The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team stayed unbeaten in the Region IX conference play as they scored four first-half goals and then hung on to down Gillette College 4-3 on Saturday at Landers Soccer Complex.
The contest was a battle as three goals were scored in the first eight minutes of the contest. Gillette got the upper hand first as Manuel Daza scored just a minute into the match.
The Pronghorn lead didn't last long as Paul Denz scored five minutes later to know the score at 1-1. Two minutes later, WNCC took a 2-1 lead when Alvaro Abeal fed Guilherme Lindolfo the ball and Lindolfo found the back of the net for the go-ahead goal.
WNCC kept playing strong defensively, holding Gillette without a goal. The Cougars picked up two more goals, which would be critical down the stretch. In the 28th minute, Denz recorded his second goal for the 3-0 lead. Then, with two minutes left in the half, Lindolfo fed Anthony Lemus the ball and the freshman scored for the 4-1 halftime lead.
The second half was very competitive. WNCC missed a shot with 24:03 to play. Four minutes later, Gillette's George Frost scored off a free kick to make the score 4-2.
The contest got even closer with 5:31 left to play wheb Caleb Howell scored for the Pronghorns to make it 4-3.
WNCC had a couple of runs to score again, but those drives didn't materialize. Plus, the Cougar defense thwarted a couple more Gillette chances to score and came away with the victory.
WNCC finished with eight shots in the contest while Gillette had 16 shots.
WNCC's Owen Henderson registered seven goals in net.
WNCC will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to face Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Cougars will then have their last regular season home games of the season next weekend when they face Northeastern Junior College on Friday and Lamar Community College on Saturday. Action begins at 1 p.m. for the women's contest with the men to follow.