Plainsmen capture six points in southern Colorado

The Plainsmen opened Region IX play with a resounding 4-1 win at Otero Junior College, in La Junta, Colo. Northeastern (4-4-1, 1-0-0) entered the match after playing five ranked opponents on the road. Northeastern went up 2-0 within the first seven minutes of the match with goals from sophomore Quentin Hornung and freshman Wissem Obeid.

Hornung smashed a direct free-kick into the top right corner from 20 yards out in the sixth minute to set the tone. Northeastern scored 30 seconds later as Otero, overwhelmed with defense erred on a bad back pass that Obeid took advantage of and deposited into the back of the net.

Northeastern continued control of the match as Otero focused on long, direct balls and a counter-attacking style. In the 33rd minute, Otero's Chigoze Okorie scored on a counter-attack from a Northeastern corner kick. The teams would go into half time with the Plainsmen ahead 2-1.

In the second half, Northeastern utilized possession and capitalized with a goal by sophomore Juan Macias and an assist by freshman Scott Philip Woods. The Plainsmen capitalized again on the Otero confusion forcing a corner kick less than a minute after Macias' goal. Sophomore Hornung served a ball into the box creating issues for the Otero defense and an own goal on Otero for the final score 4-1.

Northeastern (5-4-1, 2-0-0) continued their weekend match with a matchup against Trinidad State Junior College. After a strongly controlled Trojan first half, the Plainsmen were able to slow down the attack and maintain possession.

In the 35th minute, sophomores Quentin Hornung and Paul Caliari provided the spark to net the winning goal. Hornung took a short pass from Caliari on an indirect free kick inside the 18-yard box and blasted it into the upper net to take a 1-0 lead.

For the second straight season, Northeastern swept their Southern Colorado rivals. The Plainsmen host Central Community College-Columbus on Friday, Sep. 20 at 4:00 p.m. at the Sterling Middle School field.