Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) Women's Soccer wrapped up the first half of the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) with two strong battles against the Snow College Badgers on Thursday, Sept. 24 and Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) on Saturday, Sept. 26. 

The Mighty Lizards started the game against the Badgers with intensity, finding every gap possible to break the defenders, but when the Lizards least expected it, a shot arrived inside their goal in the first fifteen minutes of the game. The Badgers kept attacking with every chance, but the Mighty Lizards' defense remained unshaken, with Isis Melendez and Zoey Wilson communicating flawlessly and stepping in at just the right moment.

At the start of the second half, Esmeralda Machuca created many opportunities, linking the midfield with the attackers. In the 59th minute Chloe McMinn was in the right spot at the perfect moment for Machuca's pass to reach her at the penalty spot, where McMinn brought the ball down with her chest and struck it cleanly, sending it into the back of the net to tie the match. 

Over the next twenty-five minutes, both sides pressed the attack, playing a more physical game and committing several fouls. Then, with six minutes remaining, the Badgers capitalized on a corner kick. The ball from a corner kick reached the far post, allowing Julie Huddleston to seal the final score at 1-2 for the Badgers. 

Despite the Lizards' strong attack and repeated attempts to score during  remaining minutes of the game, the Badgers held on and finished the match with a victory.

Mighty Lizards Fall to CNCC

On Saturday, Sept. 26, the Mighty Lizards faced CNCC, and the match started well for the local team. Women's Soccer maintained possession during the first ten minutes, and Alondra Carrillo began distributing passes to the flanks, finding Sherly Ramirez on the wing and creating dangerous situations on multiple occasions. However, in the 14th minute CNCC opened the score and stepped up with a goal by Ava Wong, and just six minutes later, another shot ended up in the Mighty Lizards' goal, moving the score to 0-2. 

Despite its efforts and tactical adjustments, TMCC could not close the gap and ultimately suffered a 0–4 defeat.

The second half of the SWAC begins on Saturday, Oct. 3 when the Mighty Lizards travel to Utah to face College of Southern Idaho.