All Region Teams Announced

Region IX of the NJCAA has announced their Men's Soccer All-Region Player. The following Mustangs were named to the first team All-Region IX. Kyle Seljaas (Freshman) 1st Team Midfield

Joe Lake (Freshman) 1st Team Forward

Colter Miller (Freshman) 1st Team Defender

Taylor Ford (Sophomore) 1st Team Midfield

Here is the complete Region IX 1st Team
Forwards:
WWCC-Joe Lake
LCCC-Guilherme Andrade
LCCC-Chris Kistenoglu
WNCC-Jose Macias

Midfielders:
LCCC-Jeff Hampton
WNCC-Tony Rocha
WWCC-Kyle Seljaas
WWCC-Taylor Ford

Defenders:
LCCC-Stephen Pyer
LCCC-Jed DeLeeuw
WNCC-Pedro Deleon
WWCC-Colter Miller

Keeper:
LCCC-Brandon Carrick

WWCC had 5 players named to the 2nd team All Region IX. They are; Gilbert Gonzalez (Freshman) Forward, Erick Mata (Freshman) Midfield, Kyle Howe (Sophomore) Defense, Logan Bailey (Freshman) Defense and Taylor Whetman (Freshman) Keeper.

Here is the complete 2nd Team All Region IX

Second Team
Forwards:
LCCC-Santiago Castano
LCCC-Jakob Baraket
WWCC-Gilbert Gonzalez

Midfielders:
WNCC-Matt Hoffman
LCCC-Dave Carter
LCCC-Casey Allen
WWCC-Erick Mata

Defenders:
LCCC-Kevin Gold
WNCC-Casey Zigray
WNCC-Josh Ivey
WWCC-Kyle Howe
WWCC-Logan Bailey

Keeper:
WWCC-Taylor Whetman

Mustangs Lose in Semi-Finals to End Season

On Friday in Cheyenne WY at the Region IX tournament the Western Nebraska Cougars and Western Wyoming Mustangs faced each other for the 3rd time of the season and the second time in a weeks span. The Mustangs had tied and had beaten the Cougars in overtime so far this season, but they would not be so lucky this time around. The Cougars punched in the first goal in the 25th minute from the right side of the Mustang's defense. The first half was mainly dominated by WWCC with the wind at their back and they scored in the 37th minute off of a corner kick. Chris Byers sent in a great ball over the hands of the keeper headed to the back post and Omar Jaimes headed in the ball for the equalizer.

The second half the Mustangs lost a little bit of control of the possession and the flow of the match as the wind stopped any type of long ball that the Mustangs tried to send. The only goal of the second half and the game winning goal was scored in the 72nd minute when the Cougars attacked the left side of the Mustang defense. The Mustangs continued to fight and try to find a tying goal but it just was not meant to be on that day. Final score was WNCC 2 - WWCC 1. The loss sets the Mustangs record back to .500 for the season with 8 wins, 8 losses and 2 ties.

Game Stats - Shots; WWCC - 12, WNCC 11 - Keeper Saves; WWCC 3, WNCC 5 - Corner Kicks; WWCC 11, WNCC 1

Workhorse of the Match: Erick Mata (had a good match, came off of the bench to play a lot of minutes. Including matching up to WNCC's best player in the second half and shutting him down. Mata also had 3 shots, including a great volley that had to be saved)

Overall it was a good season for the Mustangs as they had a few firsts. The team collected their first win versus Salt Lake CC, and North Idaho College. The team was also successful in winning their first match in Scottsbluff NE. This was probably the toughest schedule the Mustangs have ever had and they were still able to come up even in the table. The team set a record for lowest goals against average for a season. Individually there were several single game, single season and career records set, please see the links on the left to view the new additions.

WWCC Beat the Cougars and Gain 2nd Place

On Friday in Scottsbluff NE the Region IX rivals Western Nebraska and Western Wyoming faced each other again in the 2009 season. The first match in the rivalry was a draw. Today's match was very exciting and saw several lead changes. Kyle Seljaas started the scoring in the 3rd minute when he collected a loose ball in the box and beat the Cougar keeper. Gilbert Gonzalez is credited with the assist. Western Nebraska responded with their own goal in the 29th minute to equalize the score. Although both teams had some chances the score remained 1 to 1 at the half.

The second half was played at a fast and furious pace especially the last 20 minutes. WNCC scored first in the second half in the 51st minute to take a 2 to 1 lead. That lead looked like it might stay until Mika Goodman blasted a shot from the right side of the field that found upper 90 and evened the score in the 70th minute. The Goodman goal was assisted by Brandon Bushman. The Cougars wasted little time to regain their lead when they scored in the 80th minute. With under ten minutes to go the Mustangs played a very offensive style of play and caught a break when with 1 minute to play the Cougars were whistled for a penalty in the box. Kyle Seljaas stepped up and nailed the penalty shot to even the match at 3 goals with 1:11 to play. No more goals were scored in regulation and both teams knew the match must be settled in overtime.

The first half of overtime was dominated by the Mustangs in the possession but resulted in very few looks at the goal until there were but 2 minutes remaining. The defender Logan Bailey sent a beautiful diagonal pass to a streaking Kyle Seljaas down the middle of the field. Seljaas noticed the WNCC keeper attacking the ball and made a good quick decision to chip the keeper. His shot sailed above the keeper and dropped perfectly into the net to give the Mustangs the 4 to 3 overtime victory. The win moves the WWCC Mustangs into sole possession of second place in Region IX for the 2009 season. It also guarantees the worst the Mustangs can do is finish the season at .500. The Mustang's record is now 8 wins, 7 losses and 2 ties.

Game Stats - Shots; WNCC 15, WWCC 13 - Keeper Saves; WNCC 4, WWCC 8 - Corner Kicks; WNCC 2, WWCC 2

Up Next for the Mustangs; Region IX Semi-Final Match on Friday October 23rd at 2:30pm in Cheyenne WY (LCCC Campus) versus Western Nebraska CC

Workhorse of the Match: Kyle Seljaas (3 goals - 1st hat trick since 10/12/2007)

Dragons Win Again Against the Mustangs

On Tuesday in Rexburg Idaho the Madison Dragons and the Western Wyoming Community College played a re-match from an overtime match played a month ago. This match was almost just as exciting with the young Mustangs and the older more experienced Dragons from BYU-Idaho. The Dragons did have the majority of possession and took a bunch more shots than the Mustangs but WWCC had as many genuine chances to score as did the Dragons. With the wind in their faces WWCC played a lot more defense in the first half allow zero goals and 16 shots. WWCC keeper Taylor Whetman had six saves in the first half. Mika Goodman would have score in the first half for the Mustangs if it were not for fine play of Madison's keeper. Unfortunately the wind seemed to die right before half and was not a factor for the rest of the match. The score at the half was Madison Dragons zero and the WWCC Mustangs zero.

The second half saw the Dragons continue to shoot and they finally found net in the 49th minute from around 20 yards. The Madison player hit the ball of balance but was able to place it in the top right corner to grab the match's only goal. The Mustangs doubled their shot total in the second half than that of the first half but could not get past the big physical defense of the Dragons or their keeper. Taylor Whetman of the Mustangs had a career high 11 saves today and played very well. The loss dropped the Mustangs back to a .500 record at 7 wins, 7 losses and 2 ties.

Game Stats - Shots; WWCC 8, MD 30 - Keeper Saves; WWCC 11, MD 4 - Corner Kicks; WWCC 3, MD 5

Up Next for the Mustangs; Friday October 16th versus Western Nebraska (Final Region IX match of the Year) at Scottsbluff NE at 4:00pm

Workhorse of the Match: Taylor Whetman (11 saves and kept the Mustangs in the match)

Griffins Early Goals Too Much to Overcome

On Saturday in Salt Lake City UT the Westminster Reserve Griffins and the Western Wyoming Community College Mustangs faced off for the second time this season. The first game was a draw with both teams scoring only once. In the rematch the Griffins scored both of its goals in the first ten minutes when the counter strikes where faster than the Mustang's defense could adjust to and found a whole in the middle of the WWCC defense. To the credit of the Griffins they were able to capitalize on these mistakes and scored in the 8th and the 10th minute. Gilbert Gonzalez and the Mustangs inched back into the match in the 15th minute when Gonzalez's shot beat the Westminster keeper from around 20 yards. Joe Lake was credited with the assist. The score stayed the same for the rest of the first half at Westminster 2 and WWCC 1.

The second half was almost entirely dominated by the Mustangs in both possession and scoring chances. However no matter what combination WWCC threw at Westminster or how many players were thrown into the attack the Mustangs could not find the tying goal for the game. In this, the rematch for these teams, WWCC dominated the run of the play but was not able to tie or win. All the Mustangs were able to see the field and all played very well and proved how far they have come in this short season but the loss was still painful for WWCC to take. This loss lowers the Mustang's record to 7 wins, 6 losses and 2 ties.

Game Stats - Shots; WWCC 18, Westminster 9 - Keeper Saves; WWCC 5, Westminster 8 - Corner Kicks; WWCC 8, Westminster 3

Up Next for the Mustangs: On Tuesday October 13th at 4:00pm in Rexburg ID versus the Madison Dragons

Workhorse of the Match: Gilbert Gonzalez (3rd goal in 3 consecutive games, and excellent play)

WWCC Beats the Rivals

On Wednesday in Provo UT the Western Wyoming Mustangs played a match against the Rocky Mountain Rivals. This was the second match up between these teams this season. Their first match was draw played as a scrimmage match back on August 22nd. The outcome this time around was a little different as the Mustangs took control of the match and allowed the Rivals very few genuine opportunities at the goal. The first 45 minutes were a draw as neither team was able to find the back of the net.

As the temperature cooled down the WWCC offense heated up on the field in the second half and the first goal was in the 49th minute when Gilbert Gonzalez not only drew the penalty kick but he also scored on the play. WWCC had several good chances in the second half but they just were not able to find their second goal until the 90th minute of play when a ball was blocked by the Rivals keeper and found the feet of Chris Byers of the Mustangs around 30 yards away from the goal. Byers smartly seeing the keeper out of position chipped the ball over his head and added the additional goal for the Mustangs as time was drawing to a close. The final score was WWCC 2 and Rocky Mountain 0. The victory moves the Mustangs to 7 wins 5 losses and 2 draws on the season.

Game Stats - Shots; WWCC 16, RMR 4 - Keeper Saves; WWCC 3, RMR 8 - Corner Kicks; WWCC 5, RMR 1

Up Next for WWCC: Saturday 10/10 at Westminster (Reserves) on the Westminster campus (Sugarhouse) at 12:00 noon

Workhorse of the Match: Taylor Whetman (3rd shutout of the season, tying the single season record for WWCC)

Mustangs Avenge Earlier Loss

On Friday in Rock Springs the Mustangs played a second match against the Cardinals of North Idaho College this season. In the previous match this season the NIC Cardinals beat the Mustangs easily 4 - 0 in Idaho. Today's match proved how much the Mustangs have improved through the course of this season. The match was fast paced and both teams saw some opportunities in front of goal in the first half but neither was able to capitalize until the 41st minute. The Mustangs got a couple of passes together and saw Joe Lake collect the ball on the end line and pass it across the mouth of the goal to a streaking Omar Jaimes who easily placed it into the net for a 1 - 0 lead for WWCC.

In the second half the Mustangs were able to continue their great play and doubled their lead in the 54th minute when a Josh beck free kick found Gilbert Gonzalez about 25 yards from goal. Gilbert tattooed a shot that beat the NIC keeper and gave WWCC a 2 - 0 lead. As would be expected from a team down 2 - 0 the Cardinals came back with a ton of offense and tried to get back in the match. They cut the lead in half in the 65th minute when one of their players ran through the WWCC back line unmarked and his teammates found him with the ball. But that was as close as the Mustangs would let the Cardinals get to tying up the match today. A strong defensive effort and some great goalkeeping preserved the Mustangs victory at 2 - 1. The win helped the Mustangs climb above .500 again with 6 wins, 5 losses and 2 ties.

Game Stats - Shots: WWCC 8, NIC 14 - Keeper Saves: WWCC 6, NIc 2 - Corner Kicks: WWCC 5, NIC 3

Up Next for the Mustangs - Wednesday October 7th versus Rocky Mountain Rivals in Provo UT (Rotary West Park at 1720 W 1460 N Provo behind Westridge Elementary) at 5:00pm

Workhorse of the Match - Gilbert Gonzalez (excellent team play and the Game winning goal