With conference play kicking off for the DIII Northwest Conference and the NAIA Cascade Collegiate Conference this coming weekend, many of their schools squared off in the past week in their final non-conference contests. The CCC schools posted some impressive results with the men's sides going 7-1 versus the NWC and the ladies finishing 6-2.
While Division I and II schools still have several weeks before most schools begin conference play, the two conferences will kick off their conference play this weekend.
In the NWC, the Whitworth men go into league play as favorites to repeat as champions. They open play at home against Willamette and Linfield, who were chosen to finish fifth and last, respectively, in the preseason poll. Whitman, meanwhile, was chosen to finish sixth and are 3-3-0 in the preseason and will face the same two opponents (in reverse order) on opening weekend. The Pirates were ranked 22 in the national preseason poll, but have dropped off the list issued Tuesday while Puget Sound, picked to finish third in the preseason poll, is now 24th.
On the women's side, both Whitman and Whitworth are projected to finish near the bottom at sixth and seventh, respectively, in the preseason poll. Both head west for their openers with Whitman at Puget Sound and Whitworth at Pacific Lutheran Saturday before switching for games on Sunday. PSU and PLU were chosen to finish first and second in the poll and the Lutes are currently ranked 22 in the nation on the poll issued Tuesday, trading places with the Loggers, who were on the preseason list at number 20. Whitworth managed to post one win in four preseason games while Whitman came up empty in their four. Both were swept on the weekend by Cascade Conference opposition.
Among the area CCC women's sides kicking off this week, Eastern Oregon, Carroll, Great Falls women will all be on the road along with the College of Idaho (3-1-0), which will square off with Rocky Mountain (3-3-0). In the preseason coaches poll, Carroll was selected to finish first with College of Idaho second. Eastern Oregon was fourth and Rocky Mountain fourth. The Saints, ranked 23 in the national preseason poll and 3-3-0 in non-conference play, will travel to face Northwest Christian and Corban on opening weekend and Great Falls (0-3-0) will do the same in opposite order. Eastern Oregon (3-2-1) will open against Evergreen (2-1-0) and Northwest University, which posted shutout wins over NWC opponents last week to finish 4-1-0 in the preseason.
On the men's side of the CCC, the trio of Montana schools were picked to finish among the top of the conference in the preseason poll with Rocky Mountain first, Great Falls third and Carroll fourth. RMC was also ranked eighth in the preseason national poll Corban number 20 and Great Falls on the receiving votes list. Great Falls (1-2-0) will head to Corban (5-0-0), picked second, for their opener before facing Northwest Christian (4-0-0) in the second game of the weekend. Carroll (2-3-0), meanwhile, will make the matching trip west. Rocky Mountain (1-2-0) will play host to College of Idaho (2-1-0), picked seventh, on Saturday. Eastern Oregon (5-0-0), chosen ninth, travels to Evergreen State (1-0-0) and Northwest (4-1-0) and Walla Walla (0-0-0), tabbed to finish last, will host Southern Oregon (2-1-0) and Oregon Tech (3-1-1).
MEN ##############
Monday, September 5
Whitman 0 :: 1 Chapman
The Missionaries gave up the deciding goal in the 22nd minute
Rocky Mountain 0 :: 2 Biola
Thursday, September 8
Cal State Dominguez Hills 2 :: 1 Northwest Nazarene
Ebu Camara put the Crusaders on the board early on a ball from Alex Mitrovic eight minutes into the contest. The visitors, though, struck twice in the final 13 minutes to nab the victory.
Friday, September 9
Dixie State 0 :: 1 MSU-Billings
The Yellowjackets snared the narrow victory when a Julian Toenges cross was finished by Thiago Novis. Tom Lohmann made six saves to get the shutout.
Northwest 2 :: OT :: 1 Whitman
The Missionaries fell behind in the 35th, but got an equalizer from Jadon Bachtold six minutes into the second half. They remained deadlocked until the visitors tallied with just under four minutes remaining in overtime.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical 1 :: 0 Carroll
Despite outshooting the visitors 14-2, the Saints gave up the lone goal on one of those two chances in the 40th minute and were unable to answer.
Saturday, September 10
Westminster 1 :: 4 Northwest Nazarene
The Crusaders put three on the board in the first half for a comfortable lead. Keon Jones scored on a through ball from Rene Duevel eight minutes into the contest and then Rafael Junqueira and Collin Raymond pushed it to three with penalties in the 39th and 44th, respectively. The Griffins tallied in the 64th and Linus Mansson struck in the 89th for NNU off a Marshall Hartley shot that smacked the post.
Whitworth 1 :: 3 Rutgers-Newark
The trip to the east coast proved a bit much as the Pirates fell behind early to the 3-1-0 Scarlett Raiders in the fourth minute. Jonah Snyder tied things up in the 30th on a penalty, but Rutgers-Newark answered in the 39th and added some insurance in the 77th.
Multnomah 1 :: 2 Whitman
The Missionaries narrowly defeated an NAIA Lions side that was 1-16 a year ago despite outshooting them 29-8. Eric Conte scored the opener in the 34th minute on a ball from David Chavarin and Jimmy Jacobsen set up Erik Nielsen late for what proved to be much needed insurance in the 84th minute with the Lions tallying in the 85th.
Sierra Nevada 2 :: 6 Eastern Oregon
The visitors jumped in front in the 25th minute, but an own goal put EOU level nine minutes later. Micah Hill found Oscar Munoz three minutes into the second half to put the Mountaineers in front but SNC answered in the 61st to even back up. After that, it was all EOU. Tyler Hoiem scored twice, scoring the go-ahead goal in the 64th and another in the 76th on a ball from Cristian Anguiano (Burley, ID / Treasure Valley CC), who also scored the final goal in the 83rd via Munoz. Osvaldo Martinez (Columbia Basin College) scored on a penalty in the 74th.
Sunday, September 11
South Dakota School of Mines 0 :: 3 MSU-Billings
Freshman JD Hauenstein (Spokane, WA / Shadow MFT) opened the scoring with his first goal, breaking the stalemate in the sixth minute of the second half with a lofted shot over the keeper from the edge of the box. Oliver Posarelli put away a deflected ball on a corner a minute later, and shortly after SDSM were reduced to 10 men, and pushed the match out of reach in the 69th with a header off a corner from Julien Dragomir. Tom Lohmann made four saves for the shutout.
Whitworth 4 :: 3 TCNJ
In a dramatic contest, the Pirates built a three-goal lead only to need a fourth via Jonah Snyder with 14 seconds remaining to snare the victory at The College of New Jersey. Tyler Pangia connected with Austin Cassity for the opener in the 13th minute and Alfredo Ornelas scored via Rylan Berriman two minutes later. Snyder struck in the 53rd courtesy of Micah Weller (Cheney, WA / Shadow MFT and then the hosts rattled off three goals in a four minute span from the 66th to 69th to pull even. As the clock ticked toward overtime, Cassity found Snyder for the dramatic winner.
College of Idaho 3 :: 1 Whitman
The Missionaries got on the board first courtesy of Austin Betschart in the 29th, but the Yotes scored three unanswered to snare the road win. Guilherme Siqueira tied it up in the 34th on a ball from Memhed Selimovic (Boise, ID) and in the opening minute of the second half Cole Fuller (Boise, ID) found Joao Cardoso for the go-ahead tally. Siqueira added some insurance in the 53rd.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical 0 :: 5 Great Falls
Camilo Martinez and Edgar Ortiz combined on a free kick to set up Mohamad Oulare for the opening goal 25 minutes in and then Ortiz found Martinez in the 33rd to double the advantage. Cole Myers made it three a little over two minutes before the intermission. George Holloway and Lewis Derrett added goals in the second half while Marc Girones got the clean sheet without making a save with help from Anthony Mota (Shadow MFT) in defense.
Menlo 1 :: OT :: 2 Eastern Oregon
The visitors broke through in the 57th, but the Mountaineers pulled even in the 82nd minute when Julian Wells took advantage of a poor clearance. Five minutes into overtime Elvis Pavon knocked in a ball from Taylor Willman (Bend, OR) for the win.
ELSEWHERE: Eleazar Galvan (Chelan, WA / Wenatchee FC) scored Western Washington's lone goal in a 2-1 loss to MSU-Denver Thursday... Ben Thompson (Spokane, WA / Shadow MFT) scored the University of Redlands' third goal for what proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory against Pacific Thursday... Down three at home, Luke Murdock (Boise, ID) scored the second of three as Puget Sound rallied to pull even against Evergreen State Saturday, but the Geoducks finished as 4-3 winners with Miguel Viramontes (Wenatchee, WA) providing the third goal in the contest... Jackson Moore (Spokane, WA) started twice for Pacific Lutheran as they tied Occidental 1-1 Monday and then blanked Dallas 2-0 Saturday in Colorado Springs.
WOMEN ##############
Monday, September 5
Great Falls 0 :: 2 Carroll
Makayla Welch scored with a nice shot to the upper corner in the 28th minute and Christina Plank finished off a corner kick eight minutes later to add some insurance as the Saints dominated their in-state rivals in a non-league contest. Jamie Carter needed to make just two saves as they outshot the Argos 15-6.
Rocky Mountain 1 :: 5 Biola
With the contest well decided down five, Lauryn Gamache put away a deflected ball in the 67th minute to spoil the shutout.
Tuesday, September 6
Warner Pacific 2 :: 3 Northwest Nazarene
In a back-and-forth affair, Sarah Jenkins put Madi Taylor behind the defense three minutes into the contest to give the Crusaders the advantage, but the visitors visitors pulled even in the 29th and looked to be headed to the break with the lead with a second in the 42nd. Kayla Williams, however, stole the ball and beat a pair of defenders to put things level in the 44th. The two sides were deadlocked until the hosts found the winner late when a header from Ashley Cook-Cox (Spokane, WA) was punched away, coming to Emily Wilkins for the game-winning finish.
Thursday, September 8
San Francisco State 2 :: 0 MSU-Billings
The Yellowjackets gave up a pair of goals in the first half and were unable to rally as they were outshot 17-6.
Central Washington 2 :: 1 Hawaii Hilo (@ NW Nazarene)
Karlee Goehner (Wenatchee, WA / Spokane, WA) found Allie Bohnett, who finished from 25 yards in the 26th minute for the lead. Six minutes later Keilin Farrand (Ellensburg, WA) stole the ball and fed Molly Mortensen for what proved to be the winner as the Hawaiians tallied two minutes into the second half.
Eastern Oregon 5 :: 0 Sierra Nevada
Mariana Madrigal put the Mountaineers on the board in the seventh minute, but it was not until after the hour mark that they ran away with the contest. Zoe Anderson found Charli Torres in the 63rd and then scored in the 64th. Alexandria Cuaresma tallied in the 77th and Kelsy Neeley finished things up in the 81st. Jessica Parker (Boise, ID) made two saves in her 72 minutes in goal.
Friday, September 9
Northwest 2 :: 0 Whitman
Whitney Weaver (Spokane, WA) scored both goals for the Eagles, tallying in the 27th on a ball from Annie Shellerud (Spokane, WA) and again in the 52nd.
The Master's College 2 :: 1 Eastern Oregon
The Mountaineers fell behind in the 48th and saw TMC double the lead in the 72nd before Chelsey Nicol scored for EOU.
Saturday, September 10
Mary 2 :: 2 MSU-Billings
The Yellowjackets grabbed the lead four minutes in when Dana Lubieniecki struck on a curling 20-yard free kick. Fourty seconds into the second half a cross from the left touch line glanced off the crossbar, falling to Jordan Devoto (Wilsall, MT), who touched it on to Jessica Spang (Billings, MT), amidst a bit of a scramble inside six, for the finish. Mary, though, answered two minutes later on a penalty and pulled even for the draw in the 62nd.
Hawaii Hilo 2 :: 0 Northwest Nazarene
The Hawaiians got a pair of goals early in the second half and kept the Crusaders off the board despite 18 shots for the win.
Central Washington 3 :: 0 Dominican (@ NW Nazarene)
Kaysha Darcy finished a cross from Lexsi Manning for the opener 15 minutes in and Whitney Lowe took advantage of a turnover with a shot from about 25 yards seven minutes later. Moments later a cross from Kennedy Anson was knocked in by a defender for an own goal in the 24th minute.
Whitworth 1 :: 3 Rocky Mountain
The Bears scored two in the first half and pushed the lead to three before Whitworth tallied a consolation goal. Leah Hippauf netted the opener in the 32nd off the rebound of a set piece and then Brittany Greenback nodded in a Mikale Miller corner in the 43rd. An Alexis Robbins corner in the 62nd was headed in by Emily Browne. A minute later Arielle Van Peursem crossed the ball into the box from the endline, finding the head of Leah Corra for the lone Pirates goal.
Sunday, September 11
Whitworth 0 :: 2 Carroll
Michaela Kueffler (Billings, MT) scored in the 26th minute to put the Saints on the board first and then the hosts added some insurance via Payton Netz (Great Falls, MT) in the 51st. Jamie Carter made six saves for the shutout.
College of Idaho 3 :: 0 Whitman
After a scoreless first half, the Yotes wasted little time getting on the board after the intermission with a goal from Jamiece Yizar (Pocatello, ID) in the 47th. Maddie Brown (Greenleaf, ID / CC Spokane) pushed the lead to two in the 75th and Reilly Coyle (Boise, ID) made it three on a ball from Katelyn Benavidez. Brittany Houghton made three saves for the clean sheet.
Rocky Mountain 3 :: 2 Great Falls
Lauryn Gamache drove into the box and scored the go-ahead goal in the 39th minute for a lead at the break but Sarah Howell (Polson, MT) pulled the Argos level with a shot from the edge of the box in the 52nd minute. The Bears reclaimed the lead with a goal from Mhari Smith via Leah Hippauf in the 55th, but the Argos quickly answered when Howell found Sydney Knieriem a minute later. The Bears came out on top in the non-league showdown between rivals, getting a 14-yard winner from Alyssa Schneider in the 66th.
Eastern Oregon 0 :: 0 California-Merced
Outshot 13-8, the Mountaineers kept the hosts off the board to earn the shutout Sonia Nichols and Cydni Cottrell (Pasco, WA) combining for the shutout. Nichols finished the first half without needing to make a save while Cottrell went the rest of the way with two saves to finish the job.
ELSEWHERE: In addition to her two goals against Whitman Thursday, Whitney Weaver (Spokane, WA) tallied the lone goal in a 1-0 victory at Linfield Saturday... Taylor Cook (Meridian, ID) started and played a half in goal for Concordia, posting two saves as they shutout Cal State East Bay 1-0 Saturday. McKenna Stocker (Spokane, WA / Shadow WFT), Martha Heaps (Spokane, WA) and Michaela Prothe (Spokane, WA / Shadow WFT) also featured prominently in the shutout with more than a half played... Deanna Quadrel (Richland, WA) scored Pacific's third goal in a 5-0 victory against Howard Payne in Texas Thursday... Annie Pricket scored the second goal and set up the third as Puget Sound posted a three-goal lead in the first eight minutes en route to a 6-1 win against Concordia-Moorhead Sunday... Lexi McQueary (Kennewick, WA) scored the second equalizer for Corban Saturday and Macy Goodwin (Pocatello, ID / Idaho State) converted a penalty for a 3-2 win against Northwestern College (Iowa).
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