Gonzaga men close out successful non-conference slate with 2-1 win over Seattle U

The Zags had plenty to celebrate in the wet conditions Saturday | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

Back home after nearly a month on the road in which the Bulldogs enjoyed their greatest success in quite some time, the Gonzaga men, ranked 23 by Soccer America, found some freedom from the wind in the second half Saturday afternoon to build a two-goal lead against Seattle University en route to a 2-1 victory on a very wet and blustery afternoon.

Shine roster taking shape; Lindsay & Walker heading abroad

With the Spokane Shine about to begin tryout sessions Friday night and Sunday afternoon, the squad is already beginning to come together according to new head coach Dan Philp who shared a list of 14 initial players that are lined up to be on the squad this year, including five returning from last year’s division champions. In addition, INWsoccernews has learned that a trio of other area players have made commitments elsewhere with former standout Shine center back Maggie Schrader moving onto the W-League while Eastern Washington goalkeeper Jamie Walker and Spokane’s Megan Lindsay (Seattle U) are expected to be playing abroad.

College Recap - WAC & MWC: Idaho and Boise State playoff bound

It came down to the final game in the WAC, but the Vandals snared the final berth in the conference tournament Sunday with a victory against New Mexico after a difficult loss Friday to one of the conference leaders. Seattle University, meanwhile, clinched their berth Friday before falling to the same Denver team on Sunday, entering the tournament with the fifth seed. Meanwhile in the MWC, San Diego State finished the conference campaign with a perfect 7-0-0 record with a victory while Boise State finished tied for second with New Mexico after a win over Nevada, but will be the third seed in the conference playoffs due to a loss to the Lobos during the season.

College Recap - MWC & WAC: Boise State playoff bound, Idaho near

It could be a good year for soccer in the state of Idaho. With Idaho State having won a share of the Big Sky tournament and Boise State heading to the Mountain West tournament (see below), the Idaho Vandals can make it three for three with a good set of results at home in their final weekend of the WAC. 

INW Collegiate Recap: Idaho, Boise State fall in WAC & MWC play

Early into the conference campaign Utah State and Seattle are among the four unbeaten teams and sit atop the WAC table. The Idaho Vandals, however, are at the other end of things coming off a big loss in Seattle over the weekend, leaving them without a conference win through three games. Though the conference campaign is only two games in, Boise State finds itself at the bottom of the table along with Air Force, which has also lost both games. San Diego State, whom the Broncos nearly posted a positive result with this weekend, is the conferences only ranked side and at 11-1-1 overall shoulders above its peers, which include three other unbeaten in conference play.

Conference Play Preview – Western Athletic Conference

The lone INW team, University of Idaho, kicks off its final season in the WAC before an expected move to the Big Sky on the road against Texas State September 28 followed by a match two days later against Texas-San Antonio.

Gonzaga falls in fourth straight one-goal contest to Seattle U

Redhawks celebrate winning strike by Verdoia (24) | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

Two days after a narrow 1-0 loss to the nationally-ranked (Soccer America) University of Washington, the Bulldogs came right at Seattle University with a fantastic wide open chance two minutes in the match, but the result proved to be an omen of what was to come as they were edged in overtime by the visitors.

INW player highlights around the nation; Frontier results

The following is a recap, mostly highlights, of how players from around the Inland Northwest  did this weekend around the nation outside the region along with recaps for Montana schools MSU-Billings, Rocky Mountain College and the University of Great Falls.

INW Best XI for Week 2 - Women

INW WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK

F - Rachel Strawn – Idaho State – The senior striker scored more goals in a 4-0 victory against Minot State giver her five on the season after coming into the campaign with six total in her first three years with the Bengals. The Utah native scored the opening, and game-winning, goal 12 minutes into the match and put the game out of reach with her second in the 64th to increase the lead to three.

Gonzaga takes two 2-1, downing Boise State and Seattle U Sunday

Gonzaga had plenty to celebrate despite a pair of tough matches | photos: Gerald Barnhart

In a pair of hard-fought, even contests the Gonzaga men’s and women’s soccer teams picked up a pair of wins Sunday afternoon at home by the same 2-1 scoreline via different but dramatic circumstances. The lady Zags topped Boise State in the opening contest with goals from Jessica Bennett and Heather Johnson while the men’s side rallied from an early deficit with back-to-back second half goals from Lars Ludwigs and Conner Bevans.

Idaho Vandal soccer likely headed to Big Sky; will others follow?

The constant shifting sands of football programs among the various Division I conferences over the years is finally catching up on the Western Athletic Conference, and the University of Idaho is poised to be the latest to leave the conference for football reasons. The byproduct will assuredly see the non-football sports joining the Big Sky Conference as the school remains independent on the gridiron.

The process for the Vandals reached a tipping point in the past week with the school receiving approval from the Idaho State Board of Education on Friday to become an independent football program and discuss membership in the Big Sky for its other sports.

WSU, Gonzaga among Pac-12 Networks' broadcast schedule for soccer

The system of Pac-12 Networks, one national and six regional, launching this fall on cable announced over the past two days the upcoming broadcast schedules for men’s and women’s soccer. As a Pac-12 member, the Washington State University women’s program will be featured and both of Gonzaga University’s programs will have one match broadcast courtesy of early non-league matches versus Pac-12 opponents.

The first match carried on the family of Pac-12 channels featuring schools from the Northwest will be the August 24 meeting between Gonzaga University and the University of Washington. It kicks off the 28-game broadcast schedule for Pac-12 men’s soccer that will see 15 other games featuring the Northwest duo of Washington (10 games total) and Oregon State (7 games). Seattle University also will appear once as a non-league opponent, also versus the Huskies.

The women’s 58-game broadcast schedule will kick off in California August 17, two days after the networks’ launch, with Santa Clara playing Stanford. The first games featuring the four Northwest programs – Washington State, Washington, Oregon, Oregon State – are September 14 when Washington State plays Hawaii; Gonzaga faces Oregon State; and Seattle University plays Oregon. Seattle’s game versus Oregon State two days later will also be broadcast.

Gonzaga Women announce 2012 schedule

Gonzaga University announced the 2012 schedule for the women’s soccer team, unveiling a slate that will see them play most of the region’s major universities in the preseason and six 2011 NCAA tournament participants in total.

After kicking off the season at home against the Summit League’s University of South Dakota (1-15-3 overall in 2011), the Bulldogs will play face Washington State, Idaho, Boise State, Washington , Seattle, Oregon State and Oregon along with a trip to Tennessee in the middle to play Austin Peay (9-8-1 overall) and Vanderbilt (8-11-0).

Idaho Vandals announce 2012 schedule

The University of Idaho will start both schedules this fall on the road in Texas. They kick off the overall campaign with a showdown with Texas Tech and later in the slate kick off their Western Athletic Conference schedule on the road with a two-match trip to play Texas State and the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Texas Tech is coming off one of its most successful seasons in the history of the program, finishing fourth in the powerhouse Big 12 Conference. The match against the Vandals is also the Red Raiders' season-opening contest, and is arguably one of the lighter matches on a schedule that includes nine teams that reached the 2011 NCAA tournament. The game is part of a two-match homestand that concludes with reigning Mountain West regular season and tournament champion New Mexico.

WAC semifinalists a year ago, the Vandals will play three home contests against South Dakota, Gonzaga and North Dakota State after returning home and will face local Big Sky Conference schools Idaho State and Montana at the Boise State University tournament.

Gonzaga blanks Seattle University 2-0

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A cool little rain gave way early Sunday morning on the campus of Gonzaga University for the women’s side to play its second spring friendly in as many days, downing visiting Seattle University with a pair of goals in the first of the three-period contest.

The Redhawks, who fell 5-0 Friday evening against the W-League Seattle Sounders Women featuring five US National Team players, had the initial pressure in the first four minutes of the contest with Gonzaga coming back at them for the next few minutes. The game then settled into a fairly even back-and-forth flow for the rest of the way.

Seattle U’s INW trio face Sounders Women Friday

The Seattle Sounders Women continue their preseason slate Friday evening at the Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Wash. with a friendly versus local Seattle University, which features three Inland Northwest players from Boise, Pasco and Spokane.

Junior M/F Carlee Norquist (Boise, Idaho), sophomore M/F Shawna Anderson (Pasco, Wash.) and redshirt sophomore midfielder Ashley Fritts (Spokane, Wash.) will be going up against the W-League team featuring five US Women’s National Team players.

The match-up will create a Tri-Cities showdown between Anderson and Richland native Hope Solo, the star goalkeeper from the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Solo faced only a few challenges in their opening friendly versus Seattle Pacific University, leaving late in the contest with a shutout performance and three saves.