Spokane gave Walla Walla a bit of a scare on Wednesday, but the Warriors took a 3-2 decision at home and then made a statement in the final game of the first half of the season, blanking Columbia Basin in convincing fashion Saturday.
On the men's side Spokane closed out the first half of the season unbeaten and a point ahead of CBC courtesy of a scoreless draw Wednesday at Walla Walla and a 2-0 win at rival North Idaho Saturday. In a shocker, a loss for Walla Walla Saturday combined with Blue Mountain taking the battle of the winless sides versus Treasure Valley allowed the Timberwolves to leap past the still winless (0-2-4) Warriors in the table.
Wednesday
W - Spokane 2-3 Walla Walla... The Warriors quickly grabbed the lead four minutes in through Caitlin Crist (Twin Falls, ID) but Kalle Crouch (Spokane, WA) just as quickly equalized four minutes later for the Sasquatch. Crist, though, struck again in the 13th minute via Brielle Schneider (Kennewick, WA), who later found Sariah Valencia (Grandview, WA) in the 61st for what proved to be the game-winner. Megan Wilkinson (Pasco, WA) pulled the visitors back within a goal in the 76th, but it was all the Bigfoot could find as they became the first side to tally twice against the Warriors this season.
Saturday
W - Columbia Basin 0-3 Walla Walla... In a showdown of two of the top sides the Warriors jumped out to a commanding lead in the first half and managed to shut down the Hawks from there. Aubree Skone (Warden, WA) found Jessica Maher (Richland, WA) for the opener 26 minutes in to give the hosts the initial advantage. Erin Leseberg (Kennewick, WA) then scored in the 32nd minute and found Ashley Conrad (Twin Falls, ID) for the final tally several minutes later. Josey Gunter (MaCammon, ID) made five stops for the shutout performance.
W - Wenatchee Valley 2-3 Yakima Valley... A thrilling back-and-forth first half saw the two sides go into the break even at two each, but the second half was a different affair as it was a 74th minute strike from Natalie Wright that decided the contest. It was the third time the Yaks had claimed the lead as Maddie Hoffman (Clarkston, WA) put them in front in the seventh and 39th minutes with a pair of goals. Erin Aamold (Wenatchee, WA) tied it up the first time in the 34th and Gretta Wiersma (Wenatchee, WA) equalized in the 41st for the Knights.
W - Treasure Valley 4-0 Blue Mountain... Four different players scored in the match for the Chukars. Sydney Chandler (Meridian, ID) provided the lone goal of the first half in the 32nd minute. Elexus Nochebuena (Blackfoot, ID) tallied in the 68th and later set up Maysi Thompson (Pocatello, ID) in the 89th for the final tally with Emily Bluemel scoring in between in the 79th. Karissa Willis (Spirit Lake, WA) finished the shutout with two saves.
W - Spokane 2-1 North Idaho... Lizzy Gonzalez (Caldwell, ID) found Morgan Skone (Moses Lake, WA) for the opening goal 29 minutes in for the Sasquatch and four minutes into the second half Frankie Schade (Spokane, WA) finished off a ball from Wilkinson for some needed insurance. Riley Klauss (Cheney, WA) put the Cardinals on the board in the 59th, but that was all the hosts could find in a comeback attempt.
Around the NWAC: Jessie Thomas (Deer Park, WA) set up the second goal for Clark in 5-0 win at Clackamas and set up another in 9-1 win at Chemeketa... Carissa Miller (Wenatchee, WA) scored the equalizer for Peninsula in 2-1 win at Skagit Valley.
Women's NWAC East Table
Walla Walla 7-0-0... 21 points
Yakima Valley 5-1-1... 16
Columbia Basin 4-1-2... 14
Spokane 4-3-0... 12
North Idaho 3-3-1... 10
Treasure Valley 2-5-0... 6
Wenatchee Valley 0-6-1... 1
Blue Mountain 0-6-1... 1
Wednesday
M - Spokane 0-0 Walla Walla... The two sides battled to the stalemate with Dylan Abad making four saves for unbeaten Spokane and Antonio Campos (Hermiston, OR) five for the Warriors, who came up short of a win yet again in a fourth draw.
Saturday
M - Treasure Valley 1-4 Blue Mountain... Edgar Lopez Ibarra tallied the lone goal of the first half in the 39th minute for the Timberwolves, who added two more back-to-back via Jonathan Reynoso in the 52nd and Andres Acuna in the 59th. Acuna found Thomas Martinez to make it four with eight minutes left. Dalton Mauzay (Cheney, WA) had just one save for the hosts before exiting after 65, but the Wolves saw the team shutout spoiled in the final minute by Joseph Donovan (Boise, ID).
M - Columbia Basin 1-0 Walla Walla... In the tightly contested match the Hawks prevailed courtesy of a goal from Mario Negrete (Sunnyside, WA) in the 41st minute. Jose Moreno (Pasco, WA) made two saves for the clean sheet while the Hawks forced seven saves from Campos at the other end in the loss.
M - Spokane 2-0 North Idaho... After a scoreless first half the Sasquatch broke the stalemate in the 55th when Julian Gutierrez found Brennan Murphy (Spokane, WA). Seven minutes later David Uribe (Pasco, WA) added some insurance as Spokane finished out the contest without allowing a shot on goal for Dylan Abad to deal with.
Around the NWAC: Isaac Reyna (North Bend, OR) scored for Lane in a 2-0 win against Chemeketa... Allen Escalante (Walla Walla, WA) registered an assist for Tacoma in 6-0 win against South Puget Sound... Edgar Ramirez (Yakima, WA) set up a goal for Skagit Valley in 2-1 loss to Peninsula and tallied in a 3-2 loss at Shoreline.
Men's NWAC East Table
Spokane 4-0-2... 14 points
Columbia Basin 4-1-1... 13
Wenatchee Valley 3-1-2... 11
North Idaho 2-3-1... 7
Blue Mountain 1-2-3... 6
Walla Walla 0-2-4... 4
Treasure Valley 0-5-1... 1
COMING UP THIS WEEK...
Wednesday
W - Wenatchee Valley @ Columbia Basin 1:00
W - Yakima Valley @ Walla Walla 4:00
M - Wenatchee Valley @ Columbia Basin 3:15
Friday
W - Treasure Valley @ North Idaho 1:00
W - Blue Mountain @ Spokane 4:00
M - Treasure Valley @ North Idaho 3:15
M - Blue Mountain @ Spokane 6:15
Saturday
W - Blue Mountain @ North Idaho 12:00
W - Wenatchee Valley @ Walla Walla 12:00
W - Yakima Valley @ Columbia Basin 12:00
W - Treasure Valley @ Spokane 12:00
M - Blue Mountain @ North Idaho 2:15
M - Wenatchee Valley @ Walla Walla 2:15
M - Treasure Valley @ Spokane 2:15
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