SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer team dropped contests to Salt Lake Community College on Thursday.
The Cougar men lost a tough one, battling back from a 3-0 halftime deficit before falling 3-2. The Cougar women fell 4-0 to the Bruins.
The men's contest was a dogfight all game. WNCC outshot the Bruins 8-6, but couldn't get the tying goal when they needed.
After Salt Lake took the 3-0 lead at halftime allowing the Bruins to score the third goal just seconds before intermission, the Cougars battled back in the second half.
Silvio Xavier started things for WNCC taking a pass from Ramses Atahualpa in the 62nd minute for the Cougar men's first goal of the season. Xavier brought the team within a single goal after taking a pass from Thomas Franze in the 85th minute.
But the comeback fell short as time ran out.
Leandro Faria made nine saves in net after giving up three first-half goals.
The Cougar women played better than Wednesday's 10-0 loss to No. 17 Snow College, but they still couldn't find the back of the net.
Salt Lake scored twice in the first half for a 2-0 halftime deficit, netting goals 12 minutes into the game and then 24 minutes.
The second half saw WNCC play better to start. Salt Lake made it 3-0 with a goal in the 66th minute. Salt Lake earned a fourth goal in the 86th minute on an own goal.
Laramie Lake finished with eight saves in net.
Both teams will be back in action next week when they head to Gillette, Wyoming, for a pair of games. The women will face Northwest Wyoming on Saturday and Gillette on Sunday, while the men will battle Colorado Northwestern on Saturday and Gillette on Sunday.
WNCC soccer teams fall to Snow
EPHRAIM, Utah – The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer team opened the season with a pair of losses to Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, Wednesday afternoon.
The women team trailed 1-0 at halftime before falling 10-0 to the 17th-ranked team in the nation.
The Cougar men had a closer contest but dropped a 3-0 contest to the Badgers.
Both games were tight early on. In the women's game, WNCC and Snow were scoreless for most of the first half and the Cougars were hanging with the 17th-ranked team. The Badgers finally scored in the 40th minute for the 1-0 lead.
The second half all belonged to Snow as they came out and netted nine goals to take the season-opening win.
The difference in the contest was offense. Snow had 16 shots compared to just one for WNCC. The Cougars' only shot came from freshman Caroline Vieira.
Laramie Lake made nine saves in nets for the Cougar women.
The men's contest was a battle. From start to finish. Both squads went the first 45 minutes scoreless.
The second half saw Snow put in two early goals. The Badgers first goal came just eight minutes into the second half on a goal from Quinn Benson. Snow scored again two minutes later on a Mitchell Pyle goal for a 2-0 lead.
Snow added a third goal later for the final margin.
Snow barely outshot WNCC 7-6. Ramses Atahualpa had three of the shots with one being on goal.
Leandro Favia had six saves in net while giving up three goals. Ruam Barbosa finished out the contest making six saves and not giving up a goal.
Both Cougar teams will look to rebound Thursday when they take on Salt Lake Community College in action.