EPLWA Round-Up - May 29

Wenatchee had a tough time stopping the league's top two teams last week

In Week 5 of the Evergreen Premier League season, Wenatchee FC's posting of back-to-back wins put their momentum to the toughest of tests as they had to take to the road and face the league's two unbeaten sides. It did not go so well. Similar to an earlier season home loss to Spokane, they saw a close match get away from them in the first game at South Sound and then struggled to compete against the perfect Vancouver Victory. Meanwhile, their central Washington rival, Yakima United, completed a season sweep of Bellingham with another big win and the newcomers, Olympic Force, picked up their first win.

Eastern Washington HS Boys Weekly Report - May 29

Central Valley jubilant about heading to the state semifinals

The opening rounds of the state playoffs last week narrowed the field down to the final four for the state championships this week in Puyallup. Plenty of teams were in action at the 4A and 3A levels, vying for a state title. In the end, though, the final two teams remaining in contention this weekend are Central Valley out of the Greater Spokane League and Wenatchee of the Columbia Basin Big 9 - and they face one another in the 4A semifinal Friday evening.

EPLWA Round-Up - May 23

Wenatchee players celebrate winning goal against Yakima

In Week 4 of the Evergreen Premier League season, the home teams finally had a decent week, grabbing wins in two of the four match-ups. The big theme of the week though was defense as three of the four matches featured clean sheets. There had only been one shutout in the previous 11 games.

This week, the big story is the massive test ahead for fourth-place Wenatchee FC. Not only are the Capitals embarking on the first two-game road trip of the season for any team, they have the unlucky task of having to face the unbeaten league-leading sides South Sound Shock (3-0-1) and Vancouver Victory (4-0-0).

Eastern Washington HS Boys Weekly Report - May 20

Kamiakin celebrates earning the unexpected second berth to state after wins at Spokane and against rival Kennewick

State Tournament berths were on the line last week all across the Eastern side of the Cascades. This week we merge the two reports previously posted here on IWNsn with the feature contests of the week being the Greater Spokane League versus Mid-Columbia Conference regional playoff tournaments. It was quite a week with 11 of the 14 games among the INWsn coverage decided by a goal or less as numerous contests went to overtime or shootout tiebreakers.

First win over Shadow puts Vancouver back atop EPLWA

Vancouver improves record against Spokane to 1-1-1 with the win  |  Full Gallery [+] 

Having built a 3-0-0 record on teams struggling to get off to a good start, the Vancouver Victory took the long trip to Spokane Saturday for its biggest test of the season against the defending league champions. A bit of a chess match at times, the visitors found the winning moves for a goal in each half to leave town with a 2-0 victory and their place back atop the league table once again.

EPLWA Round-Up - May 14

Yakima and former league-leader South Sound battled to 2-2 draw last weekend

In Week 3 of the Evergreen Premier League season, the winless streak for home teams came to an end with Vancouver Victory downing Bellingham to move to 3-0-0, but it was the only one as the three others finished in two draws and a loss. Last year's top two sides, Spokane and South Sound, both finished even with their opposition.

This week, two of the three eastern-based sides are set to square off in this week's matches with Wenatchee playing host to Yakima Sunday afternoon. Spokane, meanwhile, will welcome the unbeaten Victory Saturday evening.

Southeast WA HS Boys Update - May 12

Kennewick players celebrate winning their 3A District playoff title 

District playoffs in the MCC spent the week in the midst of the district playoffs while the CBB9 wrapped up the regular season early in the week and kicked off its district postseason tournament over the weekend. In both cases, things played out according to seeding.

Spokane-Plus HS Boys Weekly Report - May 12

Central Valley and Lewis & Clark battled hard for the 4A District title 

It's playoff time. A season of games were put behind them for most of the area schools as they took to District playoffs to determine who advanced to regionals and beyond. In the Greater Spokane League and the Mid-Columbia Conference, set to face one another in regionals, things played out according to seeding but saw some interesting contests.

Stars find redemption in Spokane with 1-1 draw

Saturday's contest in Spokane was a case of two completely different halves  |  Full Gallery [+] 

The home opener for the reigning Evergreen Premier League champion Spokane Shadow did not go as expected. Coming off an 8-2 season opening win at Wenatchee, the Shadow came out flat in the second half and saw the visiting Seattle Stars take control and snare a 1-1 draw.

For Seattle, it was redemption for a team that came to Spokane on the final weekend of the season with only nine players and were walked all over in an 11-0 defeat.

EPLWA Round-Up - Week Two

Everyone was in action for the second week of the Evergreen Premier League season with defending champion Spokane kicking off their title defense in Wenatchee with a win while newcomers Olympic Force were downed in their debut by visiting Vancouver, who were led by a pair from eastern Washington. The other area team in action, Yakima United, raised a few eyebrows with a one-sided result in Bellingham.

Two league-wide themes so far is the performance of visiting teams and the scoring rate. Road teams are 6-1-0 thus far away from home with the Seattle Stars the only side with a win at home. Scoring is also up from last year, which is surprising considering the season averaged nearly four goals per game last year. Through seven games, the scoring rate is 5.43 per game compared to 3.86 in the first seven a year ago.

Southeast WA HS Boys Update - May 5

League play finished out over the past week for the Mid-Columbia Conference, which saw a complete mix between the 4A and 3A schools - a stark contrast from the Greater Spokane League. Meanwhile, Wenatchee locked up the top spot in the Columbia Basin Big 9, which has three teams battling for second going into the final few days of the season this week.

Spokane-Plus HS Boys Weekly Report - May 5

Alex Garza (10) and Medical Lake had plenty to celebrate Thursday at Lakeside 

With Central Valley having already secured the GSL title, the final week of the season was all about seeding... and it was a rough eight days for Ferris, which went from a first-place showdown with the Bears to finishing fourth. Meanwhile, Pullman took care of business in the GNL to wrap up the title and things got very interesting among the top three in the NEA with an extra week still to go.

Spokane’s EPLWA title defense opens with a bang

Home opener for Wenatchee also served as the season opener for the Shadow | Full gallery [+] 

The early moments of the match showed signs of a Spokane team still coming together due to collegiate player availability, but by the time the intermission was over everyone was on the same page. A 3-2 halftime lead turned into an 8-2 victory against host Wenatchee FC as the defending champion Shadow ran past the Capitals to a season opening Evergreen Premier League win.

EPLWA this Weekend - Week 2

The eastern trio of the Evergreen Premier League will all be in action the second week of the season as the defending champion Spokane Shadow take to the pitch for the first time. The title defense for Spokane begins Sunday in Wenatchee. Yakima United, meanwhile, is heading to Bellingham Sunday.