Gore and Ellsworth lead debut Best XI for first week of college play

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

With a limited number of games on the men’s side, the list for the first week (plus a little more) is combined for men and women.

BEST OF THE INLAND NORTHWEST XI 

[Position – Player (INW Hometown) – School]

G - Kendra McMillen - Montana - With big shoes to fill following the departure of Kristen Hoon, the senior keeper made five saves and allowed just one goal in a pair of overtime games on the road in Wyoming.

G - Sarah Wood (Spokane, WA) - Cleveland State - Opened the season with an 11-save performance in a back-and-forth contest with Canisius that finished 3-2 in favor of the CSU Vikings. She went on to make nine more stops in a 2-0 victory against Bowling Green, earning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors.

D - Allyson Stainbrook - Idaho State - Led a defensive unit that allowed only one goal and seven combined shots in a pair of wins against Boise State and the University of Idaho

Amanda Ellsworth

F - Ashley Ames (Liberty Lake, WA) - Concordia - Scored once in each half of a 5-1 victory against Holy Names and then opened the scoring in a 6-0 drubbing of the Oregon Institute of Technology.

F - Rodger Bucknor - North Idaho College - After being denied by the woodwork initially, he went on to score the opening goal and set up the game-winner in a 3-2 overtime victory against nationally ranked Northwest College.

F - Tiffany Draper (Meridian, ID) - North Idaho College - Tallied a hat-trick in a 7-3 victory against Dodge City CC.

INW WOMEN'S PLAYER OF THE WEEK :: F – Amanda Ellsworth – Idaho State – Led the Bengals to a sweep of Boise State with 2-1 overtime game-winning strike and the University of Idaho with an assist on the opening goal and scoring the second in the 2-0 win.

Oliver Gore

INW MEN'S PLAYER OF THE WEEK :: F – Oliver Gore  – Rocky Mountain College – Had a dominating performance on the road in a sweep of two games versus the University of Mary. He set up the opening goal and scored the other two in a 3-0 victory and then added a goal and an assist the next day in a 2-1 win, playing a hand in all five goals on the weekend.

F – Kourtney Guetlein – Washington State – Tied at 1-1 coming out of the break, she set up two goals with crosses in the first five minutes of the second half to secure the win.

F - Erin Huisingh (Pasco, WA) - Concordia - Scored twice in a 5-1 victory against Holy Names and added a third goal in a 6-0 win against the Oregon Institute of Technology.

F - Jacob Weaver (Spokane, WA) - Northwest University - Scored twice, including the game-winner in a 3-2 overtime victory against San Diego Christian College. He also set up a consolation tally with a corner kick in their season opener, a 2-1 road loss to Biola University.

Note: There is no set formation or position composition for the Best XI list; all players listed alphabetically within positions.

#INWsoccernews