The NJCAA No. 14-ranked Northwest College men’s soccer team ran its unbeaten run to eight games playing in Colorado to end the Region IX conference schedule, posting dominant wins over Northeastern Junior College 4-1 Friday and Lamar Community College 8-0 on Saturday to lock up the No. 1 seed.

NORTHWEST 4, NORTHEASTERN 1

Starting the road trip in Sterling the Trappers (8-1-2 overall, 7-1-1 Region IX) took on the Plainsmen (6-2-3 overall, 4-1-2 Region IX), who were undefeated in region play coming into the contest.

“We prepared well for them … We watched film on them all week … We were well prepared for what their threats were,” coach Rob Hill said.

Northwest got on the board first, when Louie Daley put home an effort seven minutes in to make it 1-0.

Northeastern responded to tie, before the Trappers took the lead for good in the middle of the match.

William Danaire found the back of the net just two minutes before the halftime break, rebounding from a missed penalty earlier in the half to get on the scoresheet and give Northwest a 2-1 advantage at the half.

“We missed the penalty early on, and then settled down a lot after that,” Hill said.

Taylor Bridger helped the Trappers pull away for good early in the second half, as he scored 14 minutes in and again three minutes later to make it a 4-1 scoreline with 28 minutes left in the game.

“Taylor was excellent all weekend. He had three goals and five assists on the weekend, so he was superb,” Hill said.

The Plainsmen received a red card in the 77th minute and the Trappers earned the 4-1 victory.

“It was a dominant performance … We were a little bit guilty of giving the ball away at times, which is what they were waiting for. But overall, to come out 4-1 and be dominant there was excellent,” Hill said.

NORTHWEST 8, LAMAR 0

Heading into Saturday the Trappers wrapped up the Region IX season against the winless Lopes (0-1-14 overall, 0-1-6 Region IX).

Goals came early and often for the Trappers, as plenty of names got on the scoresheet.

Josh Rabord got Northwest on the board nine minutes in, before Hayden Vally added a second 15 minutes later to make it 2-0.

David Pernet added a third, and Tristan Hargreaves got a fourth just before the halftime whistle to make it 4-0 at the break.

Daiki Misawa got his first of the day two minutes into the second half, before Bridger got his third of the weekend to make it 6-0.

Mateo De Souza added his name to the scoresheet, before Misawa got his second of the day to finish the scoring two minutes before the mercy rule in the 70th minute at 8-0.

“I think we made quick work of that. We created lots of chances. We could have had a lot more goals, but it was nice to see lots of different faces on the scoreline,” Hill said. “Daiki getting two was a good one, he hadn’t scored all season … To finish as the only team clinching postseason and 22 points, it’s a good place to be. We just can’t be complacent.”

BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Over their eight game unbeaten run, the Trappers have outscored their opponents 30-9, a significant turnaround that was sparked following a late blown lead against Trinidad State College on Sept. 11, the Trojans’ only win of the season.

“I blame myself for that result. But everybody kind of looked at it and went: ‘what are we doing?’ So we upped the levels. We knew that wasn’t where we wanted to be and where we were at. It kind of spurred us on,” Hill said. “Sometimes you need a lesson like that. Had it not happened there, would it have happened in a more key game? I don’t know. So I think that the lessons were learned … Clearly it did something for the guys.”

FINAL GAME

The Trappers still have one more game remaining on the regular season schedule, as they take on a Region IX opponent in Central Wyoming College (8-3-4 overall, 4-2-3 Region IX) at 8 p.m. on Saturday in Riverton.

This will be a nonconference game between the two, as they are the only teams without any conference games this weekend.

“We just want to stay focused. It’s nice to kind of be finished with conference, knowing where we’re at, but now the hard work begins because it becomes this cup final mentality where you’re one and done,” Hill said. “So we’ve got to now up our level. We can’t relax. All we’ve earned is a home game and a home semifinal. That’s it. We haven’t done anything else. Keeping guys healthy, keeping the guys hungry, will be the key focus, and hopefully going to the postseason ready to play in that cup mentality.”

Four teams below the Trappers each have four wins and are fighting for the bye at the No. 2 seed; one of those is Central which will sit and wait to see its fate following this weekend’s contests.

Northwest then will have next weekend off, and will await the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 contest for a semifinal game the weekend of Oct. 30-31.

REGION IX STANDINGS

(Overall record then conference record, Win-Draw-Loss)

1. Northwest — 8-1-2 overall, 7-1-1 Region IX

2. Western Nebraska — 7-3-3 overall, 4-2-1 Region IX

3. Central Wyoming — 8-3-4 overall, 4-2-3 Region IX

4. Casper College — 6-4-3 overall, 4-2-1 Region IX

5. Northeastern JC — 6-2-3 overall, 4-1-2 Region IX

6. LCCC — 3-1-4 overall, 3-1-3 Region IX

7. Otero College — 2-5-6 overall, 2-3-2 Region IX

8. Gillette College — 4-7-3 overall, 1-1-5 Region IX

9. Trinidad State — 1-0-12 overall, 1-0-6 Region IX

10. Lamar CC — 0-1-14 overall, 0-1-6 Region IX