Three games over four days proved to be a learning experience for the Northwest College men’s soccer team, rotating nearly 30 players in scrimmages against Rocky Mountain College, Carroll College and the University of Providence in a Montana road trip.

Opening the road trip was a difficult experience for the Trappers, as a strong Battlin’ Bears team came out firing on its home field.

Three goals in the first period and four goals in the second period of three 30 minute sessions were enough for a 7-0 win for Rocky, with Trapper men’s soccer coach Rob Hill seeing positives and negatives despite the large defeat.

“Rocky was good. I think the scoreline was a bit flattering,” Hill said. “I thought for the first 30, we played some really good football. We conceded two corner kicks, they were just simple goals … I thought there was some really good stuff, we could have had two or three ourselves.”

Hill said that the Trappers were rotating in a lot of freshmen over the second and third periods of the contest, giving them their first taste of college soccer against a four-year program.

“They were (many) freshmen thrown in the second 30, there were too many gaps, too many spaces,” Hill said. “Our forwards were pressing high and our back line was sitting low, lots of spaces there. I thought we did better when we switched formation and went into the third 30 and performed much better.”

He said the game helped open the eyes of the Trappers to what they need to work on, and they have replicated that in practice since that week in Montana.

“The scoreline looks a bit rough, but it is important because now what we’re working on in practice, is exactly what failed in those games,” Hill said.

Carroll and Providence

Northwest continued the Montana trip in Helena to take on the Fighting Saints of Carroll College, this time switching to a normal match of two 45-minute halves.

The Trappers ended up falling 2-1 in the contest, with Hill noting that one of the goals once again came off a set piece.

“We were definitely in that game with lots of chances, but for a second game out, we saw what we wanted to see in terms of the improvement,” Hill said. “We conceded one off a set piece, so we improved there, but still it was the same repeat goal. We’re going to work on that.”

By the third game against the Argonauts in Great Falls, Hill felt that the Trappers had built a bit more chemistry.

Unfortunately it was Providence scoring first, once again from a set piece.

“We conceded after five minutes,” Hill said. “Set piece, same corner.”

He said that the Trappers came out a little too comfortable in the first half, before a better second half helped earn the win.

“The first half I thought we were too comfortable, a little bit lackadaisical, trying to force things that weren’t on, but the second half quality was excellent,” Hill said.

Northwest mixed up the scoring in the second half behind some good goals, and wound up with a 5-2 win.

He added one of the more important things that happened for the Trapper soccer teams was an overnight trip before conference play has begun, helping build chemistry early in the program.

“Love the chemistry of both teams (men’s and women’s),” Hill said. “They’re both building a really tight unit early on, which is fantastic, and that away trip really helped us do that before conference. Which is very unusual, we don’t usually do overnights before conference play and before regular season play, so I think that was very, very good to do that away trip early on and get that chemistry built.”

REGULAR SEASON

Northwest now heads back out on the road to begin the regular season, starting with a trip to Gillette today (Thursday) at 3 p.m. to take on Mohave Community College of Arizona.

The Trappers then continue the road trip to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, taking on Western Nebraska at noon on Friday.

“Set pieces and chemistry going forward,” Hill said of the Trappers’ practice plans. “We’re playing a little bit different now than what we originally thought. Just understanding creating space for one another, and not getting in each other’s lines that’s going to be huge.”

Northwest will then play another scrimmage on Montana next Wednesday at 6 p.m., heading to Billings to take on Montana State University-
Billings.