RIVERTON, WY – A physical game that ended with just 19 players on the field and 18 cards handed out, including three red cards, saw the Laramie County Community College men's soccer team rally back to earn a 1-1 draw with the Central Wyoming College Rustlers on Friday afternoon.
"We started off slow but they stepped up after halftime and changed what had to happen and we were able to get the job done," Head Coach Fernando Perez said.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw glimpses of the physical play and ended with the Golden Eagles trailing after 45 minutes on a rebound off of a free kick that was finished by Ryan Hill to give the Rustlers the advantage.
The match identity changed in the second half when CWC goalie Morgan Kendall came out of net to clear a ball, and a rebound caused a collision with a LCCC attacker. The play just outside of the 18 resulted in a red card for Kendall and a man up advantage for the Golden Eagles.
Two minutes later, LCCC was able to earn a penalty kick for a hand ball by the Rustlers in the 18 yard box and Alvin Udoto finished the PK to even the match at one all.
"It really switched the momentum of the match," Perez said.
That was the end of the scoring in the match but not the end of the drama.
Central Wyoming's Riyan Bakrim picked up his second yellow card of the game in the 79th minute to give LCCC a 11-9 advantage in men on the field, but the two man advantage didn't last long as Brandon Young caught his second yellow of the match in the 80th minute to bring it down 19 men left on the field.
"It was very physical," Perez said. "Credit to Central Wyoming because they showed up to play today. They kind of hit us in the mouth and we didn't know how to really respond to them until the second half of the game."
Both teams fought to the draw at the end as the horn sounded with a 1-1 tie intact.
LCCC outshot the Rustlers in the match 19-7 but they couldn't overcome the slow start in the first half in terms of finishing their opportunities.
The loss puts more emphasis on Saturday's match with Northwest College in terms of the Region IX standings heading into the postseason.
"I want the team to embrace it a little bit and understand what's at stake. We want to take that opportunity to get a bye into the semi-finals, but we still have to show up and play," Perez said. "We have to focus on playing as a team. We are going to get some quality sleep and rest and show up and play the first 45 before we worry about the next 45."
After Northwest College defeated Western Nebraska 2-0, the top five teams in Region IX are all within 4 points of each other. The Cougars have the advantage with 19 points. LCCC is even with Casper College with 16 each and Northwest is in 4th alongside Otero College with 15 each.
A win for LCCC guarantees the Golden Eagles the two seed while a loss would drop them to the fifth seed potentially. Casper College will face Lamar on Saturday and Otero College will challenge Trinidad State College with both teams expected to win those games.
Western Nebraska has the tiebreaker over both LCCC and Casper and has clinched the number one overall seed entering the postseason.
The picture will be finalized tomorrow afternoon after the LCCC match concludes at 4:00 pm when they travel to Powell, Wyoming for their match with the Trappers. Streaming information and more can be found at www.golccc.com.