Jesse Michel hit a penalty kick in the second half and the Western Nebraska Community College held on to drop Trinidad State Junior College 3-2 to open the season with a Region IX conference victory over Trinidad State Junior College Friday afternoon at the Landers Soccer Complex.

                The win was huge for the Cougars, who was eliminated by Trinidad State in last season's regional tournament.

                Friday, the Cougars scored early and held on for the win to open the season.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said for a first game, it wasn't bad. But they will have to play better today when they host Otero Junior College at 2 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex.

                "Overall, not a bad first game showing," he said. "I thought we should have done better with our offensive chances. We had way too many chances in front of goal with no result. In order to beat the best teams in the league, we will have to get better at that."

                What pleased Rasnic was the first half play, where they scored quick.

                "The first half was good, but I thought we dropped off in the second half," he said. "We got into the mode of knocking balls without any purpose. We have to get that fixed pretty quick because we play a good team tomorrow in Otero. They are going to have a lot more players and personnel to run in and out of a game."

                WNCC wasted little time as Rhiannon Castle dribbled down the field, made a couple moves, and planted the ball into the net just 34 seconds into the contest.

                WNCC went up 2-0 just 15 minutes into the game as Aiyanna Grubac scored off an assist from Eden Washington for a 2-0 lead.

                Trinidad came back to cut the lead in half as Laeticia Rambeau took a pass from Thais Dos Santos with 25 minutes to play. Both teams went into halftime with WNCC leading 2-1.

                "Early goals are always good, but we also have to be consistent in our play," Rasnic said. "i saw a little bit of inconsistency there and it is critical that we play 90 minutes if we are going to beat the top teams. Tomorrow will be a good test for us. We play a tough Otero team that has beaten some top teams in the country already. it will be a real good challenge for us."

                The second half was intense. WNCC went up 3-1 after Michel put in a penalty kick with 27 minutes to play. Trinidad cut the deficit to 3-2 as Rambeau scored again with 16 minutes to play. After that, WNCC's defense stayed strong for the win.

                WNCC and Trinidad each had nine shots. WNCC goal keeper Sierra Benavidez, a freshman from Sterling, Colo., had seven saves in net in her first start in a college game.

                The Cougars will entertain Otero today before having a week off before traveling to Sheridan College and Northwest College on Sept. 18-19.