Yakima Valley defeated Spokane Wednesday, tightening the race in the NWAC East women's division as all three sides behind them, YVC included, picking up victories to gain ground on the Bigfoot. North Idaho pulled even with the Bigfoot and Walla Walla within a point with road wins.
On the men's side Columbia Basin used a close-fought win against Treasure Valley to jump a spot over North Idaho, which fell in a tight one at Wenatchee Valley.
Spokane's scoring struggles against the opposition (TVCC and BMCC excluded) finally caught up with them Wednesday afternoon in Yakima where the Yaks posted a mammoth 5-0 result. After a few narrow victories and a pair of scoreless draws, a divisional loss for the Sasquatch was not an unforeseen moment for the season, but the result was surprising as it was just the second-ever against Yakima Valley and marked the first time since a 5-0 loss at Walla Walla in October of 2013 that they were defeated by that margin in the NWAC East.
In fact, that loss to the Warriors on the eve of Halloween was the only time since their unbeaten 2012 season that Spokane - which has only lost in divisional play five times in that span - had fallen by more than one goal against NWAC East opposition.
For the Yaks, it was only the fourth time in 22 meetings (18-2-2*) going back to their entry to the league in 2006 they earned a positive result against the Bigfoot. The two played to a 1-1 tie in Yakima a year ago. Before then, the last time YVC avoided defeat was in 2010 when they won their first meeting of the season 4-3 in early October and drew 3-3 two weeks later. [*NWAC online records do not indicate any matches for 2007 but may be incomplete]
WOMEN
Spokane 0-5 Yakima :: The Yaks posted another stunner this season with Natalie Wright kicking things off with a pair of goals five minutes apart. Ciel McDonald connected with her for the first int he 22nd and Sessi Allott in the 27th. Allott made it three six minutes into the second half when she received a through ball from Maddie Hoffman. Hoffman then turned scorer, converting a penalty in the 76th after being fouled in the box. Courtney Handlen capped the contest when defender Adriana Gonzalez put her on a breakaway in the 86th. Brynlee Ward recorded the shutout for the Yaks, who were outshot 21-13 in the contest.
Nice to get the home win over #3 ranked Spokane today with goals coming from Wright x2 (McdDonald, Allott), Allott (Hoffman), Hoffman, and Handlen (Gonzalez). Ward and the defense with the clean sheet. pic.twitter.com/OQbMLk1cjC— YVCSoccer (@Yaks_Soccer) October 11, 2018
North Idaho 3-0 Wenatchee Valley :: After a scoreless first half the Cardinals caught fire and came away with the key road win to pull even with rival Spokane in the table. Sahkora George scored the first in the 60th minute via Emmaleah Allen and tallied again seven minutes later. Melissa Decker added a third goal with six minutes remaining. Kaysha Bailey made three saves for the shutout.
Walla Walla 2-0 Blue Mountain :: Forward Caitlin Crist scored twice to give the Warriors the win in an easy match in which the defense allowed just two shots. Ashley Conrad set up the first goal in the 23rd and Tatyana Aills the second in the 64th. Courtney Leifer went untested in the first half and Danielle Dowd made two saves in the second to share the clean sheet.
Treasure Valley 0-2 Columbia Basin :: Midfielder Danielle Change put the Hawks on the board quickly via Mikayla Hunter within the first two minutes of the contest. CBC continued to control matters with Rebecca Wheeler adding a second courtesy of Kiani Hill 10 minutes into the second half. The defense allowed just two shots by the Chukars with Caitlyn Hossfeld making stops on both for the shutout.
Notes: Bailey Johnson (Idaho Falls, ID) scored the final goal for Lane in a 5-0 win against Southwestern Oregon... Kaeli Vangrimbergen (Spokane, WA) tallied the final goal for Whatcom in a 7-0 win versus Shoreline.
Standings
Spokane 7-1-2... 23 pts
North Idaho 7-1-2... 23
Walla Walla 7-2-1... 22
Yakima Valley 6-3-1... 19
Columbia Basin 4-2-4... 16
Wenatchee Valley 2-7-1... 7
Treasure Valley 1-8-1... 4
Blue Mountain 0-10-0... 0
Coming Up Saturday...
Treasure Valley @ Walla Walla 12:00
Columbia Basin @ Blue Mountain 12:00
Yakima Valley @ North Idaho 12:00
Wenatchee Valley @ Spokane 3:00
MEN
Treasure Valley 2-3 Columbia Basin :: The Chukars tied the match up twice, but the hosts prevailed in the end with Jovanni Carriedo providing the winning goal in the 75th. Brian Licona put the Hawks up in the 12th minute and they held the lead through the rest of the half and into the second before Josh Corral evened things up for TVCC in the 51st. Licona scored another go-ahead goal in the 62nd, but the Chukars answered quickly this time with Jesus Lechuga equalizing two minutes later.
Walla Walla 4-0 Blue Mountain :: The Warriors took care of business on the road against the winless Timberwolves, but it wasn't easy. Edwin Romero scored just eight minutes in, but it was not until he scored two more in the second half that they controlled matters. His second came in the 61st and the hat-trick was wrapped up in the 70th. Freddy Rodriguez finished things up in the 73rd and Alex Grimaldo finished with four saves for the shutout.
North Idaho 0-1 Wenatchee Valley :: The Knights dominated the contest with 20 shots to NIC's two, but they would not find a winner until the 81st minute when Cristian Barajas found Greysen Gilman for the deciding goal. Alexis Calderilla made just one stop for the shutout while his counterpart Isaiah Damschen made seven at the other end for the Cardinals.
Notes: Juan Soto (Yakima, WA) scored the opening goal for Skagit Valley in a 4-3 win against Everett on an assist from Paul Cuevas (Yakima, WA), who went on to score the third goal. Edgar Ramirez (Yakima, WA) tallied the second and set up the game-winner.
Standings
Walla Walla 6-1-1...19 pts
Spokane 5-2-1... 16
Wenatchee Valley 5-3-1... 16
Columbia Basin 4-1-3... 15
North Idaho 4-4-1... 13
Treasure Valley 1-5-3... 6
Blue Mountain 0-9-0... 0
Coming Up Saturday...
Treasure Valley @ Walla Walla 2:15
Columbia Basin @ Blue Mountain 2:15
Wenatchee Valley @ Spokane 5:15
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