, and we can’t allow an opposing team to do that.”
The Trappers found themselves shut out for the second time in the preseason, despite the Bears playing the entire second half with a roster player in goal. The Bears were forced to leave one of their goalkeepers in Billings due to illness. The visiting team found itself in a pinch when their starting keeper — the only one they traveled with for the game — pulled a quad with roughly 10 minutes to play in the first half. Although she hobbled through the remainder of the first half, the Bears sat her for the final 45 minutes to avoid further aggravating the injury.
The Bears weren’t the only ones battling injury though. The trainer’s table also proved to be a popular destination for several of the Trappers throughout the evening. The rigors of multi-practice days and two full-length scrimmage games in a three-day span were clearly taking their toll on Northwest by game’s end.
Fortunately, none of the injuries appeared to have been serious.
“We’ll be fine,” said Olivas, indicating that none of the injuries were likely to impact the team long term. “Some kids are sore. We’ve got some dead legs, but we’ve got time before our first game to take care of that.”
Monday’s exhibition contest was the team’s last before the start of the regular season. The Trapper women travel to Great Bend, Kan., next week to face Barton Community College in their season opener on Saturday, Aug. 25. The team will also face Northwest Technical on Sunday, Aug. 26.