Sweet Tweets: Kickin it on Halloween

Check out these Halloween-themed tweets from around the soccer world, near and far.

Lower Division Updates 10.31.17: Postseason Set for GNAC, CCC After Dramatic Finishes

The big showdown finally came in Bellingham Sunday with Corban and Western Washington squaring off in a battle of the unbeatens for the GNAC Women's Regular Season Championship. Concordia earned the win away from home, snapping numerous record streaks held by the second-ranked Vikings. Among them were:

   - 39 game win streak
   - 30 game home win streak (tied 7th longest in DII history)
   - 64 game unbeaten streak v GNAC opponents (2nd longest in DII history)
   - 29 game win streak v GNAC opponents
   - 45 game streak with a goal
   - 50 game unbeaten streak v West Region opponents

The MSU-Billings men kept playoff hopes alive, beating top team Simon Fraser and third-place Western Washington to move to third. The race tightened further with NNU playing Simon Fraser to a draw. The top four are now separated by four points with two match days remaining, including a tough pair of games for Simon Fraser against Western Washington and the new league leader Seattle Pacific.

Another league leader also suffered losses in the NWC with Whitworth dropping both games in the annual tough trip to face the duo of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran. Though they trail PLU now by five points, the Pirates, enjoying one of their best season in program history, are still mathematically alive going into the final week of play.

On the men's side, Whitworth and Whitman both kept their positions as third and fourth in the league with a sweep of George Fox and Pacific.

In the Cascade Conference Rocky Mountain College finished second in both tables as the Eastern Oregon women captured its first league championship by winning both games to keep in one point in front of the Bears. On the men's side, a draw at Evergreen for the Bears allowed Southern Oregon to pull even and take the title on tiebreakers. The CCC tournaments begin Friday in Springfield, Oregon for both the men and women.

Big Sky Plus - 10.31.17 DI Round-Up: Local Sides Finish Home Slates

The Big Sky wrapped their season Friday, but DI action continued around the region and country.

Top Tweets 10.30.17: Weekend Highlights

Here's some great tweets from the past few days, including goal videos!

HS Daily - 10.29.17: University Stuns Mead, Joins CV at State

Top seed Central Valley survived a scare Saturday from Richland and fifth-seeded University surprised Mead, sending both Spokane Valley schools to the state tournament and setting up a Muddy Cleat rematch for the regional 4A title. CV won the first meeting at University 1-0.

In the 3A bracket, it will be an all-MCC showdown for the title with Kamiakin facing Southridge, who slipped past top GSL seed Mt Spokane to face the Braves, who were easy winners against North Central.

The 2A district title game will also be a rivalry contest with top seed East Valley kicking off their postseason action against fourth-seeded West Valley, which registered a second playoff upset in Clarkston.

NWAC East Tonight 10.28.17: Playoff Sides Learn Opposition

The six teams from the NWAC East headed to the postseason learned who their playoff will be as the brackets filled out over the course of the day Saturday with the final slate of games.

For the first time since the NWAC went to a four-division format in 2005, four teams finished unbeaten as was projected in the previous NWAC East update.  Peninsula, Clark and Highline all wrapped up their campaigns without a loss. Highline and Clark are teams of note as Highline is the potential second round opponent awaiting CC Spokane and Clark could be the side North Idaho faces if they win at Whatcom. Spokane hosts Skagit Valley, who missed a chance at the second seed, playing to a scoreless draw in their finale Saturday. Unbeaten East champion Walla Walla will host Tacoma or Clackamas

On the men's side, East champion Spokane awaits either Tacoma or Clark. Columbia Basin hosts Everett with Highline awaiting the winner while Walla Walla to Peninsula, and potentially Portland if they win.

Big Sky Plus - 10.28.17 DI Round-Up: Vandals Hand EWU First Loss, Come Up Short in Playoff Bid

The University of Idaho Vandals nearly got everything they needed, except a goal from either Sacramento State or Northern Arizona. The night finished with a 2-1 home win over Eastern Washington that gave the Eagles their first loss of the conference campaign on the eve of hosting the Big Sky Tournament. The win, though was bittersweet as they came up third in the four-way tiebreaker for the final two spots for the tournament.

The day started off well with North Dakota playing to a draw against Northern Colorado. Unfortunately, since that game came prior to the mid-table clash between Sacramento State and Northern Arizona, the Hornets and Lumberjacks both knew a draw would put them through in the case of a three-way tie with UND or a four-way cluster that also included Idaho. The Vandals needed one of them to win, however, leaving them alone in a head-to-head tiebreaker with UND, who they beat. Of course, the two sides played to a draw on a day in the Big Sky that saw four of the five matches finish deadlocked and the Vandals the only side to score twice. The draws also allowed Montana to earn the second seed and a bye to the semifinals. Idaho State, though, fell short of their bid to get out of last due to their draw.

Meanwhile, the Vandals' counterparts to the south, Boise State, wrapped up a record campaign in the Mountain West with another win, securing the third seed in the conference tournament.

INW Best XI - Week 9: Better Late Than Never

There's nothing more dramatic than a last-minute game-winner right? Well, this week's list fits in that category as it is just a 'tad' late. My apologies.

There were a lot of great defensive performances last week, but on the offensive end a few players really stood out. Boise State's Raimee Sherle was on fire in the Mountain West, scorching two opponents for five goals. A lot of players from Tri-Cities usually go to Walla Walla, but Pasco product Hector Magana tore up the Warriors by setting up all for goals for Spokane in their showdown last week.

Top Tweets 10.27.17: Tweets from the Week

Here's some great tweets from the past few days

HS Daily - 10.27.17: Lakeside, Deer Park Survive Scares

The top two seeds in the Northeast A League nearly found themselves in the losers portion of the 1A district bracket Thursday evening, but a goal two minutes into overtime put Deer Park through and a dominant Lakeside squad survived penalties thanks to three saves from Payton Williams after a thoroughly one-sided affair that went scoreless. 

In the Great Northern League, however, West Valley topped higher-seeded Cheney in a one-sided contest after having lost to the Blackhawks last week. Clarkston rolled to a win against Pullman in the other 2A playoff match. 

In the other half of the upcoming 2A crossover portion of the bracket, the CWAC saw the top two seeds fall in the second round of districts. Four-seed East Valley (5-4) stunned top seed Ellensburg via a shootout for a 2-1 win and Ephrata (7-2) topped Selah (8-1) in the other contest, sending Ellensburg and Selah into the loser-out contest.

NWAC East Tonight 10.25.17: Warriors Finish Perfect Season; CBC Men & Spokane Women Grab Second

Seeding for second for the men and women were both at stake Wednesday evening, but the highlight of the night may have been a run-of-the-mill 2-0 win for the Walla Walla women at Columbia Basin. That result gave the Warriors a perfect 14-0-0 campaign that is only the seventh since the league went to the four-division format in 2005.

HS Daily - 10.25.17: University Titans Stun Top Seed Chiawana

The GSL 4A fifth-seed Titans are on a roll. Two nights after knocking Gonzaga Prep out in the opening round University traveled to the Tri-Cities and handed top-seeded Chiawana Railhawks a surprising 1-0 defeat as the rest of the field began postseason play Wednesday night.

The other three 4A contests were also shutouts with Mead topping Hanford, Richland edging Lewis & Clark and Central Valley rolling to a big win over Walla Walla.

In the 3A bracket, the number two seeds both advanced with shutout wins as well with Southridge prevailing in overtime in a one-goal affair against Shadle Park and North Central taking care of matters against Kennewick.

Chiawana was the lone home / higher seed to fall on the night.

Lower Division Updates 10.25.17: Rocky Mountain Climbs to top of CCC

Rocky Mountain College had a great week with a full sweep of their four games, allowing the men to go atop the Cascade Conference table and the women to climb to second. The ladies pulled within a point of Eastern Oregon after handing the Mountaineers their first loss of the campaign in a 1-0 affair.

In eastern Washington, the Whitworth women and the Whitman men had great weeks in the Northwest Conference. The Whitworth ladies posted a pair of wins to move back atop the table following Pacific Lutheran's loss midweek. On the men's side Whitman earned a draw against second-place Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and edged Puget Sound Sunday to move into the top half of the table.

The Northwest Nazarene women clinched a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's tournament with a narrow win over last-place Central Washington while on the men's side all six contests were decided by one goal, including two in overtime. MSU-Billings and Northwest Nazarene came up short in their first outings of the weekend, but rebounded with wins in their second.

HS Daily - 10.25.17: Higher Seeds Advance in NEA Playoffs

It was a relatively uneventful evening Tuesday in postseason play as all of the expected teams advanced, though some of the scorelines were a bit of a surprise.

In the 3A opener between the bottom sides from the MCC and GSL, Kennewick moved on with a shutout win over Rogers in a game that was much closer than expected given the score between the two a year ago was 11-0.

In the opening round of the 1A Districts for the NEA, Freeman scored two in the second half to pull away against Riverside while Colville was surprisingly completely shutout in their match at Medical Lake.

INW HS Best XI - Week 8: Standout Performances in Three-Game Weeks Highlight Honors

Several teams faced tough three-game weeks to close out the season and several players rose to the occasion. Madison Sellars and Jessie Thomas helped lead Deer Park to a second-place finish in the Northeast A League with three wins and East Valley assured themselves of the top spot of the Great Northern League with three victories thanks, in part, to Player of the Week selection Kaitlin Harvey.

Top Tweets 10.24.17: Weekend Highlights, Honors and more

Here's some great tweets from the past few days, including goal videos!

HS Daily - 10.24.17: University Knocks Gonzaga Prep Out of Postseason

On the opening day of the postseason in the 4A Greater Spokane League and Mid-Columbia Conference tournament the University Titans upset host Gonzaga Prep 3-2 in overtime just three days after suffering a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Bullpups in the regular season finale.

Further south there were no surprises as Walla Walla rolled to a big win over Pasco thanks to a four-goal night from Makena Rietz.

HS Daily - 10.23.17: Playoffs Kick Off Today

The postseason for the Mid-Columbia Conference and Greater Spokane League begins today with the Northeast A League kicking things off on Tuesday.

HS Daily - 10.23.17 GNL/NEA Edition: Deer Park Finishes Second with Win Over Freeman

The final week of play in the Northeast A League was a busy one with three consecutive gamedays, which saw the showdown for the second seed between Deer Park and Freeman play out.

Both won on Tuesday, though the Stags had to rally and earn the result via a shootout against Riverside while Freeman cruised to a win in Newport. The following night the two squared off in a tight contest that saw Deer Park prevail on a goal with two minutes remaining to move even with Freeman in the table.

The week closed out with Freeman winning at Riverside, but Deer Park took the second seed with a dramatic overtime comeback win at Newport.

In the Great Northern League, West Valley's bid for a higher seed fizzled out over the course of the week. Their four-game win streak gave way to three defeats last week as they fell at Cheney, at home to rival East Valley and on the road against last-place Pullman.

Round-up of the action for October 17-21

Big Sky Plus - 10.23.17 DI Round-Up: Montana Rallies to Clinch Tourney Berth

Two days after the four sides behind Eastern Washington dropped points, three of them punched their tickets to the Big Sky Tournament. Montana and Northern Colorado snatched up spots with victories while Portland State, which fell to UNC, were locked in via other results.

Idaho, the regular season champions a year ago, beat Idaho State to keep their hopes alive. They sit two points back of a foursome with one game remaining and two spots left up for grabs. The simplest scenario - devoid of tiebreakers - requires a win at still unbeaten Eastern Washington paired with a North Dakota loss to UNC along with either Northern Arizona or Sacramento State winning in their match-up against one another. Southern Utah, part of the foursome, has finished its season.

Also clinching a postseason berth Sunday was Boise State, which extended its unbeaten streak to six games in the Mountain West with a big win on Senior Day. Raimee Sherle had another big day with three goals and an assist, putting her atop the league table with 36 points and in a tie for the league lead with 15 goals.

Gameday: Whitworth Splits Sunday; Ladies Back Atop NWC

Eleven goals in two completely different contests saw the Whitworth women power past Pacific in the opener 5-1 Sunday afternoon and the men fall in heartbreaking fashion in a three-goal frenzy in the final five minutes against Pacific Lutheran that saw the Pirates go in front late only to give up two before the clock hit zeros.

NWAC East Tonight 10.21.17: Spokane, Walla Walla Clinch East Titles

With the top four in the men's table all playing each other over the final three games of the season, match day one did not disappoint on Wednesday with a dramatic night of action. It was followed by an eventful Saturday as well.

The Spokane men blanked Walla Walla in convincing fashion midweek, 4-0, to create some space at the top and assure themselves of a spot in the postseason. Meanwhile, North Idaho College, seven points back of third, kept hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over second-place Columbia Basin, pulling within four of WWCC and five of CBC going into the final two games.

On the women's side the Warriors essentially clinched the top seed, winning in a stunning comeback in Spokane 3-2 to move six points clear of North Idaho, which blanked Columbia Basin 2-0 to move into second.

Then on Saturday, the highlight of the day was a first-place showdown between Spokane and Columbia Basin. Spokane went into the match with a three point lead, needing just a draw to lock up the East title. The two battled in a scoreless stalemate that looked it was headed toward that exact result when a free kick in the final 10 minutes gave the Sasquatch their third consecutive title since missing the postseason entirely in 2014.

Earlier in the day Walla Walla, to no surprise, claimed the East title on the women's side with big win against North Idaho. Spokane, meanwhile, played to a draw against fourth-place Columbia Basin, remaining in third now a point behind rival NIC. It sets up a final day showdown between the two that will determine the seeding and whether Spokane's run of six years finishing first or second ends. meanwhile Yakima Valley has a chance at fourth if they can top Wenatchee Valley and CBC falls to Walla Walla.

HS Daily - 10.21.17: Dramatic Ends Result in Top 3A Seed for Wildcats

The matches went down to the wire on the chilly Friday afternoon, but in the end both North Central and Mt Spokane came up short in one-goal decisions against their 4A opposition on the final day of the Greater Spokane League season. The results left Mt Spokane atop the 3A standings. Meanwhile, Lewis & Clark's win over the Wildcats kept them third in the table while Gonzaga Prep finished fourth via a win over University.

Top Tweets 10.21.17: Celebrating Good Times

Here's some great tweets, including goal videos! 

Big Sky Plus - 10.21.17 DI Round-Up: Cougars Stun #2 UCLA; Eagles Clinch Big Sky Title

It was a monumental 24-hour period for several area players and teams Thursday night and through the day Friday. It started with Washington State posting a 1-0 upset win over second-ranked Stanford on a goal from Maegan O'Neill. On Friday, Eastern Washington clinched the regular season title and hosting rights for the Big Sky tournament thanks in part to Chloe WIlliams (Spokane, WA), who became the All-Time Big Sky Goal Scoring Leader. Meanwhile, down in California Kelsey Turnbow (Spokane, WA) tallied a hat-trick for Santa Clara.

Eastern Washington's victory over Idaho State was no surprise, but their clinching of the top seed was not entirely foreseen. All four teams behind them in the table all dropped points on the day with second place Portland State losing, Montana and Northern Colorado playing to a draw and Northern Arizona falling. Due to those results, the defending regular season champion Idaho, sitting 10th, are still mathematically alive for the sixth spot with two games remaining after a comeback win against Weber State.

HS Daily - 10.20.17 MCC Edition: Chiawana Claims Top 4A Seed; Kamiakin Unbeaten Champs

With a 9-1 record since Summer Yates returned from international duty with the USA YNT, the Chiawana Riverhawks no doubt deserve the top spot among the 4A schools in the Mid-Columbia Conference, but it came down to the final day of the regular season as Richland was in the running for the top seed as well.

Top Tweets 10.20.18: Goals, Laughs and More

Here's some great tweets, including goal videos!

HS Daily 10.20.17 - GSL Edition: 3A Top Seed Still at Stake on Final Day

 

Central Valley has run away with the regular season Greater Spokane League title, but going into the final match day today, races are still very open. The top seed from the 3A is still up for grabs between Mt Spokane and North Central. Seeding from third to fifth in the 4A group will all be determined as well with the three sides separated by just two points.

INW Best XI - Week 8: Defense Fuels Top Women's Sides

Many of the top teams in the area grabbed victories last week behind the effort of either stifling defensive performances in which their opponents were lucky if they had opportunities to get a shot on target or players that were offensive threats at the other end.

A number of Spokane area players have Western Washington and Concordia on top of the GNAC with unbeaten 8-0-0 and 7-0-1 records. The Vikings rolled to a pair of easy wins and the Cavaliers kept pace with a pair of shutout victories as well, including a narrow 1-0 decision against mid-table Northwest Nazarene. The defense for the Cavs, led by Katie Greene (Spokane, WA), allowed just one shot on goal in the two matches.

On the men's side, Rocky Mountain pulled within one point of the league leader Southern Oregon in the CCC thanks to a victory over previously unbeaten Corban that was propelled by Chasen Lashure. Down one on the road against the Warriors Lashure tied the match up before the break, and in the second half he scored again to push the lead to two en route to a big 4-1 result.

Lower Division Updates 10.18.17: Rocky Mountain Men Sweep in Tight CCC Race

In an extremely tight race for the regular season title in the Cascade Conference, the Rocky Mountain College men swept their two games against tough opposition on the road last week. The opened things up with a convincing 4-1 victory at Corban versus a Warriors side that is also challenging for the top spot, and then topped mid-table Northwest Christian 2-1. The Bears are 8-1-0 and have pulled away from the pack in a three-way race for the top seed in the postseason with 8-1-1 Southern Oregon and 7-1-1 Corban.

On the other side of the CCC the Eastern Oregon ladies are still perfect at 7-0-0, picking up an easy win at Warner Pacific that clinched a playoff spot.

Though longtime power Whitworth has turned a corner on their season with a four-game win streak thanks to a pair of road wins last week, the story remains the ladies in Spokane. The Pirates suffered their first defeat of the campaign over the weekend, but quickly rebounded with a thunderous 5-1 result in the second half of their trip for an 8-1-1 mark. The loss, though, allowed 9-1-0 Pacific Lutheran to jump into first.

In Nampa, the Northwest Nazarene sides had a fairly eventful week. The ladies split in a pair of close contests, falling via a penalty kick 1-0 on the road against unbeaten Concordia and defeating Western Oregon with a dramatic 1-0 overtime decision. The men topped MSU-Billings 3-1. The matches marked their final games as the Crusaders with the school announcing on Monday that it has officially rebranded as the Nighthawks beginning immediately, a decision that is believed to have made NCAA history according to the program because its men's golf team was playing in a tournament at the time of the announcement, making it the first team in NCAA history to undergo a name change in the middle of game competition.

Top Tweets 10.18.17 : NNU Takes Flight

Check out these tweets!

INW HS Best XI - Week 7: Kamiakin, Hanford Defense Stands Strong

In a week in which several of the top teams clashed over the course of three match days, a number of standout performances stood out, chief among them being the work put forth by the defensive units from Hanford and Kamiakin that led both the Falcons and Braves to a pair of wins earlier in the week before the two squared off in a scoreless stalemate on Saturday.

After a relatively easy campaign behind a great offense that allowed her to register four shutouts, Kamiakin's Grace Wilbur faced her first big test of the season with games against red-hot Chiawana - the second highest scoring team - and second-place Richland on Tuesday and Thursday. If that was not enough, the Braves had to finish the week against the league's second best defense when Hanford visited. She allowed just one goal on the week as they topped Chiawana 3-1, edged Richland in a narrow 1-0 decision and went the distance, claiming a shootout in after a scoreless draw versus the Falcons.

HS Daily - 10.16.17: Kamiakin Survives Shootout to Remain Unbeaten

A long week full of tough opponents may have taken its toll as the Braves had to go the distance on Saturday against Hanford, the league's second best defense. In their first shootout of the campaign, though, Kamiakin prevailed for yet another win to remain perfect at 12-0 for the season.

The final week for the MCC should go without much drama as most of the contests feature top sides facing teams from the bottom with the exception of Hanford (7-5), which plays at Chiawana and hosts Richland, the two sides above them in the race for top 4A seed and second overall in the league. Those two contests, though, will likely determine whether Richland (9-3) or Chiawana (8-4) take the top seed as they face Pasco (1-11) and Kennewick (2-10), respectively, in the their other matches. In 3A, Southridge and Kennewick, separated by one win, will square off on Tuesday in a key matchup. The Suns won the first meeting at home 4-3.

Saturday also saw plenty of drama in the GNL as both contests went down to the wire. Cheney pulled even twice but Clarkston prevailed in a shootout to go top of the table on points while East Valley found a literal last-minute winner to edge one-win Pullman on the road.

Top Tweets 10.16.17

Here's some of the most interesting tweets from this weekend, including goal videos!

Big Sky Plus - 10.15.17 DI Round-Up: Eastern Washington Edges Montana, Clinch Playoff Spot

It was a bit of an odd one in Cheney Sunday as the Eagles rushed the Montana goal quickly and created an own goal in the first minute of play that would stand as the deciding tally despite Montana having the vast majority of shots thanks to another quality defensive effort, own goal aside. The victory assured the Eagles of a postseason spot and put them in a commanding lead atop the table as the lone unbeaten. Sunday's contest was the second of back-to-back games against the second place opponents with the Grizzlies having jumped into the spot after Friday's results, allowing the Eagles to create a four-point gap over Portland State, who they defeated Friday, with three games remaining.

Meanwhile in Idaho, Boise State was the lone side celebrating on Sunday following a 3-1 Mountain West win at Wyoming. Idaho State was easily dispatched by Northern Arizona and Idaho fell yet again.

NWAC East Tonight 10.14.17: Couple Close Ones, But Business As Usual

A few of the top sides played to some close results on the scoreboard Saturday, though the statistics and flow of the game were decidedly otherwise. Chief among them was Spokane's 2-1 win at Wenatchee Valley in the women's contest where a handful of shots went off the woodwork. Similarly, the Walla Walla men and women only got two in their games at Treasure Valley.

In the end, though, all the top teams prevailed on the pitch to maintain their place in the tables, which clinched the three postseason sides - Spokane and North Idaho joining Walla Walla - in the women's table and putting the top three in the men's table on the verge of clinching with NIC seven points back of third with three games remaining.

HS Daily - 10.14.17: Tigers Top Mead in Shootout; CV Clinches

Needing as many points as they can get to help their case for finishing second, Lewis & Clark had to settle for two in a closely-fought contest Friday evening at Mead, winning the contest in a shootout after giving up a late equalizer.

The result, though, muddied the waters a bit more in the GSL race for second as five teams now sit separated by just two points with 7-0 Central Valley having clinched the top spot on points with two games remaining due to 5-2 Gonzaga having dropped a point in a shootout. Prep and Mead are now level at 14 points with University one point back and LC at 12 in the 4A standings.

Mt Spokane is in that group, but also in command among the 3A schools with a four point lead over North Central.

Meanwhile, Ferris is beginning to climb out of the basement thanks to a rout of Rogers Friday that kicked off a three-game swing against 3A opponents to close out the season. Unfortunately it comes to late as it would only max their total to 12 for the season having gone 1-4 against their fellow 4A sides.

Key contests in the final week of play next week will see University at Mead Wednesday and at Gonzaga Prep Friday in a pair of matches while LC plays host to Rogers and Mt Spokane. With the Tigers chasing a better postseason position, their final game could help North Central if the Indians can take advantage of their showdown with Mt Spokane on Wednesday and can get a win against Ferris in their finale.

Top Tweets 10.14.17: Big Day in Big Sky and more

Check out these great tweets, including goal videos!

Big Sky Plus - 10.13.17 DI Round-Up: Eagles Win Big Sky Top-of-Table Clash

Unbeaten Eastern Washington took care of business in what proved to be fairly easy fashion in a first-place showdown with Portland State Friday afternoon, and with Montana claiming a narrow win via overtime at Idaho, they will face a second consecutive top-of-the-table clash Sunday against the Grizzlies. Montana's win also left Idaho, by virtue of other results, in last place in the Big Sky a year after winning the regular season title.

HS Daily - 10..13.17: Kamiakin Survives Tough Tests to Remain Perfect

Facing a tough slate this week, the Kamiakin Braves topped Chiawana handily and edged second-place Richland to remain perfect atop the MCC going into the final week of the season.

The GSL, meanwhile, has quite a race going for second place in the league with four teams tied at 4-2, including 3A Mt Spokane, and Lewis & Clark just one game back. The teams from second (Mead) to sixth (LC) are separated by three points with three game days remaining. Gonzaga Prep pipped Mead in a shootout Wednesday to pull the Panthers within reach and University snatched a shootout win against Lewis & Clark to remain in the picture.

The Great Northern League is much more of a wide-open race than the season looked in the early going as West Valley and Cheney have picked up some momentum. The Eagles, in particular, have climbed out of a hole to third in the league with the top four separated by five points with five gamedays remaining.

In the Northeast A League, however, Lakeside is pulling away at 9-1 with Freeman suffering their first losses of the season recently as they took on a tough loaded schedule with make-up games. Deer Park and Medical Lake are in a race with Freeman for second in a league where matches among the league leaders are regularly featuring goalfests.

Top Tweets 10.13.17

Here's some of the most interesting tweets, including goal videos!

INW Best XI - Week 7: Montana Duo Lead Grizzlies, Battlin' Bears to Wins

The University of Montana moved to 3-1-1 with a pair of key wins over the weekend to stay near the top of the table with a big trip coming up this weekend in which they will face current Big Sky leader Eastern Washington. Bozeman native Alexa Coyle played a role in both of the game-winning goals as they edged Sacramento State 1-0 and topped Northern Arizona in a comeback win in overtime.

On the men's side goalkeeper Cole Catlin of Billings led his hometown Rocky Mountain College to a pair of shutout wins on the road against mid-table Montana foes Carroll and Providence.

For games through Sunday, October 8

Lower Division Updates 10.12.17: Northwest Nazarene Women Climb to Third With Two Wins

The Northwest Nazarene ladies took care of business at home with a win over struggling Central Washington but it was a big 1-0 overtime win against Seattle Pacific Saturday that helped push them up to third in the GNAC table on a weekend that saw several upsets with three previously winless sides picking up victories. MSU-Billings was among that trio with 4-1 result against mid-table Simon Fraser. The results, however, left Central Washington as the lone side without victory.

In the Northwest Conference, the story remains the Whitworth women, who finished the first swing through opponents unbeaten for one of the best starts in program history. Midweek they won a squeaker against rival Whitman and on the weekend they topped Linfield on the road in a close contest. On a quiet weekend on the men's side the Pirates completed the sweep against the Blues in a back-and-forth affair to pull even with Whitman in the table. The defending champions, though, still sit three games back of the leaders.

In the Cascade Conference the Eastern Oregon women continue to reign supreme with two more victories pushing them to 6-0-0 in the league, giving them a two-game points advantage over the rest. Rocky Mountain, though, swept fellow Montana foes Carroll and Providence on the road for a 4-1-0 mark to keep within striking distance of the Mountaineers. The RMC men did the same to advance their record to 6-1-0, sitting three points back of the leaders as part of a top four that have one or no losses.

NWAC East Tonight 10.11.17: NIC Men Top WVC to Stay In Hunt for Postseason

With the postseason drawing closer and closer, the gaps between the top sides and the rest of the NWAC East division teams is looming large. Walla Walla, Spokane and North Idaho have a clear separation on the women's side, but the on the men's North Idaho is sitting in the middle of the gap.

On Wednesday, contenders Walla Walla and Columbia Basin (Spokane was idle) took care of business against two of the bottom teams in the region. North Idaho, meanwhile, needed to make sure to do the same to maintain the two-game point deficit between themselves and the top three to keep a playoff spot within striking distance. Despite an initial two-goal lead at home against Wenatchee Valley, it was not an easy task as the Knights rallied to tie things up in the second before the Cardinals finally pulled away with the win.

The result was huge for NIC, which has all three leaders for their final three games of the regular season, and all three of the leaders face one another in their final games.  The three match dates from Wednesday October 18 to Wednesday the 25th will be dynamic gamedays.

Top Tweets 10.11.17: From HS Highlights to WC Qualifying notes & vids

Here's some of the most interesting tweets from this weekend, including goal videos!

INW HS Best XI - Week 6: Heroes Rise During Rivalry Week

A week that saw many rivals square off against one another produced quite a few standout performances. Chief among them may have been Chelsea Koker, who helped guide West Valley from near the bottom of the table to within striking distance of the leaders with wins against Cheney and rival East Valley. She provided the winner against Cheney and tallied a hat-trick while erasing a two-goal deficit at rival East Valley.

Big Sky Plus - 10.9.17 DI Round-Up: Montana, Eastern Among Big Sky Leaders as Idaho Gets First Win

The defending regular season champion Idaho Vandals finally picked up their first conference win this season in their fifth contest on Sunday with a 2-1 result at North Dakota. Meanwhile, Eastern Washington remains unbeaten in the top spot but are home to a pair of huge games next weekend, playing host to second place Portland State and third place Montana, which makes the relatively short trip west to play Idaho and Eastern.

Boise State also picked up a win Sunday with three first half goals holding strong against Colorado College, and a trio of locals from Spokane and Moses Lake scored goals around the nation.

Top Tweets 10.08.17

Here's some of the most interesting tweets from this weekend, including goal videos! Got a great tweet you want INWsn to see, tag us @INWsoccernews on Twitter. 

Gameday - Gonzaga Ladies Fall 2-1 to Santa Clara

In an evenly-fought affair, Gonzaga suffered their first loss at home this season in nine contests, dropping a 2-1 decision against a regular WCC power Santa Clara Sunday. In consolation, the goal was the Lady Zags' 35th of the campaign, setting a single season record for the program.

NWAC East Tonight 10.7.17: Spokane Men Jump to First, Walla Walla Women Still Perfect

The Spokane men jumped from third to first on the weekend as they topped the Blue Mountain and Treasure Valley duo while co-leader Columbia Basin played to a draw against Wenatchee Valley. The other former co-leader Walla Walla was idle. Meanwhile, North Idaho rebounded from last week's tragic trip south where they lost to Blue Mountain and tied Treasure Valley, beating both Friday and Saturday.

Columbia Basin's surprise loss to Wenatchee Valley, who had one shot on goal in the contest, created a clear separation between the top three and the rest in the women's table as Spokane and North Idaho picked up a double dose of wins against Blue Mountain and Treasure Valley on the weekend. Walla Walla remains unbeaten thanks to a 2-0 road win at Yakima Valley.

Big Sky Plus - 10.7.17 DI Round-Up: Gonzaga, Santa Clara Win Big Before Sunday Showdown

In the Big Sky Conference the Eastern Washington ladies kept their lone unbeaten status intact with an overtime victory on the road at North Dakota and Montana also picked up a narrow win, 1-0, against Sacramento State. The bigger results on the day, though, came in the West Coast Conference where Gonzaga rolled to a huge 6-2 victory against visiting San Francisco ahead of Sunday's home contest against Santa Clara, who won 4-1 in Portland with a pair of goals from Spokane native Kelsey Turnbow.

Top Tweets 10.07.17

Check out some of these great Tweets from the past two days. Goal vids from area colleges/players... and of course in this first edition: All Four USA Goals!!

HS Daily - 10.6.17: West Valley Upsets Rival East Valley, Pasco Gets First Win

In a pair of upsets on the night, the West Valley Eagles surprised rival East Valley with a 4-3 victory in a dramatic back-and-forth GNL affair and the Pasco Bulldogs picked up their first win in the MCC, getting the better of Hanford in a shootout after a scoreless stalemate.

In another big contest, Lakeside handed Freeman its first NEA loss as the two title contenders squared off, rallying for a 2-1 victory.

PLUS... first edition of stats tables below!

INW Best XI - Week 6: Rydeen Guides Mavericks in Pair of Shutouts

Goalkeeper Ryann Rydeen has been in a rotation with her teammate at Minnesota State, where the pair have been guiding a defense that had seven shutouts in eight games going into the weekend. She got the nod Friday against a winless Minnesota-Crookston, but more importantly was also chosen for a huge NSIC showdown against fellow unbeaten Bemidji State in which she recorded her fifth shutout of the campaign.

HS Daily - 10.5.17: Mead, CV & Shadle Edge Rivals

On a night full of rivalry contests, three of the four went down to the wire in one-goal or tiebreaker decisions. Mead nipped Mt Spokane on a last-minute strike, one goal gave Central Valley a win against University and a shootout was needed in a dramatic contest between Shadle Park and North Central.

Whitworth Women Edge Rival Whitman, Remain Unbeaten

The Whitworth ladies are still unbeaten after seven, posting their fifth shutout in conference play in a 1-0 victory against rival Whitman to move to 6-0-1. The defense has allowed just three goals against their conference opposition thus far with this Saturday's contest at Linfield being the final match of the first half of the season.

NWAC East Tonight 10.4.17: Warriors Sweep WVC, Spokane Unbeaten at North Idaho

The unbeaten Walla Walla Warriors posted another big win to move to 8-0-0 in the women's table while the men pulled even on points with Columbia Basin with their victory against the Wenatchee Valley Knights. Spokane, meanwhile, saw the ladies roll to a big win against the Cardinals while the defense led the men in a scoreless draw in which they did not allow NIC a single shot.

HS Daily - 10.4.17: Upsets and More Across All Three Leagues

It was a dramatic night across all three leagues Tuesday evening as several contests featured title contenders squaring off and several others featured upset performances from the underdogs.

In MCC Chiawana kept its hot run with the presence of Summer Yates going, reeling in second-place Richland with a victory over the Bombers to pull within one win in the table. Hanford, which came into the night tied with Chiawana in third, attempted to hand Kamiakin it's first loss, but only manage to keep them from getting their max tally of bonus points for the first time.

In the GNL Clarkston won the top-of-the-table clash with East Valley, handing the Knights their first loss while West Valley jumped out of a tie for last with a narrow win over Cheney, who missed an opportunity to pull even with the leaders in wins.

Another contenders clash in the NEA saw Lakeside claim a shootout win against visiting Deer Park after a 2-2 affair. Meanwhile, Riverside stunned visiting Colville to register their first victory of the season.

INW HS Best XI - Week 5: Comeback and Late Wins Net Weekly Honors

There were quite a few games last week that saw teams rally to wins with both Deer Park and Freeman rallying from two down for wins as well as a dramatic Mt Spokane win over an upper-class opponent from a one-goal deficit. Emmy Moore usually grabs the headlines for Deer Park now that Riley Martinson has graduated, but this week's Player of the Week selection Jessie Thomas has been going on a scoring spree of late. She scored seven goals and had an assist last week, but her nod for the award came from her involvement in all five goals in the Stags' comeback win against Colville.

Lower Division Updates 10.2.17: Whitworth and Eastern Oregon Women Still Unbeaten

Three weeks into one of their best conference starts in program history the Whitworth women are atop the Northwest Conference with a 5-0-1 mark. Facing regular powers in the conference, they played Puget Sound to a dramatic 2-2 draw on Saturday and then edged fellow unbeaten Pacific Lutheran Sunday in a top of the table clash, recording their fourth shutout in six games with a 1-0 decision for the top spot in the standings.

The Eastern Oregon ladies are also on top of the Cascade Conference table after four games, sweeping a pair of visiting Montana foes to move to 4-0-0 on the season. They beat Carroll 2-0 and Providence 3-2 in a back-and-forth thriller.

Outside of the region, Ryan Rydeen (Spokane, WA) and Megan Lowery (Hayden, ID / NIC) had outstanding performances for Minnesota State and the University of Mary, respectively.

Big Sky Plus - 10.1.17 DI Round-Up: Eags Remain Unbeaten, Cougs Blast Ranked Utah

Eastern Washington rolled to a big win over Southern Utah Sunday with a three-goal second half. The 4-0 result was their third consecutive shutout to start conference play and leaves the Eagles as the only unbeaten at 2-0-1. A little further south in Pullman the Cougars also posted a big victory, blanking 24th-ranked Utah 3-0 win.

NWAC East Update 10.1.17: Walla Walla Men Top Columbia Basin, Blue Mountain Get First Win

In the marquee contest of the week between two of the top sides in the men's side, Walla Walla moved to 4-2-0 on the season by handing Columbia Basin their first loss in a 2-1 decision, keeping the now 5-1-0 Hawks in striking range of the Warriors and 4-1-0 Spokane. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table the Blue Mountain men picked up their first win of the year with a victory over North Idaho.

All six games on the women's sides were one-sided affairs, but the highlight among them was Yakima Valley's first victory in divisional play against an opponent other than Blue Mountain. The Yaks were off to a great start with only two losses in five games, but aside from the 15-1 win over Blue Mountain the other three had been draws.