Five goals in the second half and a late comeback attempt by the hosts was thwarted by the Northwest College men’s soccer team, as the Trappers scored a late winner to take the 3-2 season opening win over Western Nebraska Community College on Saturday.

NORTHWEST 3, WESTERN NEBRASKA 2

Heading to Scottsbluff, the Trappers (1-0) matched up with the Cougars (1-2) in a nonconference Region IX matchup.

Each team had chances in the first half, but Western Nebraska had the best chance, as the Cougars had a penalty kick sail wide. Neither team found the back of the net as it was 0-0 at the break.

“We played a pretty good first half of soccer. I think that on another day we’d have had a goal counted; we got called for a foul and a disallowed goal,” Hill said.

The Trappers followed with a similar situation in the second half, missing a penalty kick early before finally finding the back of the net shortly after.

Josh Scroccaro got Northwest on the board six minutes into the half, firing home an impressive goal for the Trappers.

“An absolute worldie with his left foot that went upper 90 (top corner). He had top spin, that was a great goal,” Hill said. “Then we really started to get momentum. I felt like you could sense that we had the upper hand.”

Following in a similar fashion to the wonder of the first goal, Josh Rabord also put the goal in the top corner and made it a 2-0 game for Northwest with just over 20 minutes left in the game.

Changes in the lineup were made, and the Trappers let up a little bit in their intensity which allowed the Cougars to quickly get back in the contest.

Two goals in three minutes quickly tied the match at 2-2, as each team searched for a winner over the last 15 minutes.

“Felt like we took our foot off the gas and allowed them back in off a cross and a set piece off a throw-in,” Hill said. “A lack of communication, but I also think that the guys said ‘oh, we’ve won now. We can relax.’ That was not the case.”

Reinserting some substitutes the Trappers found a way to swing momentum back, and Rabord found the back of the net once again from an assist by Hayden Vally, giving Northwest the lead with three minutes left in the game.

“Western Nebraska by far were our toughest opponents so far, and I think that was a really good lesson for them. They competed, and the fact they went two up, couldn’t sustain it. That’s a big lesson. We went 2-2, momentum shifted to Nebraska. The fact they came back to get the winner shows a lot of toughness and mental toughness there,” Hill said. “I’m very pleased with the work rate, the intensity and the competitiveness with these guys.”

Earning the win proved a number of things to Hill, as he believes that a much improved Western Nebraska squad can be a contender in Region IX this season.

“Western Nebraska is a very good team. Much improved, much more disciplined than last year. They’ve got some good talent. Serious threats with long throw-ins and corners, they’ve got individual players with pace,” Hill said. “Western Nebraska will cause people a lot of problems. They’ll be in the hunt for the region. There’s no question, they’ve got quality.”

Through the early contests, Hill said that he has been impressed with a number of things from his team, and is hopeful the entire team can reach the level that he believes they can after some early season promise.

“The work rate of a lot of the guys is extremely high. Their counter pressing is unreal. It’s fast, they’re organized. They work and they are aggressive. Rotation has been good. When they make mistakes, they hunt the ball back,” Hill said. “Their attitude has been superb, and I think that their winning mentality collectively has been great. There’s some guys that need to catch up with that and need to match that level of intensity, but there’s a select few that are proving that they are hungry. They’re winners.”

TOP COMPETITION

Northwest heads back on the road to continue the early regular season, heading to Utah to take on No. 16-ranked Salt Lake Community College (2-0), who Hill believes may actually be the top team in the country with two ranked wins already in addition to preseason wins of NCAA Division I and II programs.

“Salt Lake for me is the No. 1 team in the country at Division I Juco level, so this will be an unreal test for us. I think that they will be gunning for us after we beat them last year on a set piece,” Hill said. “I think they’re the No. 1 team in the country to beat right now after they beat Arizona Western and Casper, and they beat two DII’s and one DI. So that’s no joke … I’m hopeful that our guys come in there with an attitude that they can compete with anybody. We can’t make mistakes … I’m looking forward to the weekend with these guys because they’re a top team.”

The Trappers take on the Bruins at 2:30 p.m. today (Thursday).