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.