In addition to Idaho and Eastern Washington locking up Big Sky tourney spots, preseason co-favorite Montana also inched into the postseason with a pair of narrow one-goal victories. The league wraps up the regular season Friday with one berth and seeding left to be determined.
Meanwhile, Boise State is still in the midst of trying to chase down a conference tournament spot of its own in the Mountain West, which saw an unusual day of games Friday in which all six league fixtures ended in the same 1-0 scoreline. The Broncos split a pair of one-goal contests over the weekend and now find themselves in a race to capture one of the three remaining berths, sitting in a massive logjam mid-table that should present an interesting final day of games and scoreboard watching on Friday.
While some teams were celebrating, it was a tough weekend for the ladies of Gonzaga and Washington State. The Bulldogs were outscored a combined 9-0 in their two-game trip to California while the Cougars dropped a pair of one-goal decisions at home to well-ranked opponents, falling in overtime to fourth-ranked Stanford and in another close one against 14th-ranked California.
Two Spokane natives did well for schools outside the region as Kara Marbury had a great outing for Illinois Friday in a return to action after a concussion and Julia Moravec was a dominant force in a pair of wins for Seattle University that put the Redhawks atop the league table at 7-0-2 with their home finale Saturday against second-place Utah Valley (7-1-1) in a battle for the top seed in the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
Here is a round-up of the action last week:
WOMEN #############
Friday, October 23
Idaho 4 :: 0 North Dakota
The Vandals inched closer to securing the top seed in the conference with a big win on the road versus North Dakota. Alyssa Lloyd (Spokane, WA) scored off a corner kick 12 minutes into the contest. Lloyd then helped put the game away in the second half, combining with Josilyn Daggs in the 53rd to set up Kavita Battan. Olivia Baggerly also scored off a corner to push it to three in the 66th and then Kaitlyn Joy beat a defender to tally the final goal in the 79th as Amanda Poertner completed the shutout with four saves. MORE [+]
Eastern Washington 2 :: 2 Northern Colorado
On the road against the side sitting in front of them second in the table, the Eagles found themselves down two goals less than a half-hour into the match as Mariel Gutierrez set up the opener in the 19th and scored in the 28th as the hosts outshot them 10-4. Whatever was done or said during the intermission led to a completely different second half as the Eagles used a 12-2 advantage in shots to rally. Abby Klinkenberg put away a rebound in the 62nd minute and a similar play in the 71st resulted in a goal from Aimie Inthoulay. The result clinched the program's first back-to-back appearance in the conference tournament and kept the Bears within reach. MORE [+]
Portland State 0 :: 1 Montana
Two sides searching to stay in the postseason hunt, the pair were locked in a stalemate until the Grizzlies prevailed on an Allie Lucas (Billings, MT) goal in the 87th that she nodded in off a cross from Mackenzie Akins. Kailey Norman made three saves for the clean sheet. MORE [+]
Idaho State 1 :: 2 Northern Arizona
The Bengals found themselves trailing by two after 28 minutes, but were only able to get one in return via Whitney Peterson (Meridian, ID / Boise State) in the 35th minute. It was set up by Nikolina Musto. Defender Ashlynn Curnow (Boise, ID) set up the Lumberjack's opening goal in the 24th minute. MORE [+]
Weber State 2 :: 1 Southern Utah
Sunday, October 25
The Eagles dominated the visitors with a 38-7 advantage in shots, including a 23-2 tally in a first half that was about as one-sided in possession as a game can get. The domination, however, only resulted in one goal in the opening half with Delaney Romero (Yakima, WA / Walla Walla CC) scoring off a ball sent over the defense by Devan Talley 11 minutes in. A penalty 10 minutes into the second half from a foul on Chloe Williams (Spokane, WA) was converted by Inthoulay for the second goal, which proved necessary with the visitors getting on the board in the 89th via a penalty. INWsn REPORT [+]
Sacramento State 0 :: 1 Montana
In another tight contest, the Grizzlies earned the result on a single tally with Aspen Peifer scoring from about 10 yards out on a ball from Ashlee Pedersen (Spokane, WA) on a 43rd minute play that initially started on a corner from Mary Gintz that Payton Agnew fed to Pedersen. They nearly locked up the match in the 73rd, but a Charlene Burger shot was stopped on the line by a Hornet defender and a follow-up by Ellie Otteson was stopped with a diving save by the recovering keeper. At the other end Norman saw 12 shots, but only needed to make two saves for her second shutout of the weekend, helping the Grizzlies lock up a berth in the conference tournament. MORE [+]
The Vandals capped their road trip against the second-place side, locking up the league title and the opportunity to host the Big Sky tournament. Clara Gomez scored the opening goal six minutes into the match and with just over seven minutes remaining Lloyd scored on her second corner kick play of the weekend. Poertner made five stops for her ninth shutout of the season and sixth in the league as she has allowed just three goals in conference play. MORE [+]
Idaho State 2 :: 4 Southern Utah
The Bengals trailed by two even quicker this time out - 14 minutes. Kayla Mizo scored with a header off a Muzo corner in the 35th, but the hosts added two more in the 61st and 82nd to put the game out of reach. A blocked shot in the 85th was put away by Ka'imi Morreira for the Bengals. MORE [+]
Weber State 1 :: 2 Northern Arizona
Standings
Idaho^ 9-0-0... Eastern Washington* 6-2-1... Northern Colorado* 6-2-1... Montana* 5-4-1... Weber State* 5-4-0... Northern Arizona 4-4-1... Sacramento State 4-5-0... Southern Utah 3-5-1... Portland State 3-6-0... North Dakota 2-6-1... Idaho State 0-9-0 -- ^ Clinched top seed & tournament host, * Clinched tournament berth (6)
Upcoming Games
Friday, October 30
Northern Arizona @ Southern Utah 3:00
Northern Colorado @ North Dakota 3:00
Eastern Washington @ Idaho 3:00
Portland State @ Sacramento State 3:30
Montana @ Texas 7:00 (NL)
Weber State @ Idaho State TBD
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
Friday, October 23
Boise State 0 :: 1 Wyoming
UNLV 1 :: 0 San Jose State
New Mexico 1 :: 0 Colorado College
Utah State 1 :: 0 Colorado State
San Diego State 1 :: 0 Air Force
Nevada 0 :: 1 Fresno State
Sunday, October 25
Boise State 1 :: 0 Colorado State
The Broncos took advantage of the last-place side to keep themselves squarely in the hunt for a postseason spot. Michelle Reed scored the deciding goal in the 62nd minute off a bouncing ball at the top of the box and Flores made three saves for the shutout. They are now in a four-way tie for fifth with three spots remaining in the six-team tournament. MORE [+]
San Diego State 3 :: 1 Colorado College
New Mexico 3 :: 0 Air Force
Utah State 1 :: 2 Wyoming
Nevada 0 :: 2 San Jose State
UNLV 2 :: 1 Fresno State
Standings
San Diego State^ 9-1-0... New Mexico* 7-2-1... San Jose State* 7-3-0... Wyoming 5-4-1... Utah State 5-5-0... UNLV 5-5-0... Boise State 5-5-0... Colorado College 5-5-0... Fresno State 4-5-1... Nevada 3-6-1... Air Force 2-7-1... Colorado State 0-9-1 -- ^ Clinched top seed & tournament host, * Clinched tournament berth (6)
Upcoming Games
Friday, October 30
Fresno State @ San Jose State 2:00
Wyoming @ Colorado State 2:00
Boise State @ Utah State 2:00
San Diego State @ New Mexico 6:00
Colorado College @ Air Force 6:00
Nevada @ UNLV 7:00
PAC-12
Thursday, October 22
Stanford 2 :: 1 Washington State
The fourth-ranked Cardinal took the lead 13 minutes into the contest, but the Cougars answered in the 37th minute when a shot from Kaitlyn Johnson rebounded to Maddy Haro for the putaway. The two sides were locked in a stalemate the rest of the way and the match was 90 seconds away from a drawn result when Haley Rosen, the opening goal-scorer, delivered a corner that freshman Averie Collins (Bozeman, MT) nodded in for the victory. MORE [+]
Friday, October 23
Utah 0 :: 1 USC
California 0 :: 1 Washington
Colorado 1 :: 2 UCLA
Oregon State 0 :: 3 Arizona State
Oregon 1 :: 2 Arizona
Sunday, October 25
California 1 :: 0 Washington State
Despite being outshot 10-4 in the first half, the Cougars kept the visitors at bay on Senior Day, but the Golden Bears found they only goal they needed in the 55th minute. MORE [+]
Oregon State 1 :: 2 Arizona
The Wildcats tied things up seven minutes into the contest Hayley Estopare (Bend, OR) nodding in a long throw.
Colorado 0 :: 3 USC
Oregon 0 :: 1 Arizona State
Utah 0 :: 1 UCLA
Stanford 3 :: 0 Washington
Standings
Stanford 7-0-0... USC 7-1-0... California 5-3-0... Arizona 5-3-0... UCLA 4-3-1... Washington State 4-4-0... Washington 3-3-1... Arizona State 3-4-1... Oregon State 2-6-0... Utah 2-6-0... Colorado 1-6-1... Oregon 1-7-0
Upcoming Games
Thursday, October 29
UCLA @ California 3:30
USC @ Stanford 7:00
Friday, October 30
Washington @ Oregon State 1:30
Arizona @ Colorado 2:00
Washington State @ Oregon 4:00
Arizona State @ Utah 6:00
Sunday, November 1
Washington State @ Oregon State 11:00
Arizona @ Utah 12:00
Arizona State @ Colorado 1:00
USC @ California 1:00
Washington @ Oregon 1:00
UCLA @ Stanford 3:30
WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Thursday, October 22
BYU 1 :: 2 San Francisco
San Diego 1 :: 2 Santa Clara
Friday, October 23
Gonzaga 0 :: 4 Pepperdine
The Bulldogs gave up two in each half as dropped the opening contest of the two-game trip to California. MORE [+]
Portland 0 :: 1 Loyola Marymount
Saturday, October 24
BYU 0 :: 0 Santa Clara
Pacific 2 :: 1 Saint Mary's
San Diego 2 :: 3 San Francisco
Sunday, October 25
Gonzaga 0 :: 5 Loyola Marymount
The co-league leaders scored four in the first 31 minutes to run away with the result, including one from Jocelyn Blankenship, which put her level with the Zags' Karley Baggerly for the league lead in goals. MORE [+]
Portland 0 :: 1 Pepperdine
Standings
San Francisco 5-1-0... Loyola Marymount 5-1-0... BYU 4-1-1... Santa Clara 4-1-1... Pepperdine 3-3-0... Saint Mary's 2-3-1... Pacific 2-4-0... Portland 2-5-0... Gonzaga 1-5-1... San Diego 1-5-0
Upcoming Games
Thursday, October 29
Pepperdine @ BYU 6:00
Loyola Marymount @ San Diego 7:00
Friday, October 30
Santa Clara @ Saint Mary's 12:00
San Francisco @ Pacific 5:00
Saturday, October 31
Gonzaga @ Portland 4:00
Loyola Marymount @ BYU 6:00
Pepperdine @ San Diego 6:00
Sunday, November 1
San Francisco @ Saint Mary's 11:00
Santa Clara @ Pacific 2:30
MEN #############
WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Wednesday, October 21
Loyola Marymount 0 :: 3 Penn State (NL)
Saturday, October 24
San Diego 3 :: 1 Lipscomb (NL)
Denver 0 :: 0 Portland (NL)
Standings
San Diego 3-0-0... San Francisco 2-0-0... Loyola Marymount 2-1-0... Santa Clara 1-1-1... Saint Mary's 1-1-0... Gonzaga 1-2-0... Pacific 0-2-1... Portland 0-3-0
Upcoming Games
Friday, October 30
San Francisco @ Gonzaga 2:00
Loyola Marymount @ Saint Mary's 3:00
Santa Clara @ Portland 7:00
San Diego @ Pacific 7:30
Sunday, November 1
Loyola Marymount @ Pacific 12:00
San Francisco @ Portland 1:00
Santa Clara @ Gonzaga 1:00
San Diego @ Saint Mary's 2:00
PAC-12
Monday, October 19
California 0 :: 6 UCLA
Friday, October 23
San Diego State 3 :: 4 California
Washington 0 :: 1 Maryland (NL)
UCLA 2 :: 2 Stanford
Sunday, October 25
UCLA 3 :: 4 California
San Diego State 1 :: 3 Stanford
Standings
Stanford 4-0-2... UCLA 3-3-1... Washington 2-1-2... California 2-3-2... Oregon State 2-2-1... San Diego State 1-5-0
Upcoming Games
Friday, October 30
Stanford @ Oregon State 5:00
California @ Washington 6:00
Saturday, October 31
San Diego State @ Wright State 4:00 (NL)
Sunday, November 1
UCLA @ Akron 10:00 (NL)
Monday, November 2
Stanford @ Washington 7:00
ADDITIONAL DI NOTES #############
- Back from being sidelined by a concussion, Kara Marbury (Spokane, WA) scored with two headers early in the second half to guide Illinois to a 3-1 win against Nebraska.
- Julia Moravec scored the opening goal Friday for Seattle University in a 2-0 road victory against CSU Bakersfield and then had a huge outing at Grand Canyon Sunday, tallying the opener and setting up all three other goals in a 4-0 win to extend the program's unbeaten streak to 14 games.
-- INWsn --
