LCCC women drub Western Nebraska in Region IX quarters
Oct. 23—CHEYENNE — Missed scoring opportunities littered Laramie County Community College's Oct. 8 victory over Western Nebraska.
The Golden Eagles had little trouble capitalizing on their chances during a 6-3 win in the Region IX quarterfinals Saturday afternoon in Cheyenne.
LCCC (9-7 overall) put 11 of its 16 shots on goal.
"We had a meeting (Friday) night and talked about the gameplan, and they followed it pretty well," interim LCCC coach Jim Gardner said. "We had lots of opportunities early the last time we played them. That score could have been a lot like this one, I think.
"They went out, did what we needed to do and scored three goals in the first half. We let down a little bit, but they also followed adjustments we made at halftime that helped us get three more goals."
Freshman Macey Woolcock put the Eagles up for good when she took a ball that was misplayed by WNCC goalkeeper Summer Parnell and struck it into the net in the 12th minute. Paige Hill headed a Woolcock corner kick past Parnell for a 2-0 lead in the 17th minute.
"We were passing it around the midfield really well, finding gaps in the defense and getting balls we could run on to," said Woolcock, who also scored in the 58th minute off an assist from freshman Tayler Miller.
In the 24th minute, Caroline Kuhn beat a Cougars defender to the ball, carried it a few touches and played the ball to her right to Jackie Stokes, who lofted a shot over Parnell and into the far side of the goal for a 3-0 LCCC lead.
The Eagles went into halftime leading 3-1 after Tania Razo scored on a misplayed ball in the 38th.
"We were really positive and tried to play like this could be our last game," Woolcock said. "We're not ready to be done yet, so we really push to come out with a win."
Stokes added her second goal by scoring off the rebound of a corner kick for a 5-1 lead in the 70th minute.
Freshman Maggie Olsen rounded out LCCC's scoring off an assist from Abby Williams in the 84th minute. Parnell came well off her line to clear the ball. That pass went off Williams and ricocheted toward the end line where Williams collected it and crossed to Olsen, who ran onto the ball all alone in front of a wide-open net.
Gardner expanded his midfield rotation late in the regular season. That allowed the Eagles to be more rested and continue attacking offensively.
"Depth is really important when you're playing in a two-day tournament like what we're looking at," Gardner said. "It's a big deal to have players that can come in and keep everyone fresh."
LCCC plays at Otero Junior College in the semifinals next weekend.
Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.
