The Western Nebraska Community College men's soccer team begins defense of their Region IX championship from last year when they open the Region IX tournament on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs.

                WNCC, who earned the sixth seed, will travel to face third-seeded Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, at 10 a.m. The Cougars enter with a 3-6-5 record while going 3-4-2 in conference action. Northwest is 9-4-1 overall and 5-3-1 in conference.

                First-year men's coach Eseah Ingram said this is the second season and records mean very little as he likes his team's chances entering the tourney.

                "We gotta take risks and execute," Ingram said. "If we play with some heart and a bit of arrogance, we can get a result. I believe in my boys."

                The two teams faced each on October 4 at Landers Soccer Complex and the Cougars fell to the Trappers 3-0 in a match that saw Northwest's Shay Lonergan score twice in the first half.

                Ingram said they know plenty about what kind of team they will face Saturday in Northwest.

                "We know plenty. Solid stretch end of season for them and they've earned their position in the standings," he said. "Rob's always got his teams ready, but I feel the same about my team. My boys will be ready. It's the shot up or shut up part of year. I'm confident my boys will show up."

                A win Saturday will move the team into the semifinals against Casper College, who earned a first-round bye as the number two seed. Otero earned the top seed and will face the winner of the other first-round game between Laramie County Community College and Central Wyoming College. That game will be played Saturday in Riverton, Wyoming.

                The finals are slated for November 1 at the site of the higher seed with the winner qualifying for the national tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida, November 16-22.

                Ingram isn't worried about anything except this week's opponent. WNCC enters the contest having scored 21 goals the entire year, but has a team that has plenty of players that can score. Leading the team is sophomore Alvaro Abeal, who has netted five goals this season.

                Oscar Molina has made four goals, while Tomoaki Kamiya and Pau Vera Montoya each have three goals.

                While the Cougar men are in the playoffs, the Cougar women just missed the playoffs. The women's regional tournament will be going on the same time. First round games on the women's side has two games on Saturday with Gillette at Casper and Northwest at Central Wyoming. The winners of those two games will face Laramie County and Western Wyoming Community College, who earned first-round byes as the top two seeds.