Northwest College Hands WWCC another Defeat

Photos Courtesy of Jen Atkinson

On Saturday on a chilly and very windy afternoon the Mustangs played again versus the Trappers of Northwest College in Powell WY.  The Mustangs had the wind at their backs in the first half but could not use it to their advantage to get on the scoreboard.  It looked like WWCC would score first but the penalty kick was blocked by the Trapper's keeper from Brock Mosier early in the first half.  The Trappers used a good counter attack to get on the board in the 18th minute after a crossed ball found the foot of a Northwest player who beat Austin Pinter.  The half time score was 1 - 0 in favor of Northwest.
In the second half, it seemed that Western was going to use their short passing game to combat the wind and find chances but a bad couple of minutes sunk the Mustangs in the second half.  It all started off of a Northwest corner in the 54th minute that found the back of the net using the wind to score directly off of the corner.  Just seconds later in the 55th minute Northwest split the WWCC defense and slotted the ball past Pinter for a commanding 3 - 0 lead for the Trappers.  Many reserve players got good playing time and should how good of players they are in the second half.  In the 89th minute Alan Wendlandt was fouled about 25 yards from goal that set up a free kick that Colton Cottrell hit with his left foot around the wall, into the wind and past the Northwest keeper.  The final score was Northwest 3 - WWCC 1.  The loss still has the Mustangs in second place in the Region IX North but makes the last Region IX North matches so very important for the Mustangs.

Mustang Man of the Match - Colton Cottrell - Colton played all 90 minutes and scored the lone goal for the Mustangs.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 8, NWC 21; Assists - WWCC 0, NWC 2; Saves - WWCC 10, NWC 3; Corner Kicks - WWCC 4, NWC 6; Free Kicks - WWCC 12, NWC 12; Cards - WWCC 1, NWC 4.

Up Next for the Mustangs - Friday October 3rd at Central Community College in Columbus NE at 3:00pm

Own Goal Hurts WWCC at Sheridan

Photos Courtesy of Jen Atkinson

On Friday on an unseasonably hot day in Sheridan Wyoming the Sheridan Generals hosted the Western Wyoming Mustangs.  It was apparent from the start of the match that the Generals were not going to allow the Mustangs close to their goal but would allow the Mustangs ample loads of possession.
Western Wyoming had the lions share of the possession throughout the match but could never break down the Sheridan College defense to find a goal.  The only goal of the match was in the 28th minute when the ball was crossed into the WWCC box and was unintentionally deflected into the Mustang goal off of the foot of a Mustang defender.
It was a frustrating offensive match for the Mustangs who could not seem to get a good shot on target or find time in the attacking third of the field. The final score after 90 minutes was WWCC 0 - Sheridan College 1.  The Region IX North loss drops the Mustangs to second place in the Region IX North.
Mustang Man of the Match - Gunner Burrell - Gunner had 5 shots on the day and played well throughout the match.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 20, SC 6; Assists - WWCC 0, SC 0; Saves - WWCC 3, SC 7; Corner Kicks - WWCC 7, SC 1; Free Kicks - WWCC 8, SC 17; Cards - WWCC 2, SC 5.

Up Next for the Mustangs - Saturday September 27th at Northwest College in Powell WY at 2:00pm (Region IX North Match)

Tiger Turf Helps Mustangs Tie the Cougars

Photos Courtesy of Jen Atkinson

On Tuesday night at Rock Springs High School the Mustangs faced their second oldest rival in the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars.  In a showdown for first place in Region IX North both teams played very well and put on a great college soccer show.  WNCC Cougars' offense exploded in the first minutes of the first half only to be thwarted at every turn by the stingy Mustang defense.  The first goal of the match went to WWCC as Brock Mosier sent a through ball into Gunner Burrell and he scored in the 45th minute.  The halftime score was WWCC 1 and WNCC 0.
In the second half the Mustangs showed more offense and more easily controlled the Cougars attack.  Sadly just as the WWCC team was ready to lock down the win the Cougars slotted a ball past the defense and put it past Austin Pinter in the 85th minute.  The remaining five minutes were scoreless and the two teams went into overtime.
WWCC again controlled more of the match the further into overtime it went.  Unfortunately, the chances that WWCC had in the overtime period were just missed by Jesse Cardenas, Brock Mosier, Gunner Burrell and Andrew Newbold.  After 110 minutes the score was still tied at 1 - 1 and ended in a draw between the first and second place teams in Region IX North.

Mustang Man of the Match - Austin Pinter - Austin made several key and timely saves, totaling 14 saves for the match.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 14, WNCC 33; Assists - WWCC 1, WNCC 1; Saves - WWCC 14, WNCC 6; Corner Kicks - WWCC 1, WNCC 5; Free Kicks - WWCC 15, WNCC 16; Cards - WWCC 4, WNCC 1

Up Next for the Mustangs - Friday September 26th at Sheridan College in Sheridan WY at 3:00pm (Region IX North Match)

 

#17 Trinidad State Junior College Downs the Mustangs

A day after the first WWCC victory in La Junta CO over Otero Junior College the Mustangs took on the #17 Trinidad State Junior College Trojans in Trinidad CO.  The Mustangs changed formations to try to slow down the TSJC attack.  Just when the changed seemed to work, the first TSJC goal was scored in the 15th minute when two Trojans overloaded the right zone and slipped the ball past Austin Pinter in the WWCC goal.  The Trojans did not waste any time in adding to their lead when they scored the second goal in the 20th minute off of a corner kick which was headed home.  The halftime score was 2 - 0 in favor for TSJC.
The second half was much like the first with a lot of pressure from the Trojans and little attack and possession for the Mustangs.  Another corner kick proved to be a goal scoring opportunity for the Trojans in the 72nd minute with another headed goal from TSJC.  The Trojan lead was 3 - 0 and looked to perhaps stay at that score when in the 89th minute another Trojan goal was scored.  This goal was again on the right side of the field after a ball was not cleared and was corralled by the Trojans who put it into the net against the WWCC keeper, Kyle Mivshek.  The loss brings the Mustangs record to 6 - 4 - 0, with the Mustangs still atop of the Region IX North.  Trinidad State is the team that is in first position in the Region IX South.

Mustang Man of the Match - Spencer Seitz - Spencer played very tough and gave his all for the Red, White and Black.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 8, TSJC 21; Assists - WWCC 0, TSJC 4; Saves - WWCC 11, TSJC 4; Corner Kicks - WWCC 5, TSJC 8; Free Kicks - WWCC 10, TSJC 15; Cards - WWCC 3, TSJC 0.

Up Next for the Mustangs - Tuesday September 23rd versus Western Nebraska CC at Rock Springs High School (1375 James Drive) in Rock Springs WY at 7:00pm.  This is a Region IX North Match and a Black-Out, so all the fans are encouraged to wear black.

WWCC Wins First Match in La Junta CO

On Friday, a very warm late September day, in La Junta CO the Otero Junior College Rattlers hosted the Mustangs from Western Wyoming Community College.  Otero Junior College are the defending Region IX Champions.  The Mustangs started off strong and nearly scored in the opening minutes off of a OJC mistake with the ball being sent back to their keeper.  The Mustangs opening minutes paid off in the 11th minute when Andrew Newbold sent a nicely paced through ball that Riley Gibson placed into the net for a WWCC lead of 1 - 0.  Just minutes later in the 14th minute a beautiful build up and play happened for the Mustangs.  The Mustangs put several one touch passes together ending with Brock Mosier sending a give and go to Chandler Young who hit a nicely hit shot into the net from 18 yards out.  The Mustangs lead was 2 - 0 and it is a lead that they kept until the half.

The second half was better played by the Rattlers who had a lot of possession but lack a lot of chances.  However, in the 66th minute a shot from an OJC player ricocheted into the back of the net.  The WWCC lead was cut to 2 - 1.  Both the Mustangs and the Rattlers had many chances in the final thirty plus minutes.  The best chances for the Rattlers came in the last seconds but the Mustang back line (Carson Broadhead, Colton Cottrell, Taylor Flitton and Devin Moore) and keeper (Austin Pinter) stopped the attack and block their shots at the goal line.

Mustang Man of the Match - Chandler Young - Chandler scored the game winner and played well to control the match and the middle of the field.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 10, OJC 22; Assists - WWCC 2, OJC 0; Saves - WWCC 14, OJC 5; Corner Kicks - WWCC 2, OJC 7; Free Kicks - WWCC 17, OJC 6; Cards - WWCC 0, OJC 3.

Up Next for the Mustangs - Saturday 9/20 versus #17 Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad CO at 3:00pm.

Crazy Comeback Ends with OT Loss

Photos Courtesy of Jen Atkinson

On Saturday at Rock Springs Junior High field the Utah State Eastern Golden Eagles faced the home standing Western Wyoming Mustangs.  It was a strange match, a tale of a dramatic comeback and match of what might have been for the Mustangs.

USU Eastern netted the first goal in the 20th minute, this was the lone goal of the first half.  The Mustangs were playing a little flat and lacking intensity in possession.  The half time score was 1 - 0 in favor of the Golden Eagles.

The second half was much of the same for the first 35 minutes.  USU Eastern scored in the 46th minute off of a defensive mistake by the Mustangs for a 2 - 0 lead.  The match seemed to play right into USU Eastern's hands when Gunner Burrell from WWCC was red carded with 9 minutes remaining.  What looked like an insurance goal the USU Golden Eagles scored in the 82nd minute for a seemingly insurmountable lead of 3 - 0 with 8 minutes to go.  The Mustangs never gave up and scored off of a steal and got the score to 1 - 3 in the 82nd minute when Jesse Cardenas scored off of an Andrew Newbold assist.  Continuing to fight and claw back in to the match the Mustangs scored again in the 87th minute when Riley Gibson sent a great ball that Brock Mosier scored into the bottom left corner.  WWCC played lights out and found another opportunity with just 10 seconds left on the clock and a free kick.  Taylor Flitton sent the ball into the penalty box where the ball bounced around several times, Andrew Newbold touched the ball to Brock Mosier who scored his brace with just 3 seconds on the clock to tie up the match at 3 to 3.

In overtime the Golden Eagles won the toss and took the wind at their back.  It was a fairly evenly played overtime period.  Just when it seemed that they two teams were destined to play the second overtime period, USU Eastern counter attacked and split the WWCC defense and scored in the 99th minute to end the match.  Final Score WWCC 3 - USU Eastern 4 OT.

Mustang Man of the Match - Brock Mosier, Brock scored two goals in the match including the match tying goal with 3 seconds remaining in the match.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 10, USUE 19; Assists - WWCC 3, USUE 4; Saves - WWCC 5, USUE 2; Corner Kicks - WWCC 4, USUE 3; Free Kicks - WWCC 13, USUE 11; Cards - WWCC 6, USUE 3.

Up Next for the Mustangs; Friday September  19th versus Otero Junior College - La Junta CO at 4:00pm.

Mustangs Beat LCCC in Wolves Stadium

Photos Courtesy of Jen Atkinson

On Wednesday, Western Wyoming Community College faced their oldest and most bitter rivals on the soccer pitch when the LCCC Golden Eagles came to Sweetwater County.  The match was played at Green River Wolves Stadium in Green River WY.  This was the first time that WWCC played a home contest in Green River WY.

As usual LCCC came out of the gates very intense and fast and dominated much of the first 5 minutes.  Just when it looked like the Mustangs had settled the match down the Golden Eagles found an early goal down the right side of the WWCC defense and took a 1 – 0 lead in the 7^th minute of play.  Western found more of the ball after the goal looking for the equalizer.  The tying goal came in the 23^rd minute after a foul was called on LCCC.  Taylor Flitton and his streak of scoring off of free kicks continued after placing a ball around the wall and in the bottom right of the goal.  This is the third match in a row that Flitton has scored off of a free kick.  Both teams created chances in the last twenty minutes of the first half but none to get on the scoreboard.  The halftime score was a tie WWCC 1 - LCCC 1.

With the strong wind at their back in the second half the Mustangs knew that opportunities to score would be plentiful in the final 45 minutes.  Just nine minutes into the second half the Mustangs were fouled in the penalty area and were awarded a penalty kick.  Riley Gibson stepped up and took the kick and the LCCC keeper made a beautiful save on the kick, fortunately for the Mustangs and Gibson the LCCC keeper moved early off of his line and WWCC was awarded another kick.  This time Gibson slotted it past the keeper and the Mustangs took their first lead in the 54^th minute.  Four minutes later Devin Moore an outside defender for the Mustangs found a nice pass from Gunner Burrell in the offensive third and hit a great ball in the upper right corner for a commanding 3 – 1 lead for the Mustangs with 32 minutes left to play.  LCCC to their credit took control of the possession of the match and dominated much of the play in the last third of the match.  The Mustang defense and keeper, Austin Pinter held strong and did not allow another goal.  The WWCC midfield worked tirelessly to limit the LCCC chances and even the Mustang forwards put in extra effort to help preserve the win.  After a long hard fight full ninety minutes the Mustangs earned the hard fought 3 – 1 victory over their rivals.  The win helps the Mustangs record improve to 5 – 2 – 0 and 3 – 0 – 0 in the Region IX North.

Mustang Man of the Match; Austin Pinter, keeper for the Mustangs made 12 saves and kept the LCCC attack at bay for a great win for the Mustangs.

Match Facts; Shots - WWCC 13, LCCC 20; Assists - WWCC 1, LCCC 0; Saves - WWCC 12, LCCC 4; Corner Kicks - WWCC 3, LCCC 6; Free Kicks - WWCC 8, LCCC 4; Cards - WWCC 0, LCCC 2.

Up Next for the Mustangs - 2:00pm Saturday 9/13 at Rock Springs Junior High (3500 Foothill Blvd) in Rock Springs WY versus Utah State University - Eastern.

Mustangs Hang 5 on the Generals

Photos Courtesy of Jen Atkinson

On Saturday less than 24 hours after their first Region IX North match and victory of the season, the Western Wyoming Mustangs played against the Generals of Sheridan College.  Again the Mustangs took an early lead as Andrew Newbold sent a well placed through ball onto Jesse Cardenas who got the Mustangs on the board in the 10th minute.  Twenty minutes later Jesse Cardenas scored again as he got the ball 25 yards from goal, blasted a shot that bent into the back top corner and helped the Mustang lead grow to 2 - 0 in the 30th minute.  For the second time in two days the Mustangs allowed a late 1st half goal as the Generals were awarded a penalty kick after aggressive play from the Mustang keeper Kyle Mivshek.  The Generals scored the PK in the 42nd minute and the halftime was WWCC 2 - SC 1.
The Generals played much more spirited in the second half and were better organized defensively however they never really threatened the Mustang goal.  The Mustangs worked well to finally break down the General defense and their spirits when Taylor Flitton hit a 22 yard free kick into the bottom left corner of Sheridan's goal in the 82nd minute.  The Mustangs continued to press forward and take their chances in the offensive third.  The 4th goal for the Mustangs came in the 84th minute when Gunner Burrell headed a ball to Riley Gibson who chipped the Sheridan keeper.  The final goal came from Jesse Cardenas in the 90th minute after Brock Mosier took a shot that was blocked and landed at Cardena's feet.  Jesse blasted the ball into the top of the net to put an exclamation point on the Mustang victory.  The 2014 season mark is now 4 - 2 - 0 and the Region IX North record is 2 - 0 - 0 as the Mustangs are currently in first place in Region IX North.


Mustang Man of the Match - Jesse Cardenas - Jesse scored the first hat trick for the Mustangs since Bernie Manuel in the opening match of the 2013 season.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 17 - SC 9; Assists - WWCC 3 - SC 0; Saves - WWCC 5 - SC 4; Corner Kicks - WWCC 7 - SC 2; Free Kicks - WWCC 16 - SC 9; Cards - WWCC 2 - SC 3

Up Next for the Mustangs - vs Laramie County CC (Region IX North) at Green River WY, Green River High Football Field (350 Monroe Avenue) on Wednesday September 10th at 3:00pm

Mustangs Beat Northwest in RS

Photos Courtesy of Jen Atkinson

On Friday in Rock Springs the 2014 rivalry between the Mustangs from Western Wyoming Community College and the Trappers from Northwest College was renewed.  This is one of the fiercest and most played rivalries for both of the teams.  The start of the match was fast and both teams created chances but the first goal of the match happened in the 3rd minute when Brock Mosier passed a ball into the middle of the field where Riley Gibson controlled the pass and sent the ball past the Trapper keeper into the bottom left of the net.  Both teams focused more on possession and settled into the match after the first goal.  The 1 - 0 lead was added onto in the 30th minute when Taylor Flitton set up a free kick around 25 yards from goal that he perfectly kicked into the upper right corner of the goal.  Just as it looked like the Mustangs would take a 2 -0 lead into the halftime break the Trappers overloaded the Mustang right side of the defense and sent a ball past the Mustang defense and Austin Pinter, the Mustang keeper, to score with seconds left on the clock before halftime.  The score was 2 - 1 at the half in favor of the Mustangs.

The Mustangs made good adjustments at the half to make sure the Trappers did not have another chance to overwhelm the WWCC defense.  The match broke open in the 60th minute when a nicely placed diagonal cross came into the box from Brock Mosier and Gunner Burrell expertly touched it into the back of the net.  The remaining of the match was a well played NJCAA match but the Mustangs limited any real chances from the Trappers and hung onto a great Region IX North opening match to the 2014 season.  The match ended with a 3 - 1 win for the Mustangs, the 2014 season record moves to 3 - 2 - 0 and 1 - 0 - 0 in Region IX North.

Mustang Man of the Match - Taylor Flitton - Taylor played well defensively and hit the match winning goal on a beautifully taken free kick in the 30th minute.

Match Facts - Shots - WWCC 13 - NC 17; Assists - WWCC 2 - NC 1; Saves - WWCC 7 - NC 4; Corner Kicks - WWCC 5 - NC 5; Free Kicks - WWCC 8 - NC 8; Cards - WWCC 2 - NC 3

Up Next for the Mustangs; vs Sheridan College (Region IX North) at Rock Springs WY, Rock Springs Junior High (3500 Foothill Blvd) on Saturday 9/6 at 1:30pm