MEN'S SOCCER FALLS IN TITLE MATCH

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

A strong season came to a close with a disappointing finish in the Region IX Championship for the Northwest College men's soccer team, as the Trappers fell to Otero College 4-1 in Colorado on Sunday.    

OTERO COLLEGE 4, NORTHWEST 1
Looking to avenge one of their Region IX losses the Trappers (11-5-1) made the trip to Colorado State University Pueblo to take on the No. 1 seeded Rattlers (12-4-1) in a neutral site final.
Throughout the first half the Rattlers had the better chances, as the Trappers were unable to find many opportunities.
"We were very tentative in the first half. I don't know if it was nerves or what, but we certainly didn't have the mentality that we had when we played in the semifinal," coach Rob Hill said.
Otero got on the board first, as a strong move up the right wing found its way into the box on a cross.
The ball was deflected around in the box before a quick shot found its way into the roof of the net with 9:50 remaining to make it 1-0.
Northwest finally settled in and found chances the rest of the half, but the best opportunity came after the halftime break.
Lucas Davies rifled a shot from midfield off the kickoff, rattling the crossbar before it was cleared away.
Despite creating better chances, it was the Rattlers who found the net again, as they found their way in behind the defense and slotted home a chance with 28 minutes left.
Just a minute later, the Rattlers punished the Trappers again with another through ball and scored again to make it 3-0.
"Otero is very good at punishing mistakes. They pick the ball up and they go directly at you. They're very good at that," Hill said. 
Jack Kuspert got Northwest on the board, scoring on a low driven shot from outside the 18 to make it 3-1 with 17 minutes remaining.
Northwest had its chances, including a shot from Jake Coltart which required the full effort of the Rattler keeper to keep it out just two minutes later. 
"I actually thought we could have pushed on and got a second goal. We did change formation which left us a bit more vulnerable. We went to a back three and pushed numbers forward," Hill said.
The Trappers were unable to find another goal to cut the deficit, and a goal with 11 seconds added insult to injury as the Rattlers walked away with the 4-1 win.
"I thought the guys played well. We had a really good week of practice. We worked very hard, I thought we prepared well," Hill said. "They were clinical at finishing and we weren't. That's just the bottom line unfortunately." 

RECRUITS NEEDED
The Trappers now head into the offseason needing to replace a number of players from this year's team.
That will include 19 rostered sophomores this season who made significant contributions over two years to Northwest.
"We've already started that (recruiting) process," Hill said. "We've got experienced guys that have played men's football. So we're trying to look in that direction where guys have had experience playing with older guys, and that will help us not have such a big gap from freshman to sophomore year, and guys that have had good experience at high levels."
Hill said with the recent success of the Trappers, they have been able to get recruitments and signings early along with some high level players.
"Because we've done well, we've had more players than ever come forward, and we've made some very good signings that we're happy with so far," Hill said. "It was a good season, we played some really good football and it was another step forward."
Hill said along with the recent success, the Trappers are looking to continue growing each season in order to compete with the growing standards of Region IX.
"Our conference is getting harder and harder every year, because everyone else is improving as well which is great," Hill said. "The level is getting higher and higher, and therefore our conference is getting harder and harder. But on the same token, it's good for players to come here, because it means that they're going to be ready for the four year level, so coaches can come and recruit out of Region IX and feel really good about the level and quality of player."
He said as tough as conference play is now it does a good job preparing players for the national competition.
"I think that the heart of the conference, whoever comes out of the conference and wins, they're ready to take on teams in the national tournament," Hill said. "They're more prepared, whereas I'd say in years gone by, that wasn't the case."