Reivers Open the Season with a Pair of Road Wins

ROCK SPRINGS, WY - NJCAA Preseason No. 10 Iowa Western Women's Soccer opened up the 2025 campaign with a pair of wins in Wyoming.

The Reivers (2-0-0) defeated Gillette College 5-0 on Thursday afternoon.  Freshman Quinci Smith found the back of the net in the 27th minute, then Sophomore Honoka Nohara added a second goal in the first half in the 47th minute.

"A good start for us today," said first-year Head Coach Bruce Erickson." Gillette gave us a good game and really came out with pressure and energy. We settled down and scored two good goals to turn the game a bit."

IWCC poured it on in the second half, adding three more goals to take the match, 5-0. "In the second half, I thought our depth really showed," added Erickson. "We got some valuable experience for our freshman and another opportunity to play our core together."

In game two of the weekend, Iowa Western faced the host team, Western Wyoming, on Saturday afternoon in a thrilling game.  The Reivers scored right out of the gates with Smith stealing the ball at midfield, then dribbling between four defenders and finding the back of the net on a long shot just 37 seconds into the match.

Minutes later, Smith scored goal number two of the game, this time on a run from the far side of the field.  Western Wyoming answered back as a ball was crossed into the box and headed in for the goal to make it 2-1 at the break.

In the second half, Smith recorded her first hat-trick as a Reiver, shooting from the far corner of the 18-yard box and past the goalkeeper on the near side of the post.  Again, the Mustangs would answer back to make it 3-2.  Western Wyoming would tie the game on a free kick just outside of the Reivers' penalty box with just over ten minutes remaining.  

However, with nine seconds left on the clock, Sophomore Arianna Harrison struck a ball on one touch from 20 yards out and buried it into the back of the net for the game winner, 4-3. 

"Good teams find ways to win, so I'm proud of our fight to find the game winner," said Erickson. "It's a game we have to learn from our mistakes and move forward."

Quinci Smith ended the weekend with four goals and an assist, and six different Reivers found the back of the net.  Iowa Western's road trip continues on Monday as the Reivers take on Casper College from Casper, WY, at 3:00 pm Central.