SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. -  The Western Nebraska Community College and Otero College women’s soccer teams hooked up in an offensive battle Friday afternoon at Landers Soccer Complex with a combined eight goals.
In the end, the Rattler women ruined the Cougars home opener as Otero earned the 5-3 conference win.
WNCC will be back in action Saturday afternoon when they host Trinidad State College in another conference contest with kickoff slated for 1:30 p.m. Admission to the soccer matches are free.
Friday, the offensive showcase started just 12 seconds into the match as Otero took the opening kick and after a couple of passes, Julia Marcolongo send a ball high over the Cougar goalkeeper’s head for the opening goal.
Otero made it 2-0 when Elli Steel scored the first of her three goals on the day when she had an unassisted goal just eight minutes into the contest.
The quick 2-0 start by Otero didn’t bother WNCC as they quickly responded. Just a minute after Steel’s goal, Scottsbluff’s Adryana Rodriguez took a pass from Danae Montalvo and put the ball into the back of the net.
WNCC tied the contest just 15 minutes into the contest when Nia Trevino hit from just outside the box to make it 2-2.
WNCC outshot Rattlers in the first half as they had 11 shots to just six for the Rattlers. But, many of the Cougars first-half shots just were off a little bit. Otero took a 3-2 lead into the locker room when Steel scored her second goal in the 35th minute.
Rodriguez scored her second goal for the Cougars as the freshman took a pass from Gering’s Allison Herbel to tie the contest at 3-3.
The tie didn’t last long as Steel scored her third goal just a minute after Rodriguez’ tying goal to put Otero up 4-3.
Otero put in an insurance goal in the 83rd minute when Josylnn Rodriguez scored to make it 5-3.

WNCC volleyball earns 5-set win over North Platte

NORTH PLATTE – Kyana Gabriel tallied 19 kills and Emma Hergenreder had 14 service points with six aces as the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team moved to 2-0 in the South Conference with a 5-set win over North Platte Community College Friday evening in North Platte.
The scores of the match were 20-25, 25-16, 15-25, 25-22, 15-9 as the Cougars move to 4-15 on the season. WNCC will next be in action at home as they host Northeastern Junior College on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Cougar Palace.
Friday’s win was one where the Cougars hit .173 on the night and tallied 44 kills, 60 digs, served 13 aces, and had nine blocks.
Gabriel led the way with 19 kills, six digs, six points and two assists; while Allie Twamley had seven kills, 27 set assists, 14 digs, and nine service points.
Also for the Cougars, Dani Cruz tallied eight kills, six digs, three aces, and nine service points; Hergenreder had six aces, 12 digs, and 14 points; Eli Braithwaite had two kills, three aces, eight points, and three solo blocks; Keira Zelada had three kills; Alex Gonzalez-Orozco had 16 digs, five assists, and three points; Nadiyyah Northern had four kills; and Natalia Nowak had six set assists.
The first set saw WNCC take a 12-10 lead after two Twamley points, but North Platte came back to lead 19-14. WNCC cut the deficit to 20-19 on two Gabriel points, but the Knights won the first 25-20.
The second set saw WNCC take a 5-1 lead on three Cruz points, including two aces and went up 10-3. WNCC doubled up the Knights at 20-10 on four Cruz points and won hands down 25-16.
The third set saw North Platte dominate as they led 11-4 and later 17-6 and cruised to the 25-15 win.
The Cougars fought back in the fourth set as they led 11-2 early after seven Hergenreder points with three aces. North Platte came back to cut the deficit to 16-12 after a long delay because the scoreboard wasn’t working. After about a 15 minute delay, North Platte made it 16-15. Twamley stopped the momentum with a kill and the Cougars Braithwaite had four service points for a 21-15 lead. North Platte cut the deficit to 24-22, but WNCC won the fourth 25-22 on a missed service.
WNCC took control in the fifth set leading 8-3 on three Hergenreder points and led 10-5 when North Platte fought back to make it 10-8. Cruz stopped the momentum with a kill and then Twamley had three points to make it 14-8. WNCC won the fifth 15-9 on a Braithwaite kill.