TRAPPER MEN BATTLE IN FIRST GAMES

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Early goals put the Northwest College men's soccer team on the back foot throughout the first two games of the regular season. However, the Trappers showed their resiliency, battling back for a 3-1 win over Mohave Community College on Thursday and a 3-3 draw against Western Nebraska Community College on Friday.    

NORTHWEST 3, MOHAVE 1
Kicking off the season in Gillette with a matchup against the newly formed Longhorns (1-1) from Arizona, the Trappers (1-0-1) fell behind first.

A free kick and deflection in the 55th minute found the back of the net for the Longhorns, and Northwest had to battle back from an early goal.

"They're brand new but they were good, very organized," coach Rob Hill said. "A complacent goal that shouldn't have happened, but the guys fought back and there were some good things that happened."

Cameron Low got on the scoresheet when he headed home a cross from Shota Akima in the 64th minute.

Pedro Nunez followed with a goal in the 73rd minute in a one-on-one against the keeper on a Harrison Lloyd through ball to give Northwest the lead.

Northwest's final goal came from Shay Lonergan and gave the Trappers a 3-1 win.

"I think the guys got a very big taste of what's to come. A lot of diving, a lot of asking for calls, a lot of goading and trying to mentally get in your heads," Hill said. "I still think we need to do a little better on transitioning to offense and using the width of the pitch, but it was good that we showed resiliency to come back."

Harvey Bolland finished the game with three saves in net for the Trappers.    

NORTHWEST 3, WESTERN NEBRASKA 3
Continuing the trip in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the Trappers took on the Cougars (1-0-1) in what proved to be a physical contest from start to finish.

Northwest fell behind just 24 seconds in to the Cougars.

"Probably one of the fastest goals ever in NJCAA. Again, all mistakes from our end," Hill said.

The early misery continued when the Cougars doubled the lead 25 minutes in.

Northwest answered just a minute later when Pedro Miguel Vilaca Teixeira converted a penalty to make it 2-1.

That was when the game turned upside down.

Western Nebraska received a red card in the 28th minute, and Northwest's Hugo Antonio Garcia also received one just two minutes later.

"We continued to stay in the game. There were some red cards unfortunately," Hill said.

Two minutes later, Kasey Smith found the equalizing goal as the two teams went into halftime tied 2-2.

Western Nebraska regained the lead three minutes into the second half, but Northwest again had an answer.

The Trappers received another penalty kick, which resulted in a second red card for the Cougars.

Nunez stepped up and converted the penalty to tie the game 3-3 with 34 minutes left.

"We could have won it in the end," Hill said. "They got two easy goals on us that shouldn't have happened. Then, we should have finished our chances better. We hit the crossbar twice, we hit the post. It's still a young team, so [they're] still learning."

In total there were nine yellow cards and three red cards in the contest.

Bolland had six saves in the contest.  

UTAH TRIP
Northwest now heads to Utah, competing in a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.

That will start against Utah State University Eastern (0-2) in Price, Utah, at 1 p.m. on Friday.

The Trappers then head to Salt Lake City to take on Truckee Meadows (0-0) of Reno, Nevada, at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

"This is going to give us a good bearing as to where we're at in the conference and how prepared we are," Hill said. "We'll find out where we're at going into one more regular season game before going into conference."

That final regular season game before conference play will be on Tuesday in Powell, as Northwest will open its home campaign against North Idaho College (3-0) at 5 p.m.  

NORTHWEST 3, MOHAVE 1
Goals — Cameron Low 1, Pedro Nunez 1, Shay Lonergan 1
Assists — Harrison Lloyd 2, Shota Akima 1
Saves — Harvey Bolland 3 

NORTHWEST 3, WESTERN NEBRASKA 3
Goals — Pedro Miguel Vilaca Teixeira 1, Kasey Smith 1, Pedro Nunez 1
Assists — Pedro Miguel Vilaca Teixeira 1
Saves — Harvey Bolland 6