Heading to Casper for a neutral site game on Sunday the Northwest College women’s soccer team finished with a draw against Iowa Lakes Community College 1-1.

Finishing up the nonconference schedule the Trappers (0-2-1) took on the Lakers (0-4-2).

Northwest struck early, as Ellie Young got on the board inside two minutes, putting a pass from Amelia Grace Franklin in the back of the net.

“We probably had two or three chances early on, but our finishing was just not great,” coach Rob Hill said. “Then we were just giving the ball away very unnecessarily, and it led to a lot more running and recovery work.”

Iowa Lakes responded midway through the first half, as a free kick led to an own goal by the Trappers and tied the game 1-1 in the 25th minute.

The Lakers continued to create more chances than Northwest, with Hill noting the Trappers need to fight for more first and second balls in the air.

“I just didn’t feel like we were competitive, we weren’t winning first balls, second balls, and then we were losing the ball, so we did a lot of running and backtracking,” Hill said.

Neither team found a winner  the rest of the game, as they settled for a 1-1 draw in a contest Hill described as an eye opener for the
Trappers.

“I think that the tie was probably a little bit of a wake-up call. We had a team meeting today (Tuesday) and kind of a little wake-up for what we need to do for conference play starting this weekend,” Hill said.

CONFERENCE GAMES

The Trappers now stay at home for the first time this season, welcoming in two teams from southern Colorado to begin the Region IX schedule.

The women start against Trinidad State College (0-5) at 2 p.m. on Friday, and play against Otero College (0-2-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“Tough weekend for the girls, but I’m excited for our first home game. It seems like it’s been a long time since we played here, and I’m excited to see what they can do,” Hill said.

Northwest’s men’s team has not played in a competitive match since Aug. 27, as the Trappers return to the field this weekend at home.

“It was probably a good break for us. The intersquad scrimmage was very competitive, so that was good for us,” Hill said.

The Trapper men take on Trinidad (0-5) at 4 p.m. on Friday before taking on Otero (0-3-2) at 3 p.m. on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s Region IX title game.

“It’s important to start off well, especially with head-to-head contests, with goal differentials, so you couldn’t ask for a tougher weekend really,” Hill said. “The guys will be prepared, the guys will be ready, and hopefully we’ll play well against them.”