Mustangs End Season in Blizzard at Gillette

Photo from Stacie Simmons

On Saturday morning in Gillette Wyoming the Mustangs started their defense of the Region IX tournament crown.  The first round of the playoffs had them travel to play at the Lady Pronghorns of Gillette College.

The match was played in strong winds with cold and snowy conditions.  The cold weather did not seem to hamper Gillette as they got out to a very hot start.  The Lady Pronghorns scored in the 5th minute and again in the 15th minute from a penalty shot.  The Mustangs would stop the bleeding and cut the lead in half when Hayden Rupe scored her own penalty kick in the 29th minute.  The score at the half was Gillette 2 and WWCC 1.

The second half pitted the Mustangs against the tough Gillette team plus the wind and the snowflakes falling in their faces.  The Lady Pronghorns continued their stellar play and found two more goals in the 65th and 73rd minute of play.  The Mustangs could not muster up enough offense to get another goal on the day.  The final score to the playoff match was Gillette 4 and Western Wyo 1.  The loss ends the season for the Mustangs.  Western Wyo's overall record for 2019 is 9 - 8 - 1.  2019 marked the fourth year in a row that the Mustangs advanced to the Region IX tournament and the first time since 2015 that they did not advance to at least the Region IX semifinals in Denver CO.

Mustang Valuable Player: Taya Merrell - Taya is always ready to play and gave it her all for her teammates and the program on the day (and throughout the season).

Match Facts: Shots - WWCC 6, GC 18; Assists - WWCC 0, GC 3; Saves - WWCC 9, GC 2; Corner Kicks - WWCC 1, GC 2; Free Kicks - WWCC 5, GC 6; Cards - WWCC 0, GC 0

Up Next for the Mustangs: End of 2019 season