TRAPPERS CRUISE PAST WESTERN NEBRASKA

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College men's soccer team came out on the right side of a 2-0 scoreline in the opening round of the Region IX tournament, using two goals in a minute to push past Western Nebraska Community College on Saturday.

NORTHWEST 2, WESTERN NEBRASKA 0
The Trappers (10-4-1) were riding high heading into the start of the postseason, carrying a four match unbeaten streak heading into the home playoff game against the Cougars (3-7-5).
Northwest started on the front foot, and gotthe first opportunity on net 19 minutes into the game on a shot pulled just wide by Shota Akima.
The Trappers gained an early advantage, as a second yellow card was shown to a Western Nebraska player just 32 minutes into the game and gave the Trappers a man advantage the rest of the way.
That red card was the sixth of the season for the Cougars, currently the most in the nation at the NJCAA level.
Following the red card the Trappers immediately took advantage, as Harrison Lloyd finished off a strong run of play off an assist from Akima to make it 1-0 with eight minutes left in the half.
"The goal we scored with Harry [Lloyd] was an absolutely brilliant goal in terms of just the team movement and the finish," coach Rob Hill said.
Northwest didn't have to wait long to get a second, as Jack Kuspert rocketed home an effort from outside the box to double the advantage just a minute later.
The Trappers continued to dominate possession throughout the contest, but were unable to add a third goal as the hosts held the visitors to only one shot in the entire contest.
"I thought we played very well up to the final third," Hill said. "I thought we moved the ball better. We were more patient. But then when we got in the final third we didn't do what we were in the back, which was swinging it around and moving the ball and moving opponents. You could clearly see that they would break it up, and then they would set their own attack. The only thing I would say about that is that we were very quick to recover the ball so they never really had any opportunities."

SEMIFINALS IN CASPER
Northwest now heads on the road for its semifinal matchup on Friday, heading to Casper to take on the No. 2 seeded and NJCAA No. 15 ranked Thunderbirds (10-2-2) at 6:30 p.m.
The Trappers will be hoping for an improved performance against the Thunderbirds, after falling at home to Casper College 6-1 in September.
"Casper is very consistent in terms of their work rate. They always work hard, they always compete," Hill said. "We've watched film several times on them and identified areas where we can attack. They were very deadly from set pieces [last time] … Set pieces were huge and winning second balls for them were huge. I think we've got to be a little bit more vigilant about that."
Casper College has also moved its home field to Kelly Walsh High School, meaning the Trappers will be playing on turf, which they have only done a select few times this season. Because of that, the team has been allowed to play at Powell High School to prepare for the semifinal contest under the lights.
"They've been playing on that all year at home so they've been used to that (turf). We are currently training at Powell High School, which they generously let us do and we're training under the lights," Hill said. "Three days straight we'll be on the turf because the ball moves differently, bounces differently and rolls differently. I think that's good preparation for us, just to understand, because the weight of the final ball will change … There's lots of other factors that can come into play, but the only things we can control is how we play and how our attitude is and our work ethic and our mentality. I think the guys will be as prepared as they possibly can be."
The winner of that match will take on the winner of No. 4 Central Wyoming College (7-7-1) and No. 1 Otero College (10-4-1) which play Saturday afternoon. The Region IX Championship Game will be next weekend at the site of the highest seed.      

REGION IX TOURNAMENT
Every game at the higher seed
FIRST ROUND 
(Both games Saturday, Oct. 18)
GAME 1 — Northwest 2 — Western Nebraska 0
GAME 2 — Central Wyoming 1 — LCCC 0
SEMIFINALS
(Game 3 on Friday, Game 4 on Saturday)
GAME 3 — 6:30 p.m. No. 3 Northwest at No. 2 Casper College
GAME 4 — 3 p.m. No. 4 Central Wyoming at No. 1 Otero College
CHAMPIONSHIP
(Scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1, time TBD)
GAME 5 — TBD Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4