Starting the regular season on the road the Northwest College women’s soccer team fell to Western Nebraska Community College 2-0, as the Trappers continue to search for early season reinforcements after limited substitutions once again.

WESTERN NEBRASKA 2, NORTHWEST 0

Taking on a Region IX North opponent in a nonconference matchup the Trappers (0-1) went east to take on the Cougars (1-0).

Western Nebraska got on the board 22 minutes into the contest, as a rebound was put home to give the hosts the advantage.

“Western Nebraska is massively improved from last year. A different team, lots of athleticism,” coach Rob Hill said. “We had 1-1/2 subs maybe because someone was injured coming on, so that made a huge difference. They had a full roster … So that made a huge difference to us.”

The hosts found the back of the net once again in the first half, as a free kick sailed into the back of the net with just under five minutes left before the break to give the Cougars a 2-0 advantage.

Despite the two goals conceded, Hill felt there were a couple of standouts at the back for the Trappers including the keeper and a defender.

“They probably could have scored a couple more. Coy Erickson was excellent (in goal). I think she’s grown a ton,” Hill said. “I thought Lexie Bordessa was excellent (in defense).”

In the first half Hill felt like the Trappers had control of possession at times, but were unable to win any of the direct balls going forward. 

He said in the second half they were able to improve in those areas, but felt the team lacked in most areas of the pitch.

“We just lacked the pace, we lacked the desire. There was some decent passing done, but nothing to produce chances,” Hill said. “If it wasn’t for Coy it could have been a couple more.”

With the continued lack of substitutes on the team, Hill is hopeful they can have some more reinforcements come back, whether through recovering from injuries or recruits soon to be on the roster.

He hopes with that, they can be on a more level pegging the next time they play the Cougars at home in October.

“I think when we get players back healthy and we get a couple more reinforcements, I’m hoping one this week and a couple next week — then we should be on a more equal footing,” Hill said.

While the Trappers may not have been able to find the back of the net in the season opener, Hill believes as they learn to be more aggressive in their attack that the women’s program can find success as they already have a good baseline in holding possession.

“They can possess the ball, move it pretty well. They have to learn to move the ball a little bit quicker, and they have to learn that it’s not only about possession,” Hill said. “They have to learn that breaking lines and getting in behind is the name of the game and scoring opportunities. While possession, they can keep it, it still needs to be quicker, and we have to have an end product. The end product is not quite there yet.”

He said that will come with being more aggressive and finding more space behind the opposing defenses, and the Trappers should be solid defensively this year as he is hopeful the attack will find more chances.

TOUGH OPPONENT

The early season schedule presents a large challenge for the Trappers on the road this week, as they head to Utah to take on No. 7-ranked Salt Lake Community College today (Thursday) at noon.

“They’re full of top, top players. They’ll move the ball fast. They’re at home … I think that our team will have a big eye opener, and they’ll either adjust or they’ll learn some pretty big lessons going into Region IX,” Hill said. “I think this is the kind of test that we need … They’ll be very high level, and we’ve got to be able to compete with them. We’ve got to match them for their work rate and work ethic. We’ve got four subs this weekend, so that should help a little bit.”