Pronghorn Men’s Soccer Builds Momentum in Season of Change
Pronghorn Men's Soccer underwent significant changes this past fall. A new coach, a Wyoming local, took over the team late in the spring, bringing a fresh perspective and strategy. The team also saw the addition of 15 new players, a mix of local Wyoming talent and international players, each bringing their unique skills and experiences to the team.
The Pronghorns started the regular season with a few road trips. First game of the season began quick with 3-3 Tie against Colorado Northwestern. Gillette found the net in the first 30 seconds by a crack from Nico Siguero (#9), but couldn't seal out the game, resulting in the first tie of the season. Gillette's next trip found them taking on two Arizona sides. A return from Arizona with 2, 2-2 ties meant that we would go into facing rivals Casper with an undefeated 0-3-0 record.
Despite the odds, Gillette College played local rival Casper College to a 1-1 draw, grinding out a significant point on the road after going down a player due to a red card offense on a freshman defender. This result, against all expectations, meant Gillette would be pinned to start conference play with an undefeated record of 0-4-0, a testament to their resilience.
The challenging opening weekend of conferences against the 2024 Region 9 Champions, Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC), and a strong Laramie County Community College (LCCC) looked to be narrow defeats. Gillette found themselves down 2-1 to WNCC after not being able to convert from the penalty spot late. The next day, Gillette hosted LCCC. With a similar fate, the Pronghorns would grind out a result of 0-0 until the late 87th minute, conceding an unfortunate goal, leaving the Pronghorns with opening weekend losses.
With six games on the bounce, new recruits Agner Torres (#19), Josh Sosa (#24), and Nico Siguero (#9) had all made offensive marks with goals or assists. However, it was the collective effort of the team that shone through. Sophomore influences and captains George Frost (#10) and Twan Roeling (#34) were massive contributors on both sides of the ball, demonstrating the unity and team spirit that defined the Pronghorns' season.
Gillette prepared for a tough group of road matches against the #18-ranked Northwest College and Central Wyoming. The Pronghorns would concede early against ranked Northwest. With the Pronghorns controlling the tempo and pushing, they couldn't find themselves a goal, losing 2-0 to Northwest College.
With another Region 9 match the next day against Central Wyoming, the Pronghorns would find themselves in a bad spot at halftime. Down 3-0 against a team they had beaten in the earlier spring season. After collecting themselves at halftime, the Pronghorns would come out to turn the tide 3-1. After a late push of 3-2, the Pronghorns were a bit stretched and ended up surrendering two late goals to CWC with a 4-game slide in conference play.
With eight games into the season, the Pronghorns had a regular-season match-up with ranked opposition #16 Casper College. This game has been a fixture that carries a little bit of weight for the new HC Durfee. Not only was it a tough rematch against a ranked opposition, but it was against Durfee's former collegiate head coach, Ben McArthur. The first 45 minutes of this match saw Casper up 2-0. A good halftime talk and good energy made the Pronghorns hungry to start the second 45 minutes. Captain George Frost (#10) took the game into his own hands, scoring two goals in a span of 8 minutes to bring the scoreline 2-2. Casper and Gillette battled for the last 15 minutes. Gillette conceded a late corner kick goal to slide to a loss at home against the ranked conference rival.
With everything to play for still in the conference, the Pronghorns found themselves with four matches to change the tide of their season. In the Region 9 table, Gillette was in 8th place, but the team was determined to make a late post-season push. Two Region 9 home matches against Northeastern Junior College (NJC) & Lamar Community College (LCC) were critical, and the anticipation for these matches was palpable.
NJC opened up play early with Gillette conceding a penalty in the box for a spot kick against Freshman Jimmy Griffith. Jimmy had made a previous PK save against Casper College. Gillette found themselves down 1-0 at halftime—45 minutes to change the tide of their season. Gillette came out with tempo and offense, responding to the challenge and bouncing back with a goal from Kevin Amegee (#2) within 10 minutes of play. Gillette pushed the tempo and fought to add two more goals in quick succession. Josh Sosa found his third of the season (#24), while Steven Rowe (#3) found his first goal of the season. This win marked Gillette's first points in Region 9 play of the 2025 season.
The Pronghorns were hungry to earn another three points against LCC on Sophomore Day. Nine sophomores were highlighted at home for their performance on the pitch and in the classroom. Pronghorns opened up scoring before half with a goal from sophomore Manuel Daza (#5) in the 43rd minute, making it 1-0. LCC came out to play in the second half, but they could not stop the Pronghorns from adding two more scores. Kevin Amegee (#2) scored his second of the weekend while George Frost scored his 20th goal for Gillette College. This result marked a double match week win for Gillette, putting them on 6 points in Region 9 and putting Gillette in the driver seat for a late conference push going into the final weekend.
The final match week saw the Pronghorns venturing to southern Colorado to square up against Trinidad State College and the ranked #5 opposition, Otero College.
The Pronghorns found success early against Trinidad with link up play between sophomores Nico Siguero (#9) and George Frost (#10). Within two minutes, Gillette was up 1-0. Gillette continued to press on for another goal, but ended the half up 1-0, outshooting Trinidad. The second half would provide more scoring opportunities and Gillette would add two more new goal scorers to the team, with two freshmen getting on the board, Juan Dominguez (#26) scoring off a free kick and Finn Leschek (#14) scoring on one of his first touches after being subbed on. A great team result all around and our second clean sheet this season.
This would mark a three-game winning streak for the Pronghorns on good form, and they would challenge Otero College, who was needing a win to clinch the Region 9 title. This result would be integral for the Pronghorns. With a win, Gillette would clinch a first-time Region 0 postseason berth. Gillette and Otero battled for the first 45 minutes, with Otero coming up with a 1-0 lead at halftime. Gillette's Frost (#10) had hit the crossbar with two minutes remaining in the half. Unfortunately, Gillette succumbed to the pressure and lost to Otero College, marking the end of their competitive season.
Sophomores Recognized:
#1 Justin Gansler -GK 1 Clean Sheet
#3 Steven Rowe- DEF 1 Goal
#5 Manuel Daza -DEF 2 Goal, 1 Assist
#9 Nico Siguero – ATT 2 Goals, 2 Assist
#10 George Frost -MID (C) 7 Goals, 7 Assist
#16 Gil Guzman -MID 7 Appearances
#18 Shunto Tanaka -DEF 1 Goal, 2 Assists
#19 Agner Torres -ATT 2 Goals, 3 Assists
#34 Twan Roeling- DEF – Played every minute, Team Captain