STERLING, Colo. – Tania Razo scored twice and Lesley Vasquez had three assists and a goal in helping the Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team to a 4-2 win over Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, on Sunday.
Razo, the freshman from Aurora, Colorado, said the team played with a lot more energy than in the 3-2 loss to Hutchinson Community College on Friday.
“Our team today (Sunday) was very well organized,” Razo said. “We kept the high pressure and stayed compacted. We brought energy today and wanted the win.”
It showed on the pitch how much the Cougars wanted the match as they dominated in pretty all aspects of the match.
“The key (in the win) was just the determination to get the win,” Razo said. “We all wanted it and we all put the work and effort in.”
Everyone on the Cougar team had a hand in the win Sunday afternoon even if they didn’t score whether it was from defense, connecting a pass, or cheering on the team from the sidelines.
WNCC did get behind early as Brisa Torino put the Plainswomen on the scoreboard first with a goal just 12 minutes into the contest.
It didn’t take WNCC to answer. Two minutes later, Vasquez found Razo for the tying goal.
Neither team scored again for the next 20 minutes even though WNCC had plenty of chances. WNCC made it 2-1 in the 32nd minute when Razo scored her second goal of the match off an assist from Vasquez.
That was the score at halftime.
The second half saw Vasquez get the score in the 50th minute as Razo got the assist. Eight minutes later, Andrea Jimenez netted a goal to make it 4-1 while Vasquez got her third assist.
Jimenez almost had a second goal minutes later but her shot went high.
NJC, who had five shots in the first five minutes of the match, went shotless for the next 45 minutes as the Cougar defense was playing tight. The Plainswomen sliced the led in half when Neveah Clouse scored in the 72nd minute.
WNCC kept peppering the goals with a couple more chances, but they would either go wide or high. NJC had a chance to cut the lead to a single goal when a NJC player beat the defense and was going one-on-one with the WNCC goalkeeper Summer Parnell. The shot, however, went straight to Parnell, who gobbled up the shot.
That was where the game ended as WNCC finished with 20 shots in the contest to nine for NJC.
Parnell had five saves in net for the Cougars.
Razo said through the 90 minutes of play, the team worked together during their unanswered 4-goal scoring spree.
“It was just the energy that every player on the brough that was the reason we scored four goals straight,” she said. “We brought energy today and wanted the win.”
WNCC, 1-1, will return to action this weekend when they travel to Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming on Friday and then they have a Labor Day match at Casper on Monday.
Razo said they need to keep that energy and work ethic going when they hit the road for two more contests.
“Just bringing the high energy and determination to get the wins,” Razo said. Also staying positive and having each other’s backs like we did against NJC.”
Razo said she likes how her team is playing after these two games over the weekend, including Friday’s game with Hutchinson.
“I’m so proud of the team and the effort we have been putting in,” she said.
