Whitworth Women Tie Puget Sound, Remain Unbeaten

The Whitworth women continued their fantastic start to the Northwest Conference season, moving to 4-0-1 with a 2-2 draw against Puget Sound Saturday. The Pirate men, meanwhile, saw their struggles continue into week three of the campaign, falling to Willamette 3-1.

HS Daily - 9.30.17: Mt Spokane upends Gonzaga Prep

The Wildcats of Mt Spokane picked up their second victory over a 4A opponent just four games into the season, giving the lower classification three in the first two weeks of the Greater Spokane League season.

Meanwhile, Mead edged Ferris in a close contest and Shadle Park put forth another hard-fought effort against a second 4A opponent this week, but Lewis & Clark pulled away in the second half thanks to their deep bench.

Big Sky Plus - 9.30.17 DI Round-Up: Idaho State edges Griz, Zag Ladies Win WCC Opener

Preseason top four favorites Montana and Idaho had rough trips on the road in which they vastly outshot the opposition only to end up on the wrong side of the scoreline against a pair of teams that were predicted to finish in the bottom four. Southern Utah, selected 10th, downed the defending regular season champion Vandals 3-1 while Idaho State, chosen eighth, edged the Grizzlies 1-0.

Meanwhile, the hot starts for ladies at Gonzaga and Boise State continued. The Zags won their league opener on the road at Pacific and the Broncos for just the second time in program history topped New Mexico.

HS Daily - 9.29.17: Hanford Survives Scare, Cheney Edges Clarkston

On a night of games that were primarily one-sided, there were two contests that went down to the wire. Walla Walla gave visiting Hanford a handful, but the Falcons managed to snare a victory through a tiebreaker shootout after the pair finished even at two apiece. In Cheney, the mid-table Blackhawks made a bid to remain with the leaders with a narrow victory over visiting Clarkston.

Though they trailed early, Freeman and Deer Park both rallied and pulled away in their contests for three-goal wins.

HS Daily - 9.28.17: Prep, Ferris earn hard-fought wins as CV blanks LC

The 3A schools are looking like they may have an interesting race amongst themselves and create issues for the 4A teams in the table. After last week's performances by North Central against 4A opponents, the Highlanders gave Gonzaga Prep a scare Wednesday afternoon at Joe Albi only to come up short.

In another close-fought contest, Ferris prevailed in overtime in an odd affair in which all three goals came at the beginning of each period of play. Central Valley, meanwhile, took care of business in a key showdown between contenders with a shutout win at home against Lewis & Clark.

NWAC East Tonight 9.27.17: Walla Walla Women Edge Yakima Valley

The midweek slate was light with just three games Tuesday and Wednesday. Treasure Valley, not surprisingly, swept visiting Blue Mountain by a combined 13-2 scoreline and Walla Walla kept their record perfect at 6-0-0 in the women's table with a 2-1 decision against visiting Yakima Valley.

INW Best XI - Week 5: Defense Key in Week Five Contests

There were a number of outstanding defensive performances from teams around the region last week and several defenders also played key roles in their teams earning victories at the other end. From his midfield role Gonzaga's Christo Michaelson did both to earn Player of the Week honors while striker Lexi McQueary helped lead Corban to a comeback draw and a win on the road in Montana to earn the nod from INWsn on the women's side.

HS Daily - 9.27.17: Richland Edges Hanford as Comebacks Rule the Night

Three teams - Walla Walla, Clarkston and Freeman - picked up victories on the night despite allowing the opening goal and in a non-league affair West Valley rallied from three down to tie things up before falling in the final minute.

The highlight match of the day, though, was a Hanford at Richland, a contest that went down to the wire before Richland prevailed to stay within striking range of Kamiakin, which rolled to another big win to remain perfect on the season.

Lower Division Updates 9.26.17: Whitworth Women Off to Hot Start

In their best start since 2012, the Whitworth women are on a roll in the Northwest Conference with four wins in as many games and a three-plus game shutout streak that goes back to their conference opener. This week they picked up a pair of 1-0 road wins at George Fox and Pacific.

Also picking up a pair of wins this week were the MSU-Billings men and the Eastern Oregon ladies. The Yellowjackets took a 3-2 thriller against Northwest Nazarene and topped Concordia 3-1. The Mountaineers were 2-1 winners against Northwest University and edged Evergreen 1-0.

INW HS Best XI - Week 4: Flannery Shutouts Stand Out Amongst Lots of Scoring

With plenty of scoring throughout all of the leagues this season and the past week, the pair of shutout performances from North Central's Payton Flannery against a pair of 4A opponents for a win and shootout loss stood out for the Player of the Week nod, which could have just as easily gone to Summer Yates of Chiawana. Yates' reversal of the Riverhawks' results upon her return from international duty was stark.

Big Sky Plus - 9.26.17 DI Round-Up: Pair of Shutouts Gives EWU Four Points

The defending Big Sky champion Eastern Washington was stymied for a scoreless draw in their Big Sky opener by Sacramento State, but they were not alone as the Hornets did the same to regular season Big Sky champion Idaho two days later. The Eagles, though, bounced back with a big 4-0 win against Northern Arizona, which was coming off a win against the Vandals.

After a thrilling win against a ranked opponent and a drubbing of a vastly short-handed side last week, the Vandals were unable to find the form that led them to a pair of regular season titles the last two years. Idaho came up short against Northern Arizona and then suffered that stalemate with Sacramento State.

DI action around the rest of the region was highlighted by the Gonzaga women earning another victory as their hot start continues and their counterparts on the men's side earning a draw against 20th-ranked Air Force and a win on the weekend.

HS Daily - 9.24.17: Hanford Tops Walla Walla in Thriller

In a thriller, Hanford got back on the winning track against a valiant Walla Walla side that rallied from two down before falling to the Falcons. In a battle of two of the bottom sides, the Pasco Bulldogs were unable to get their first win, falling in a tight contest against Southridge.

NWAC East Tonight 9.23.17: Columbia Basin Men, Walla Walla Women Still Perfect in Division

Fifth with a 4-6-5 record a year ago, the Columbia Basin men are enjoying a fantastic start to this season. They picked up their fifth win in as many games Saturday with a 4-2 result against North Idaho to surpass last year's win total. On the women's side Walla Walla is looking like the powerhouse of old after having not finished top two in the division since winning the title in 2013, grabbing a 2-1 win against reigning three-time champion Spokane Saturday to move to 5-0-0.

It was an odd weekend on the ladies side as there was only one first half goal in the four non-Blue Mountain matches. All four games were close matches with North Idaho's win at Columbia Basin the biggest margin of victory at two goals.

HS Daily - 9.23.17: NC, Mt Spokane Raise Eyebrows; Chiawana on a Roll

The 3A duo of North Central and Mt Spokane are making things interesting in the Greater Spokane League for their 4A opposition this season. Following up on their 1-0 overtime surprise against Lewis & Clark on Wednesday, NC went the distance again with a 4A side before falling in a shootout to University. For the second time this week, however; a 3A side did post an upset as Mt Spokane got the better of Ferris on Friday.

Meanwhile, the return of Summer Yates is the storyline of the Mid-Columbia Conference. She scored two more for the Riverhawks as Chiawana gave Hanford its first loss of the campaign. At the other end of the table, Southridge and Kennewick played a thriller in which the Suns made an amazing comeback for the win in the final 22 minutes.

In the NEA, the Scotties are the definition of #FreemanStrong. In their return to play they posted two big shutout victories, tallying 11 goals.

INW Best XI - Week 4: Comebacks & Overtime Thrillers Highlight Weekly Honors

It was quite a week around the region for big comeback performances and overtime victories. Players of the Week selections Lauryn Gamache and Luca Battistotti led Montana schools Rocky Mountain College and MSU-Billings to overtime victories this week. RMC rallied from two down for their win. Also registering surprising comeback victories were the Idaho Vandals and Central Washington.

HS Daily - 9.21.17: NC stuns LC on GSL's Opening Day

Expected to be one of the contenders for the Greater Spokane League title, the Lewis & Clark Tigers suffered a setback Thursday afternoon against North Central that will force them to now be perfect the rest of the way in what is always a tight race for the league championship.

In a matchup of two title contenders, the Bullpups showed they will be a tough side to top as they put four on the board before Ferris answered in a two-goal victory. The rest of the league's slate went as expected.

Also, in a rare Wednesday GNL showdown, East Valley prevailed in a back-and-forth affair against rival West Valley. Both return to the pitch Thursday.

NWAC East Tonight 9.20.17: Walla Walla takes four in three days

Three days, three doubleheaders for this edition of the update. The action started with a Walla Walla sweep at Wenatchee Valley Monday and finished with another Warrior sweep Wednesday at North Idaho. On Tuesday Spokane and Columbia Basin split.

HS Daily - 9.20.17: Kamiakin routs Richland in top of table MCC clash

The two unbeatens atop the Mid-Columbia Conference squared off Tuesday, but it was a one-sided affair in which the visiting Braves rolled to a five-goal victory. Meanwhile, Chiawana gleefully welcomed back Summer Yates from international duty with a win that ended a three-game losing skid.

In other league play, the most dramatic contest of the night was Medical Lake's visit to Deer Park where the Cardinals came away with a late victory on a goal two minutes from time.

INW HS Best XI - Week 3: Freshmen playing big roles

A pair of freshmen led the Richland Bombers in a huge three-win performance last week and another posted a pair of shutouts for Gonzaga Prep. Three sophomores also played key roles for Colville, Ferris and Freeman.

HS Daily - 9.19.17: Eagles soar for West Valley, Lakeside

In rare Monday league contests the West Valley Eagles and Lakeside Eagles both picked up victories. West Valley needed a shootout to top Clarkston for a victory in their league opener while Lakeside rolled to a big win at Deer Park.

HS Daily - 9.17.17: Richland rolls to 4-0 with rout of Chiawana

In Saturday's league play, Hanford and Richland both picked up wins to remain unbeaten in the Mid-Columbia Conference. For Hanford it was just their second, but the Bombers' victory put them top of the table at 4-0.

College Update 9.17.17: Three leagues kick off seasons; Williams sets Big Sky record

The GNAC, Northwest Conference and Cascade Conference all started their league campaigns this week. On Saturday and Sunday there were quite a few interesting storylines in those leagues, but the bigger headlines came out of the non-league affairs among the DI sides.

In the GNAC Northwest Nazarene squeaked out a narrow win over MSU-Billings and Central Washington played Concordia to a draw as the women began play - the men's side, which saw MSUB upset 12th-ranked Upper Iowa, kicks off league play next week.

NWAC East Tonight 9.16.17: Yakima Valley earns 1-1 draw with Spokane

In a pair of tight contests on the women's side of the division, Yakima Valley College earned an unexpected 1-1 draw at home against CC Spokane Saturday and Columbia Basin snared an extremely late 1-0 victory over visiting Treasure Valley.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - Sept 15: Vandals rally in stunner, CCC kicks off league play

In what will probably go down as the most thrilling contest of the year in the region, the Idaho Vandals scored four unanswered late at home to erase a three-goal deficit for a win against Memphis.

Meanwhile, the NAIA Cascade Collegiate Conference kicked off league play Friday and saw a similar comeback performance from the Rocky Mountain College women in an overtime victory against Southern Oregon.

INW Best XI - Week 3: Murfitt leads Carroll women in non-league play

It was a good week for a number of NAIA teams in the Cascade Collegiate Conference as they took on opposition from neighboring teams in the DII and DIII leagues. Among them was Carroll College women, which posted a pair of shutout victories on the road in Spokane against Northwest Conference (DIII) foes thanks to Devan Murfitt. Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene traveled to California and grabbed a pair of victories led by Michael Bryant.

HS Daily - 9.15.17: Big wins for unbeatens Kamiakin, Richland

The smoke returned to the greater-Spokane area and yet again put high school action on hold. In the Mid-Columbia Conference, meanwhile, the season rolled on with a pair of big victories for Kamiakin and Richland that put them firmly at the top at 3-0-0, and a tight contest that went to overtime between cellar sides Kennewick and Pasco.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - September 11-14

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere.

Boise's Sofia Huerta approved by FIFA to join USA

Boise native Sofia Huerta has been approved to play for the US Women's National Team by FIFA as announced by US Soccer Thursday afternoon. She could play for the USWNT as early as September 15 and 19 for friendlies against New Zealand.

HS Daily - 9.14.17: Prep, CV win GSL non-league contests

With the start of official league play still a week away for the Greater Spokane League, Wednesday evening was another slate of non-league affairs. Two of them, however, featuring all-GSL pairings with Gonzaga Prep slipping past Mt Spokane and Central Valley downing Ferris.

GAMEDAY - NWAC East Tonight 9.13.17: Big Wins for Columbia Basin & Spokane

On the first full day of divisional play in the NWAC East Wednesday evening there were plenty of one-sided affairs with CC Spokane and Columbia Basin College posting sweeps of visiting Wenatchee Valley and Blue Mountain. It was the second sweep of the week thus far for CBC, which took two in against Wenatchee Valley Monday in a pair of rescheduled games.

HS Daily - 9.13.17: Goals, goals and more goals

Defense is still a hard item to come by in the Mid-Columbia Conference. The second round of action in the league saw 27 goals produced in four games Tuesday evening. Things were nearly the same in the Great Northern League and Northeast A League where 23 goals were tallied in five combined league games.

INW HS Best XI - Week 2: Plenty of goals leads to list full of strikers

One-sided non-league games with opponents from different classifications is not a surprise, but the opening day of the Mid-Columbia Conference also featured blowout scorelines, leading to a rare INWsn Best XI filled with forwards and midfielders.

HS Daily - 9.12.17: Deer Park outlasts Colville as NEA opens play

Mondays are usually very quiet, but air quality postponements have pushed plenty of matches around. With that, yesterday became Opening Day for the Northeast A League. Deer Park and Colville played a wild contest that finished 4-3 and Makayla Geiger had a monster Monday with five goals for Medical Lake.

GAMEDAY: Eastern Oregon at Whitworth

In a rare Monday contest, the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers came north to face Whitworth in a non-league affair. The third-year program was going up a perennial Northwest Conference contender and DIII tournament team. They kept the contest close, trailing by just a penalty at the break, but in the end were unable to contain the Pirates as they rolled to a 4-1 win.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - September 10

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere.

HS Daily - 9.11.17: One-sided Affairs on MCC Opening Day

With two match days earlier in the week wiped away by the smoke, Saturday became the new Opening Day for the Mid-Columbia Conference. And it opened with a boom as the winning three teams outscored the opposition 21-2. In addition, Walla Walla tallied 10 in a non-league affair.

In the continuation of non-league play elsewhere, the GSL schools were nearly unbeaten against primarily lower classification opposition. The lone school to register an upset was East Valley with the Knights blanking North Central in a one-sided scoreline.

GAMEDAY: Carroll at Whitworth x 2, plus Corban v Whitman

It was a NAIA v DIII tripleheader Sunday at Whitworth University in Spokane where the host Pirates took on the Saints from Carroll College and their regional Northwest Conference foe Whitman played host to the Corban Warriors. All three of the Cascade Collegiate Conference sides came away victorious on the day.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - September 9

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere.

NWAC East Tonight 9.9.17: Divisional Slate Finally Kicks Off

It was just one match, but the NWAC East season has now officially started amidst a continuation of air quality postponements throughout the region while the rest of the league is in full swing.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - September 5-8

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere.

GAMEDAY: Gonzaga at Eastern Washington

A year later, the Eagles finally end their losing streak against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. A 2-1 decision Friday was the first win in the series since 2002 and the first-ever in Cheney. The victory over a previously unbeaten Zags squad (4-0-1) was a much-needed one for the reigning Big Sky champs that are off to a slow start (3-3-0).

INW Best XI - Week 2: Haro honored for Cougs shutouts, win against ranked Nebraska

Facing their second Top-25 opponent of the non-league campaign, the Washington State Cougars earned their second shutout against ranked opposition and third of what is now four shutouts in five games (two goals allowed total). Helping lead the way was defender Maddy Haro, who guided the defense and the Cougars to a 1-0 victory against #14 Nebraska. Two days later she also helped on the offensive end as WSU blanked Georgia Southern, setting up two goals in the 5-0 win.

INW HS Best XI - Week 1: Peak performers highlighted from early preseason contests

Before the smoke returned to the region and forced numerous cancellations and postponements, there were a handful of non-league preseason contests for the Greater Spokane League, Mid-Columbia Conference and Great Northern League with one another and other regional opponents. Here's a look at the top performers thus far.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - September 3 & 4

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere. Matches are all from Sunday unless noted 9/4.

HS Daily - 9.4.17: CV Bears blank Wenatchee on the road

In a match-up of the second place teams from the GSL and Big Nine a year ago, the Bears picked up the non-league win on the road with Kaelyn Barnes tallying a goal and assist. Meanwhile, Kamiakin upended the defending GSL champions.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - September 2

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere.

HS Daily - 9.2.17: Tigers romp against MCC champs

It is just non-league action, but a massive blowout of Mid-Columbia Conference champion Southridge by Lewis & Clark will certainly raise quite a few eyebrows around the region. The Suns lost a dozen seniors from last year's squad, which included their two leading scorers Morgan Nelson and McKaley Goffard (22 combined goals in league play) and starting goalkeeper Tiara Valadez, who led all of eastern Washington among 3A/4A schools in shutouts with eight. In contrast, the Tigers only featured three seniors on its squad last year - one of the smallest group of graduating players among the Greater Spokane League's regular contenders along with Central Valley (2), Mt Spokane (4) and University (4).

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - September 1

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD - August 31

Results and notes for matches played by schools around the INWsn region and INWsn area players elsewhere.

INW Best XI - Week 1: List returns with freshman Havana Johnson dominating in Louisiana

After a two-year absence, INWsoccernews.com has brought back it's weekly list of the top players from or playing at schools in the INWsn coverage area. Area goalkeepers did well in the opening two weekends of non-league play for the ladies, but it was a freshman from Coeur d'Alene all the way out in Louisiana that made a splash. Havana Johnson scored all three goals for McNeese State as it avenged losses from a year ago.