Spokane Area Girls HS Update - Sept 30

INWsn is still working on its database for the ongoing Fall HS Soccer season. Here is where things currently stand in the Greater Spokane League, Great Northern League and Northeast A League as of Wednesday morning.

Division II & III Round-Up: Whitworth, NNU & MSUB men lead their conferences

A trio of area men's teams are off to leads in the GNAC and Northwest Conferences, but the single biggest result of the weekend came on the women's side where the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders ended a 14-year, 27-game losing streak against Seattle Pacific with a 1-0 GNAC victory over the 11th-ranked Falcons Thursday in Nampa, ID.

Meanwhile, the 22nd-ranked Crusader men continued their positive start to the campaign with a scoreless draw against the third-ranked Falcon men, who find themselves 1-0-2. NNU added a win against Saint Martin's for a 2-0-1 mark and a share of the conference lead with MSU-Billings. The Yellowjackets blanked Western Washington and played Simon Fraser to a draw on the week.

In the NWC, the focus was in Spokane, WA where the three early leaders squared off on the men's side. The Whitworth men moved to 4-0-0 with a sweep of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran on the weekend, shutting out both.

Here's a recap of Division II & Division III action for last week - Sept 14-20

Division I Round-up: Eastern Washington, Idaho off to great Big Sky starts

Big Sky action kicked off and after the first week of play, the three programs that are 2-0-0 are the teams that were picked to finish 7-9 in the preseason coaches poll. Eastern Washington (predicted 7th) and Idaho (9) swept on their trips to play Idaho State and Weber State and Sacramento State (8) won twice at home.

Also opening conference play last week was the Pac-12 women. Washington State picked up a 2-1 road win at Arizona State courtesy of a pair of goals to rebound from their first loss and move to 8-1-0 overall.

Here is a round-up of the action last week:

Whitworth men top Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran to lead NWC

Full INWsn photo galleries  -  Saturday :: Sunday

In the midst of the early stages of the conference campaign, the Whitworth men faced a tough weekend at home playing host to the two other sides in the Northwest Conference that were also 2-0-0 after the first week of play. The Pirates dominated the contest Saturday in a 2-0 victory over Puget Sound and then blanked Pacific Lutheran in a tight 1-0 match Sunday against the Lutes, who were picked to finish second behind the Bucs by the conference coaches.

Local foes CC Spokane, North Idaho College go scoreless in Border Battle

In the first meeting of the year between the two nearby rivals, the Bigfoot and Cardinals battled to a scoreless stalemate Wednesday evening in Spokane.

Division II & III Round-Up: Whitworth men, women open with wins

It was no surprise the Whitworth men kicked Northwest Conference play off with a pair of victories, but after dropping their midweek opener against regional rival Whitman, 1-0, the ladies rebounded with a pair of wins at home to grab an early lead in the conference after just one week.

The Whitman women, meanwhile, suffered a setback as they continue to struggle at the offensive end, dropping a 2-1 overtime decision and playing to a 1-1 draw. The Missionary men split.

In the GNAC, the Northwest Nazarene men won their opener against newcomer Concordia, whose women's side won in their DII debut against visiting Central Washington. NNU's women fell in a regional showdown with MSU-Billings, which got a sweep on the week with the men also picking up a victory.

Here's a recap of Division II & Division III action for last week - Sept 14-20

Gonzaga men upset 13th-ranked Oregon State 2-1

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For the second time in three days, there was plenty to celebrate at Luger Field as the Gonzaga men followed the ladies' 2-2 draw against 25th-ranked Washington with a surprising 2-1 victory against the 13th-ranked Oregon State Beavers.

Division I Round-up: Boise State, Idaho unbeaten on the week

The powerhouse schools in Washington squared off against in-state foe Gonzaga and Portland this week. Thursday went well with the Cougars blanking the Zags 3-0 and the Huskies dropping the struggling Pilots 2-1, but things changed on Sunday. Gonzaga surprised visiting Washington for a 2-2 draw and the Cougars were upended in Portland 2-0.

Meanwhile, things went well for a pair of Idaho schools on the week. Boise State went unbeaten on the road against a pair of WCC opponents, getting a 2-1 win at St Mary's and scoreless draw against San Francisco.

Idaho drubbed visiting South Dakota 4-1 Friday and played to a scoreless stalemate against Seattle University Sunday as the rest of the Big Sky had a rough week. The rest of the conference went 4-8 on the week with Northern Arizona accounting for two of the wins and Eastern Washington picking up a victory in their lone contest as they finished their successful midwest trip with a 1-0 win at University of Illinois-Chicago Wednesday.

Here is a round-up of the action last week:

Gonzaga gives nationally-ranked Washington a fight, settles for draw

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They were not supposed to be serious threat to the 7-1-0 Huskies, but Gonzaga (1-4-3) put forth one of its best performances of the year Sunday afternoon at Luger Field and came away with a 2-2 draw in a game in which they surprisingly led by two goals early in the second half. Aliyah Miller and Karley Baggerly played big roles in putting the Zags up two in a three-minute span, but the 25th-ranked visitors rallied with two from Kimberly Keever in the span of less than a minute to tie things up.

Sasquatch sweep Treasure Valley in convincing fashion

Full INWsn photo galleries - MEN :: WOMEN

The CC Spokane women and men posted a pair of big wins over their opposition from the south. The men cruised to a 5-0 victory in the afternoon contest, but the things did not go as smoothly for the ladies, who needed to rally from an early deficit for a 3-1 win.

GNAC & the NWC: NNU, Whitworth men off to good starts

With conference play just around the corner for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the Northwest Conference, handful of area teams and players have gotten things off to good starts in non-conference play.

In the GNAC, the Northwest Nazarene men have gotten off to a great start to the season. The Crusaders are 4-1-0 with the lone loss, 1-0, being their only game at home. The team swept a three-game trip in Hawaii and picked up another victory in California. They also netted an impressive exhibition result in their first action of the fall, netting a 2-2 draw in Spokane against Division I Gonzaga.

Meanwhile, league power Seattle Pacific has been perfect through its first four games with Cody Lang (Spokane, WA) not allowing a single goal along the way.

GNAC newcomers Concordia has gotten off to mixed starts in their move up from the NAIA. The men are 2-1-0 and the ladies are 2-1-1.  MSU-Billings (2-1-1) and Northwest Nazarene (3-2-0) also boast winning non-conference records heading into the women's season.

In the NWC, the reigning champion Whitworth men have been rather dominant in their non-league start at 4-0-0 in addition to a pair of road draws against GNAC opposition Saint Martin's and Western Washington in exhibition contests on the same day.

On the ladies side of the NWC, it has been a tough start for the local programs with Whitworth going 2-2-0 and Whitman 0-4 in non-league play.

Here is an update on the action thus far in the GNAC and NWC along with some notes on players around the nation at the DII and DIII levels...

Whitman edges rival Whitworth 1-0 in NWC women's opener

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In a match where each side had the better of play for a half, it was the visiting Missionaries that were able to break the stalemate, tallying their first goal of the campaign via a Danielle Wieck penalty to record their first positive result of the season as the Northwest Conference opened play in the women's league Wednesday.

PAC-12, the WCC & more DI: Great starts for WSU, UW & OSU

Washington State is off to one of the best starts among the INWsn area schools at 6-0-0. The Cougars have taken care of business in the non-conference portion of their slate thus far, downing three Big Sky schools as well as handing Seattle University one of its two losses - Washington being the other. In fact, Post Falls, ID native Kelcie Hedge (Post Falls, ID) as a true freshman is helping the Huskies get off to a 6-1-0 start with a goal and two assists on the other side of the state.

In Spokane, the Gonzaga programs have mixed results thus far, each with their own predicaments. The ladies are 1-3-3 with injuries making things difficult in the arly going while the men are 3-2-1 thanks to a stifling defense that has seen every game decided by just one goal, including a season-opening 1-0 loss at Washington, as the team searches for offensive consistency.

Also of note, the Oregon State Beavers are off to a perfect 5-0-0 start thanks to a team-leading four goals from Timmy Mueller (Post Falls, ID). And further away from home, Kara Marbury (Spokane, WA) has helped Illinois get off to a great start as well with two goals and an assist in the program's 6-1-0 start.

Big Sky & the MW: Eastern Washington off to hot start in non-conference play

Things are looking a bit different so far this year, particularly in the Big Sky Conference where Eastern Washington University is off to it's most impressive start in program history. The Eagles boast the best non-conference record thus far in the league while Montana is 3-4-1 and Idaho is 3-4-0.

The real eye-opener is the possible fall that Idaho State is in the midst of after having reached the Big Sky Final a year ago. The Bengals, Big Sky champions in 2012, have struggled through the early part of the campaign with a 1-6-1 record and the only win coming against Division II Westminster, which just moved up from the NAIA.

Idaho State's other positive result was a 1-1 draw against Boise State, which is also finding a hard go of things with a 1-4-2 record that also has them among the worst of the Mountain West Conference in regards to non-conference results. The Broncos' lone victory was a 1-0 win against Idaho.

The big litmus test for the teams in the region is Washington State, an NCAA tournament team. Three teams out of the Big Sky and Mountain West took on the Pac-12 side and two nearly came away with a surprise result. Boise State fell 2-1 while Montana took the Cougars all the way to overtime before falling 1-0. In the border battle, WSU came out on top 3-1 against Idaho.

Gonzaga men edge UW-Milwaukee, ladies fall to Oklahoma State

Full INWsn photo galleries: MEN -- WOMEN

After a heartbreaking, dramatic loss in overtime Friday, the Gonzaga men bounced back and earned a hard-fought 1-0 win against UW-Milwaukee Sunday afternoon at Luger Field thanks to a second half Ben White tally. The Bulldog women, however, were unable to find the back of the net in a 2-0 loss to the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State.

CC Spokane splits NWAC East openers versus Columbia Basin

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Both games started with scoreless draws through the first half, but the second stanza proved fruitful for the CC Spokane ladies in a 3-0 win against Columbia Basin College while the men continued to find misfortune in front of goal in a 2-0 defeat to the Hawks.

Overtime sees Gonzaga women tie, men fall in heartbreaker

Full INWsn Photo Galleries - WOMEN :: MEN 

It was a disappointing day of double overtime at Gonzaga's Luger Field Friday as the lady Bulldogs played to a 1-1 draw in a game both they and Cal State Fullerton would probably rather forget and the Zag men dominated a contest that saw them fall 2-1 in a dramatic finish to Hartwick.

CC Spokane wins home opener versus Highline

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The Sasquatch ladies continued their outstanding start in non-league play by moving to 3-0-1 with a dominant performance against 2014 quarterfinalist Highline at Spokane Falls CC Tuesday afternoon in a 3-1 victory.

Eastern tops Big Sky foe Idaho in non-league game

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A pair of programs continuing to grow in their second year under new coaches met up Monday in their last non-conference match-up scheduled prior to Idaho re-joining the Big Sky Conference. In a back-and-forth affair, Eastern Washington picked up a 2-1 victory at home thanks to a goal and assist from Chloe Williams in a one-minute span in the first half.

Whitworth women open with win under spotlight

Tiara Pajimola and Megan McCart tallied in Pirates' win  |  More photos coming soon 

Taking the field amidst controversy for their season opener, the Whitworth women put forth an outstanding effort against visiting Carleton College for a 2-0 victory that brought, at least momentarily, some smiles to the players on the squad as five of their friends and teammates were absent for a suspension handed down for a racially-insensitive incident that occurred earlier in the week and has brought unprecedented attention to the women's soccer program.

With the roster shaken up and three true freshman in the starting lineup, the Pirates came out and shut down a Knights squad that was 7-1-3 (11-4-4 overall) a year ago and was selected to finish second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's preseason coaches poll. In a game that was primarily a midfield battle, the Whitworth defense allowed just one shot on goal that Andrea Stump needed to save.