In the only game that ultimately mattered this week on the women's side, a first-place showdown in Coeur d'Alene between North Idaho played and visiting Spokane highlighted Wednesday afternoon's slate. At stake was a third consecutive NWAC East title for the Bigfoot while the Cardinals had a chance to move atop the table.
Three goals from Erica Simpson of nearby Post Falls, Idaho gave CC Spokane a third consecutive NWAC East championship as their 3-1 victory over the Cardinals on a quagmire of a field moved the Bigfoot five points clear with one game remaining.
The men's contest at NIC was cancelled as the previously questionable pitch was utterly destroyed by the earlier women's match. The Cardinals, though, still managed to clinch one of the three postseason spots with Wenatchee Valley falling. The Knights loss also clinched a spot for Walla Walla, which won at Columbia Basin.
WOMEN ##############
Spokane 3 :: 1 North Idaho - Though NIC tried every trick in the book and more to reduce the amount of water on the pitch, the field in Coeur d'Alene was a sloggy, water-logged mess right from the start. Standing water continually splashed about as the players hit the wet spots and killed balls that were even moderately struck.
Spokane came out the more aggressive side of the two and had the better of the play offensively, though both had chances in the early going as an ball in the offensive third was potentially dangerous in the conditions. In the 29th minute it was Spokane jumping in front when Erica Simpson (Post Falls, ID) took advantage of a defender missing as she attempted to collect the ball, snatching it and driving to goal, where she beat another defender in the box before stabbing it past the on-rushing keeper, extending her scoring streak to five games.
Ten minutes later Simpson doubled the lead when a corner from Cali Moscrip (Lewiston, ID) ripped across the box about shoulder level from the left side. Simpson stuck her head out and sent it on frame with the ball somehow finding its way past two defenders and the keeper.
The league leaders took the two goal lead late into the match, but the Cardinals made things interesting when the ball was pinging around in the area, finishing with Megan Lowery (Hayden, ID) finding Emily Aspden for the their first in the 71st minute.
Spokane put some urgency back into their step looking to lock up the division title and not allow an equalizer. In the 79th minute Anisha Nicholson (Post Falls, ID) beat a defender in the left corner and sent a ball just off the endline at the goal that took a deflection, but dropped in front of the goalline, allowing Simpson to come sliding several yards through the mud and knock it over the line.
"I think the story of the match was our team's desire to stay unbeaten and win a region title no matter the field conditions. We tried to not let the field conditions be a distraction, although that was tough once we saw the pregame attempts to remove the water," said Spokane head coach Jim Martinson, who watched the Cardinals staff and students attempt to clear water away with a wet-vac, a sump pump drawing water out of a tarp that covered the pitch and puppy potty-training pads.
"The big story was Erica. She had missed the three previous NIC matches. Being a Post Falls kid, she was determined to succeed. She was the X-factor amongst our group where everyone played well."
Walla Walla 3 :: 1 Columbia Basin - Haley Berryman (Ephrata, WA) was the guiding force for the Warriors in the victory. In the eighth minute she set up Sam Filingeri-Oleson (Yakima, WA) for the opening tally. The two reversed roles in the 23rd minute as the visitors doubled the advantage. Berryman netted a second goal in the 65th minute courtesy of Tate Kautzky (Richland, WA) and the Warriors were on their way to the win. The Hawks' Madison Gatherum (Richland, WA), though, spoiled the shutout for Paige Kubista (Nampa, ID) with a goal in the 90th minute.
Wenatchee Valley 9 :: 0 Blue Mountain - Katie Michkiosky (Wenatchee, WA) finished the blowout with a goal and two assists, scoring the opener in the 14th minute and setting up Gabriella Flores (Quincy, WA) for one of her strikes in the 20th. Lupita Tejeda (Cashmere, WA) made it three in the final minute of the half. An own goal started the scoring in the second half, which saw Abby Pendergast (Benton City, WA) score and set up two goals. Also scoring in the contest were MaryKate Henning (Selah, WA), Brenna Whitney (Warden, WA) and AdriAnna Simmons (Ephrata, WA), who also posted the shutout.
Yakima Valley 0 :: 7 Treasure Valley - The Chukars, and Madison Wells (Nampa, ID), dominated the contest. Wells scored her first in the ninth minute on a ball from Lindsey Williams (Twin Falls, ID), who went on to tally herself four minutes later courtesy of Chelsea Entrambasaguas. Another assist from Entrambasaguas set up Wells for her second in the 25th for a three goal lead at the break. Wells finished her hat-trick in the 58th, but was not done. She set up two more goals while Entrambasaguas added a goal to her ledger. Marisa Saldivar (Ontario, OR) and Maris Mortensen also scored and Taeler Torres (Idaho Falls, ID) posted the shutout.
Remaining Regular Season Schedule...
Saturday, October 29
Yakima Valley @ Blue Mountain
Wenatchee Valley @ North Idaho
Spokane @ Walla Walla
Columbia Basin @ Treasure Valley
NWAC PLAYOFFS - WOMEN #####
Game A: (W3) Green River @ (E2) North Idaho
Game B: (E3) Walla Walla @ (W2) Tacoma
Game C: (S3) Southwest Oregon @ North-2
Game D: North-3 @ (S2) Lane
Saturday, November 5
A Winner @ (S1) Clark
B Winner @ (N1) Peninsula
C Winner @ (W1) Highline
D Winner @ (E1) CC Spokane
Walla Walla 2 :: 0 Columbia Basin - The Warriors picked up the needed win to ensure a postseason berth thanks to goals from Missael Lopez (Tieton, WA) in the 27th and Brenden Kenley (Meridian, ID) in the 69th. Jorge Llerenas (Pasco, WA) made just one save to record his sixth shutout of the campaign.
Wenatchee Valley 0 :: 3 Treasure Valley - Needing a win to stay in the playoff hunt, the Knights instead dropped the road fixture against the last-place Chukars, eliminating them from playoff contention. Gerardo Bartolo (Blackfoot, ID) did the damage, factoring in all three goals for the hosts. He scored 21 minutes in and then set up Cristian Muniz (Twin Falls, ID) in the 37th and Ayoob Zahroun (Twin Falls, ID) in the 81st. Flavio Betancourt (Pendleton, OR) made six saves for the shutout.
Spokane 4 :: 1 North Idaho (at SFCC) - Postponed the day before due to field conditions, the match was moved to Spokane Falls for a Thursday meeting between the two sides as NIC needed the match for postseason seeding. The Sasquatch broke through inthe 35th minute when Breno Rocha hit Chase Reidt for the opener and they made the lead two with a second three minutes before the break when Jonny Cortez scored on a ball from Oswal Lopez. Rocha made it three at the hour mark before Alec Maldonado put the Cardinals on the board in the 65th. Rocha then fed Eric Sanchez-Flores a minute later to cap the game.
Remaining Regular Season Schedule...
Saturday, October 29
Spokane @ Walla Walla
Columbia Basin @ Treasure Valley
Wenatchee Valley @ North Idaho
NWAC PLAYOFFS - MEN #####
Wednesday, November 2
Game A: (W3) Pierce @ East-2
Game B: East-3 @ (W2) Tacoma
Game C: South-3 @ North-2
Game D: North-3 @ South-2
Saturday, November 5
A Winner @ South-1
B Winner @ (N1) Peninsula
C Winner @ (W1) Highline
D Winner @ (E1) CC Spokane
STATS ############## (does not reflect 10.27 NIC v CCS game)
ELSEWHERE ##############
Maddy Parton (Leavenworth, WA) set up two goals and Sarah Reiber (Yakima, WA) had another assist in a 5-0 victory for Peninsula over Whatcom... Sarah Beck (Bonners Ferry, ID) made eight saves in leading Edmonds to a 2-1 win over Skagit Valley... Sergio Vela (Warden, WA) set up the second goal in South Puget Sound's 3-2 win against Pierce.
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