Playing a little beat up, the Western Nebraska Community College women's soccer team played with plenty of heart and found a way to capture a tie, 2-2, with Central Wyoming College in a Region IX conference contest Saturday at Landers Soccer Complex.
Alieen Perez, who netted both goals in the second half, said they took steps in the right direction against Central Wyoming.
"The team played very well," the sophomore from Colorado said. "We all played our hearts off and even though we could've gotten a win, this is a closer step to where we want to be."
The Cougars, along with the Rustlers from Central Wyoming, had plenty of opportunities to score but the goalkeepers from both teams came up big. Both teams also missed excellent scoring opportunities all game long.
WNCC started the contest with a couple of scoring opportunities but could get the ball in the net. Just six minutes into the contest, the opposite was for Central Wyoming as Emma Mansell scored on a shot that went into the top corner of the net.
WNCC kept controlling the pace and had eight good shots but couldn't find the back of the net. Lesley Vasquez had a pinpoint shot from beyond the top of the circle and her shot was aimed to go in but hit the top of the bar and bounced back into play with two minutes left in the first half.
Perez then beat the Central Wyoming goalkeeper with 38 seconds left in the half but shanked the shot wide as Central Wyoming had the 1-0 halftime lead.
The second half was a different story for WNCC and Perez said the team played with more intensity.
"In the second half, we played with more intensity and confidence," she said. "We came out stronger and helped one another."
Perez came out in the second half and made sure to get things going for WNCC on the right track. In the 55th minute, Perez took a pass from Tania Razo and calmly planted the ball into the back of the net to tie the game.
Central Wyoming came right back and went back in front about five minutes later as Barbara Ruiz scored off a free kick that started within the box and found the ball in a scrum and scored.
The Cougars kept battling and with 20 minutes to play, Perez netted her second goal of the contest as the sophomore calmly planted the ball from a penalty kick into the net.
The final 15 minutes of the game saw WNCC kept battling to get the winning goal. WNCC missed on one good try with 13 minutes left and then with 2:40 to play, Central Wyoming had another free kick, but Cougar goalkeeper Emily Villagomez made a save.
With a minute left, WNCC missed inside the box on another scrum as both teams had to settle for the tie.
WNCC had 23 shots in the game compared to seven for Central Wyoming. Villagomez had eight saves in net for the Cougars.
WNCC also had five corner kicks to just one for the Rustlers.
WNCC will be back in action on Saturday when they host Western Wyoming Community College at 1 p.m. at the Landers Soccer Complex. Perez and the team know they have to come ready to play against a team that is ranked in the NJCAA soccer polls.
"Next week is going to be tough but we keep learning from each game and will keep preparing," she said. "The key (to the Wester Wyoming game) is to play strong since the beginning and put all the work in practice this whole next week."