HS Round-Up 10.30: University Stuns Again With Another Scoreless Shootout Win

On Tuesday the University Titans shocked the top MCC 3A seed Southridge on the road with a shootout victory following a scoreless draw. The recipe seems to work well for them... as it was the same result Saturday against league foe Mead, earning an unexpected spot in the district final and a berth to state. 

It was one of three shootouts on the day. Ridgeline was eliminated from the postseason by Walla Walla after another scoreless stalemate, and after an exciting 1-1 affair versus Kamiakin the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups moved onto the 4A final, claiming a state berth. 

HS Round-Up 10.28: Freeman Stuns Lakeside; Shadle Wins at East Valley

Swept on the season by the other two NEA elites Deer Park and Lakeside by a combined tally of 13-3, it looked like Freeman would end up being in the third spot and taking the extra crossover game route to State. But as the saying goes, beating a team three times in a season is a tough task. Lakeside learned that the hard way in heartbreaking fashion as a 3-1 halftime lead proved not enough. 

HS Round-Up 10.26: GSL Nearly Sweeps Early Postseason Matchups Versus MCC

The positive results for the opening rounds of postseason play kicked off on Saturday with Lewis & Clark taking care of business against Hanford. Then on Tuesday, the Tigers were, however, the lone side to falter in five matchups between the two leagues, including a three-game sweep among the 3A contingent that has an all-GSL semifinal setup that guarantees at least two will be headed to state. 

And the night was full of drama as well. Central Valley posted a stunning two-goal rally to win 3-2 against Chiawana, Mead survived a tight 1-0 affair against Hermiston and University pulled off the upset of the night - according to seeding - with a shootout win against top MCC 3A seed Southridge after a scoreless contest.   

Cullen and Skinner Lead Late Season Pushes in Week 6 INWsn HS Best XI Lists

With late season title hopes Mead was being led by the hottest goalkeeper in the league with Mercedes Cullen on a lengthy shutout streak, earning Player of the Week honors. Meanwhile, Clarkston registered a huge win over unbeaten West Valley via Rebecca Skinner for a late chance at the GSL 2A title. 

HS Round-Up 10.22: West Valley Snags 2A Title, Deer Park Completes NEA Sweep

Other than Rogers getting their first goal of the league season and making Pullman sweat a bit in a close one, the final night of action was relatively quiet as Deer Park and West Valley finished off their regular season championship campaigns. 

For the Lady Stags it proved to be an unbeaten record as the lone other outstanding contest due to a postponement was ruled a forfeit.    

HS Round-Up 10.20: Prep Seals GSL Title; Wildcats Lock Up Top 3A Seed

The way things were going this season, you would have expected a crazy finish to the regular season, but despite a lot of drama with three extra time affairs things pretty much finished as they started on the day. 

The postseason kicks off Saturday with a 4A play-in game and gets underway in earnest Tuesday as the GSL sides face teams from the Mid Columbia Conference for the district title and state berths. 

HS Round-Up 10.19: Pullman Derails Clarkston; Deer Park Completes Elite Sweep

Well, well, well... a little drama this Tuesday evening. Just days after pulling even with West Valley, Clarkston was upended in Pullman by the Greyhounds. Though no game has been a gimme this year virtually anywhere (next game of topic prime example), Thursday's slate of East Valley for WV and Shadle Park for Clarkston - both home games - seems a pretty sure thing to see West Valley finish alone at the top. 

As for the other surprise on the night. While Deer Park finishing with a sweep of the other NEA elites - Lakeside and Freeman - was not a shock given the previous results, the manner in which it occured was a tad surprising. Despite starting eight freshman, host Freeman was able to shut down leading scorer Livvy Moore, preventing her from a bid to score in every league game, and hold the Lady Stags to a paltry 1-0 victory. 

HS Round-Up 10.18: Bullpups Edge CV; Overall Title Up for Grabs Wednesday

On a night of nailbiters with four of the five contests decided by one goal, only one thing was really decided. Gonzaga Prep's win secured the top 4A seed out of the GSL. Now it comes down to Wednesday with the GSL league title and the top 3A seed at stake with the top three sides - GP, Mt Spokane and Mead - all separated by just two points. 

HS Round-Up 10.16: Clarkston Hands West Valley First Loss; Wildcats Join Bullpups at the Top

Though not as many teams are as involved, it looks like GSL 2A is gonna go down to the wire as well with Clarkston and West Valley now having split on the season and need to avoid slip-ups in the final week. Meanwhile, a win in a makeup game on Friday allowed Mt Spokane to pull level with Gonzaga Prep in the other half of the GSL as five teams sit separated by four points going into the final two games next week. 

Ewers, Walker Power GSL Leaders for Week 5 INWsn HS Best XI Lists

After suffering their first defeat the week before in a 1-0 shutout Erin Ewers went into Beast Mode this week to guide the Bullpups in a pair of wins. Meanwhile, West Valley continues to cruise through GSL 2A thanks to the scoring exploits of Delani Walker, who notched seven on the week in two league and one quality non-league results.  

HS Round-Up 10.14: Prep Survives Top of Table Clash, Wolfpack Pick Up First Win & Rarity at CV

Yet another wild night of action in the GSL. The day started with North Central making a big comeback to earn its first win in a shootout and finished with a late-running shootout decision between the top two sides that fell in favor of Gonzaga Prep. 

In between that Cheney bounced back from Monday's defeat with a Mansfield-to-Miller hat-trick in a thumping of Lewis & Clark, Ridgeline topped Ferris and Mt Spokane made it a northside sweep at Central Valley, following up Mead's 2-0 road win Monday with the exact same result against the Bears in the valley. 

And if that final result seems odd... well, it is. In doing a bit of research, back-to-back losses is extremely rare for CV, especially by more than one goal. Going back through 2010, they had only lost back-to-back on five occasions and three of them included a shootout decision (2019, 2015 playoffs and 2010 season openers). In the 2016 playoffs they fell to Hanford (3-2) and Prep (5-0) back-to-back with the only regular season instance over the previous 11 seasons coming in 2011 against Prep (2-1) and Mead (1-0 in overtime) at the close of the league campaign.   

HS Round-Up 10.13: Panthers Growl, a Stunning Rally & Pullman Snags Late Win

Originally scheduled as an idle day, Monday was home to a pair of reschedules... and they proved to be worth the wait. Mead posted a statement result with a 2-0 shutout win at Central Valley whilst a battle of the other valley schools saw University rally from down two late to win in the final minute of overtime at Ridgeline. 

On Tuesday the results were not necessarily a surprise, though Pullman needed a late goal on a free kick to beat Shadle on the road 1-0. Lakeside completed a sweep of Freeman to cement themselves as the number two of the NEA behind Deer Park.  

HS Round-Up 10.07: Shadle Snags Shootout Win Versus East Valley

Amidst another 'ho-hum' afternoon of GSL 2A and NEA action there was a little scrappy affair at Dwight Merkel where East Valley and Shadle Park played to a 1-1 stalemate that required a shootout that finished in favor of the Highlanders. 

Defensive Stars Reagan, Sicilia Lead Week 4 INWsn HS Best XI Lists

In Week 4 a multitude of 1-0 contests in the 4A/3A flight put the spotlight on defensive performances and chief among them was Cheney keeper Sydney Reagan. And in a week of rather one-sided affairs among the 2A/1A contingent, West Valley defender Abbie Sicilia stood out for her role in a shutout win in the battle of unbeatens. 

HS Round-Up 10.06: Mead Edges Rival in Thriller; Ridgeline Surprises Cheney

The Turf War between Mead and Mt Spokane was a memorable one Wednesday night as the two sides put on a show that made you shake your head every few minutes as attempt after attempt to break the stalemate went for naught. Guts, desperation and exceptional skill were on full display. 

Meanwhile, Gonzaga Prep was at home spoiling Ferris' hopes of joining the contenders at the top and the young Ridgeline squad showed no fear against Cheney with a big result on the night. 

It was written right here not too long ago that this season is a crazy one that will be a wild ride. Stick around.   

HS Round-Up 10.05: Deer Park Firmly Atop NEA

With a resounding 3-0 victory on the road against Lakeside for a regular season sweep of the Eagles, the unbeaten Deer Park ladies have firmly set their grasp on the top spot in the NEA as the league nears the postseason.  

HS Round-Up 10.04: Cheney & Mead Climbing Table

With Mead making up its postponed games, the Panthers took on Cheney Friday and the two sides battled to a scoreless stalemate. Both would then go on to win Monday night, allowing them to jump up the table.