Last Wednesday was a day of firsts on the men's side as Walla Walla finally picked up its first victory while Spokane suffered its first defeat. The Sasquatch loss allowed Columbia Basin to step to the top of the table with their pair of victories, which also enabled them to secure a playoff spot. The Warriors, meanwhile, used their road trip to finally get going in the win column with a sweep of Blue Mountain and Treasure Valley.
On the women's side Yakima Valley's two matches made a huge impact on the race for the three playoff berths as their draw against North Idaho cost both sides, who were trailing Spokane, which avenged an earlier season loss to the Yaks with a 1-0 win in Yakima Saturday to further increase their lead. The results also enabled unbeaten Walla Walla to officially lock up a postseason berth.
Wednesday
W - Spokane 4-1 Wenatchee Valley... Megan Wilkinson (Pasco, WA) set up Frankie Schade's (Spokane, WA) opening goal three minutes in and tallied herself in the 29th. Morgan Skone (Moses Lake, WA) made it three in the 33rd with the Knights getting their lone tally less than a minute later via Erin Aamold (Wenatchee, WA). Wilkinson capped things off in the second half by finding Lizzy Gonzalez (Caldwell, ID) for the final goal in the 59th.
W - North Idaho 1-1 Yakima Valley... Sofia Schnepf's (Rathdrum, ID) hot streak continued with a 40-yard strike in the 32nd minute to give the Cardinals the advantage on the road. A corner from Corynn Vigil (Spokane, WA) found the head of Kirsten Stickney (Addy, WA) in the 57th to even things up. Kaysha Bailey (Lewiston, ID) made 12 saves to keep the Yaks at bay while Brynlee Ward (Pocatello, ID) made seven at the other end as the two battled to a stalemate that lost ground for both in the playoff chase.
W - Columbia Basin 3-1 Treasure Valley... Rebecca Wheeler scored the opener for the Hawks in the 17th minute with the Chukars pulling even three minutes before intermission through Brenda Trejo (Ontario, OR). Jasmine Silva (Tieton, WA) put CBC back in front in the 53rd and Mya Spencer (Ephrata, WA) pushed the lead to two via Danielle Chang, who was part of a three-player send-off in the 62nd minute that saw two TVCC players also ejected. It marked the second consecutive appearance for Chang in which she was sent off.
Saturday
W - Walla Walla 4-1 Treasure Valley... Trejo stunned the Warriors for the opening goal in the 12th minute, but a penalty evened it up in the 30th when Eileen Reyna converted. Walla Walla took care of business to remain unbeaten in the second half. Taylen Wohl (Clarkston, WA) tallied via Aubree Skone (Warden, WA) in the 66th and 88th with Maher scoring in between in the 86th as the Warriors put a stamp on things late.
W - Blue Mountain 1-6 Columbia Basin... Minus the suspended Chang, the Hawks still rolled to the victory against the winless Timberwolves. Wheeler scored the first two back-to-back in the 32nd and 34th minutes. Megan Burchard put the visitors on the board in the 52nd, but the Hawks scored four in the final 12 minutes. Wheeler pushed her tally to four in the 79th and 81st before Cassidie Andrews and Tiahnee Freitas finished things out.
W - North Idaho 5-1 Wenatchee Valley... Maya Lewis scored just two minutes in and Schnepf pushed it to two in the 21st. Sydnee Pixlee (Ephrata, WA) put the Knights on the board in the 37th, but Kiani Hill (Idaho Falls, ID) quickly restored the two goal lead for the Cardinals two minutes later and Schnepf piled on in the 40th. Sydney Moore (Spokane, WA) tallied the lone goal of the second half.
W - Spokane 1-0 Yakima Valley... The Sasquatch avenged their shocking home loss to the Yaks earlier in the season with Lizzy Gonzalez (Caldwell, ID) providing the winner via Schade in the 22nd. Brianna Krygier (Spokane, WA) made nine saves for the shutout while Ward made nine stops as well at the other end for Yakima Valley.
Women's NWAC East Table
*Walla Walla 10-0-1... 31 points
Columbia Basin 8-1-2... 26
Spokane 8-3-0... 24
North Idaho 6-3-2... 20
Yakima Valley 5-3-3... 18
Treasure Valley 2-9-0... 6
Wenatchee Valley 0-10-1... 1
Blue Mountain 0-10-1... 1
* Clinched playoff berth (3 total)
Wednesday
M - Walla Walla 2-0 Blue Mountain... A victory at long last. The Warriors eliminated the goose egg with a goal from Jonathan Vega (Boise, ID) in the first half and another from Jose Peralta (Boardman, OR) in the second. Antonio Campos (Hermiston, OR) made three saves for the shutout.
M - Spokane 4-6 Wenatchee Valley... The Knights seem to have Spokane's number as they were the only team in the East to net more than a goal against the Sasquatch in the first run through. Jose Camarillo's (Wenatchee, WA) opener in the 10th minute proved pivotal as the Bigfoot were never able to claim the lead despite pulling even twice. David Uribe (Pasco, WA) scored an equalizer less than a minute later, but the Knights hit for two back-to-back over the next six minutes via Luis Rodriguez (Royal City, WA) and Sergio Bravo (Wenatchee, WA). Uribe, though, fought back with goals in the 18th and 20th bringing the final tally to six goals in the first 20 minutes of the match. Things calmed down from there, but sparked again in the second half. Camarillo found Luis Navarrete (Wenatchee, WA), who had two assists in the match as well, in the 50th and then scored again himself via Rodriguez in the 64th. Uribe hit for a fourth in the 65th to pull within one again, but the Knights clamped down on things and Camarillo finished his hat-trick with three minutes left for some insurance.
M - Columbia Basin 6-0 Treasure Valley... Six different players scored for the Hawks as they rolled to the easy win. Armando Nieblas (Pasco, WA) and Jason Cortes (Kennewick, WA) scored in the first and eighth minutes. Alejandro Guzman (Yakima, WA)tallied midway through the first half and Jose Gonzalez (Prescott, WA) capped the half at four. Kevin Meraz-Rodriguez (Pasco, WA) tallied shortly after intermission and Juan Mendoza (Yakima, WA) got on the board just shy of the hour mark. Though they were shutout, the Chukars kept the keepers busy with Danny Puga (Pasco, WA) making four saves and Jose Moreno (Pasco, WA) three for CBC.
Saturday
M - Walla Walla 5-0 Treasure Valley... Erick Perez (Walla Walla, WA) scored 18 minutes in and Ian Reynoso (Yakima, WA) doubled the lead in the 33rd. Jonathan Vega (Boise, ID) found Alejandro Cuevas (Caldwell, ID) in the 41st and Hector Pena (Nampa, ID) eight minutes into the second half. Cuevas added a second goal with nine minutes left and Campos finished with two saves for the shutout.
M - North Idaho 0-2 Wenatchee Valley... Erik Owen (Wenatchee, WA) gave the Knights the lead three minutes in via Rodriguez and Ignacio Castillo (Quincy, WA) added some insurance at the hour mark. Alexis Calderilla (Wenatchee, WA) made 10 saves for the clean sheet.
M - Blue Mountain 0-1 Columbia Basin... Mendoza scored the winner courtesy of Mario Negrete (Sunnyside, WA) in the 25th minute and Puga made three saves to make it stand.
Around the NWAC: Joel Witts (Bend, OR) made three saves for Rogue in 3-1 win at Clark.
Men's NWAC East Table
*Columbia Basin 7-1-1... 22 points
Spokane 6-1-2... 20
Wenatchee Valley 5-2-3... 18
Walla Walla 2-2-5... 11
North Idaho 3-4-2... 11
Blue Mountain 1-5-4... 7
Treasure Valley 0-9-1... 1
* Clinched playoff berth (3 total)
HOW IT FINISHES...
Wednesday
W - Columbia Basin @ North Idaho 1:00
W - Walla Walla @ Spokane 4:00
M - Columbia Basin @ North Idaho 3:15
M - Walla Walla @ Spokane 6:15
Friday
W - Wenatchee Valley @ Treasure Valley 12:00
W - Yakima Valley @ Blue Mountain 2:00
M - Wenatchee Valley @ Treasure Valley 2:15
Saturday
W - Yakima Valley @ Treasure Valley 11:00
W - Wenatchee Valley @ Blue Mountain 12:00
W - North Idaho @ Walla Walla 12:00
W - Spokane @ Columbia Basin 12:00
M - Spokane @ Columbia Basin 2:15
M - North Idaho @ Walla Walla 2:15
Wednesday, Oct 30
W - Blue Mountain @ Treasure Valley 11:00
W - Walla Walla @ Columbia Basin 1:00
W - Yakima Valley @ Wenatchee Valley 3:00
W - North Idaho @ Spokane 4:00
M - Blue Mountain @ Treasure Valley 2:15
M - Walla Walla @ Columbia Basin 3:15
M - North Idaho @ Spokane 6:15
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