Saturday was a rough one for the NWAC East, which went from sweeping the previous weekend to being completely knocked out of the postseason. In six contests only Walla Walla's Jennifer Inions and Columbia Basin's Emilio Herrera - both from Prosser, WA - were able to find the back of the net.
The end result is the first pair of Final Four events for the NWAC since 2003 (start of online records) in which there will be no teams from the East. On the men's side the 2011 Final Four was the only previous time that no team reached the league semifinals. Last year was the first-time that a women's side did not make it to the Final Four.
WOMEN - QUARTERFINALS
W2 Bellevue 0-4 S1 Clark :: Four different players scored for Clark, which only led by one at the half on a sixth minute strike. They doubled the lead though 17 seconds after intermission and added two more after Bellevue lost a player to a second yellow in the 69th.
E3 Walla Walla 1-3 W1 Highline :: Jennifer Inions (Prosser, WA) put the Warriors in front at the six-minute mark but the hosts struck twice right before the break to go into halftime up one. The first came in the 41st with the winner coming less than three minutes later. The Warriors would get a player advantage in the second half via a red card, but it came with just a couple minutes remaining and Highline were able to add a late goal in stoppage to ice matters.
E2 North Idaho 0-1 N1 Peninsula :: Taylor Graham scored four minutes before intermission to give the Pirates the lead. Kaysha Bailey (Lewiston, ID) made seven saves to keep the Cardinals in it, but they were unable to find an equalizer in the second half.
W3 Tacoma 0-0 (5-4 SO) E1 Spokane :: An ugly, sloppy first half gave way to some better play from both sides in the second, but the defense for both limited the quality of the looks on goal and the two would end up in a stalemate. The penalties, though, were all on target until the final attempt from Spokane was stopped by Aliya Encisco for the victory.
NWAC FINAL FOUR - Starfire
Semifinals, Friday November 9
W3 Tacoma v S1 Clark 12:30
W1 Highline v N1 Peninsula 3:00
Championship, Sunday, November 11
All-Star Game - Sunday, 9:00 am - Starfire
MEN - QUARTERFINALS
E3 Columbia Basin 1-3 W1 Highline :: The Hawks were locked in a stalemate with Highline until Jason Rodriguez scored twice in the 59th and 71st to give the hosts control. Nathan Martinez (Pasco, WA), though, found Emilio Herrera (Prosser, WA) two minutes later to make things interesting until Highline added some insurance with less than two minutes left.
E2 Spokane 0-1 N1 Whatcom :: A goal in the 30th minute proved to be the difference. Caleb Garbuio made six saves to keep Spokane in the match, but they were unable to find an equalizer.
W3 Pierce 3-0 E1 Walla Walla :: Pierce tallied in the 28th minute and made the goal stand for control of the game before adding two more late, doubling the lead in the 75th and icing things with a minute remaining.
W2 Tacoma 2-2 (4-1 SO) S1 Southwestern Oregon :: The visitors grabbed the initial lead in the ninth minute with the hosts answering in the 25th. In the second half SW Oregon claimed the lead in the 64th with Tacoma finding an equalizer seven minutes from time and eventually advancing in the tiebreaker.
NWAC FINAL FOUR - Starfire
Semifinals, Friday November 9
W3 Pierce v W2 Tacoma 5:30
N1 Whatcom v W1 Highline 8:00
Championship, Sunday, November 11, 4:00
All-Star Game - Sunday, 11:00 am - Starfire
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