INW NAIA & NWAC College Recap – Week Five: Turnaround season for Wenatchee Valley men continues

Amidst the NAIA action this week, the Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho women played to a stalemate in their Cascade Collegiate Conference opener while the Yote men split, falling at home in an 11-goal thriller to CCC leading Concordia before winning at Oregon Tech.

Their Frontier Conference counterparts featured a pair of conference showdown on the women's side with Great Falls losing at Westminster while Carroll and Rocky Mountain battled to a scoreless draw. In the lone conference match-up on the men's side, Great Falls won their eighth consecutive a victory against Carroll, both of whom also defeated non-league Trinity Lutheran over the weekend.

In the NWAC East, Spokane, Treasure Valley and North Idaho maintained their status as the top three, going unbeaten on the week. On the men's side Walla Walla, Wenatchee Valley and North Idaho were the top performers on the week with the Warriors topping visiting Spokane and the other two picking up wins away from home.

Here is a rundown of the area schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

INW DII-III College Recap – Week Five: MSU-Billings sides upset contenders; Whitworth, Whitman go 6-1-1 on the road

Among the Division II action this week, the MSU-Billings men and women made statements. Picked to finish fifth in the GNAC, the Yellowjacket men went on the road and played to a 3-3 tie against the top choice Simon Fraser and topped third-choice Western Washington. Also picked fifth, the ladies swept at home, edging third-choice Central Washington 1-0 and second-pick Seattle Pacific 2-1.

The final seconds proved game-breaking for Northwest Nazarene Saturday. The women fell with just one second on the clock in overtime versus visiting Central Washington and the men prevailed with seven seconds left in extra time at Simon Fraser.

In the Division III Northwest Conference, the Whitworth got out their scoring slump - one goal in each of first two games at home - by putting 11 on the board away from home over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Whitman men and women went a combined 3-0-1 in weekend on the road.

Here is a rundown of the area schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

INW DI College Recap – Week Five: Montana Sweeps Big Sky openers; WSU Cougars grab late win in Pac-12 opener

Among the Division I action this week, the Big Sky Conference, PAC-12 and Mountain West kicked of conference play. The University of Montana and University of Idaho each swept their first two with victories while Idaho State and Eastern Washington each split on the weekend. Washington State snared a PAC-12 win at Oregon State in the 89th minute. Things were not so fortunate for Boise State, which dropped its first two in the Mountain West, falling on the road to Air Force and Colorado College. This week conference play will finally begin for Gonzaga and the West Coast Conference.

Here is a rundown of the area DI schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

Wenatchee Valley men win clash of East contenders after Spokane women dominate Knights

Fourteen goals, but two completely different stories | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

It was a tale of two completely different games in Saturday night's doubleheader at Spokane Falls Community College featuring host CC Spokane and visiting Wenatchee Valley CC. The Sasquatch ladies thoroughly dominated the opposition to the tune of an 8-0 scoreline in the opening game. The men's contest was a dramatic back-and-forth affair featuring a pair of teams jockeying for position near the top of the division table. The Knights saw a two-goal lead disappear before getting two in the final minutes for the big road victory.

INW Best XI - Week 4: Fesenbek & Johnson lead NNU, NIC to big weeks

With a hand in six goals, Lexi Fesenbek guided Northwest Nazarene University to two wins and a draw on the week, and North Idaho College did the same courtesy of Alec Johnson’s role in four goals.

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

INW NAIA & NWAC College Recap – Week Four: Great Falls men continue roll, NWAC cross-over concludes in East favor

Amidst the NAIA action this week, the University of Great Falls continued its fantastic start to the season with a big win over future NAIA side Walla Walla University and then a pair of narrow road wins against Westminster and McPherson College in Utah.

In the NWAC, cross-over play between the East and South Divisions came to a close. The lopsided results continued with the East men finishing with a dominant 21-4-5 record (79-22 GD) against their counterparts while the women's results were a bit closer at 19-12-11 (73-49 GD). The men's domination was so great that Clark has a commanding eight-point lead in their division thanks to a 3-0-3 record while Chemeketa, second, was the only other team to get a win. The North Idaho College (4-0-1 vs the South) and Columbia Basin College (2-0-3) men went unbeaten while on the ladies side it was Treasure Valley CC (6-0-0) with an amazing sweep considering every other program other than North Idaho (2-0-4) lost at least twice.

Here is a rundown of the area schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

EPD selections unveiled by Washington Youth Soccer

Washington Youth Soccer released its list of Elite Player Development (EPD) selections for the State Team pools late last week for boys and girls from 1998-2022 birth years.

According to WYS, players were scouted via the Regional Club League (RCL), state cup championship games and five tryout locations - Moses Lake for Eastern Washington on August 11 and 25.

Players selected to the EPD state pool participate in monthly training sessions with nationally licensed EPD coaching staff, and have the potential to be selected for competitions including the US Youth Soccer Region IV ODP Championships.

INW DII-III College Recap – Week Four: Northwest Nazarene men and women open GNAC unbeaten

Among the Division II and III action this week, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and Northwest Conference both kicked off conference play this week in full. In the GNAC, the Northwest Nazarene women got a win and a draw on the road and in an INW showdown, the NNU Crusaders men blanked MSU-Billings 2-0. In the NWC, the Whitworth men and Whitman women each had a draw and a victory against the visiting teams from Linfield, Lewis & Clark and Willamette while their counterparts were swept.

Here is a rundown of the area schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

INW DI College Recap – Week Four: Big Sky wrapped up non-conference slate; Zags do well

Among the Division I action this week, Eastern Washington and Montana finished their non-conference slate at the Montana Invitational, both posting positive results. Their Big Sky rivals in Idaho, meanwhile, went winless on the road. The Gonzaga women went 2-1-0 on the road with a win at Boise State and a split in a pair of overtime games in Texas while the men's side picked up their first result at home.

Here is a rundown of the area DI schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

Whitworth winless in home doubleheader Saturday with women's loss, men's draw

Whitworth came up short at home Saturday against the visitors | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

It was a tough home day Saturday for the Whitworth Pirates as both sides held the better of the play only to come out winless. First the ladies were unable to find an equalizer to overcome a one-goal deficit against Lewis & Clark. Then the men were unable to hold onto their one-goal advantage in a game they thoroughly dominated against Linfield.

INW Best XI - Week 3: CWU sisters combine for milestone; Opland guides CCS to sweep

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

INW NAIA & NWAC College Recap – Week Three: Argo men upset Jamestown in road sweep for UGF sides

Among the NAIA and NWAC action this week, the Frontier Conference's University of Great Falls had a good road trip with both the men and women coming home with a pair of wins each. The men registered the biggest win by knocking off the perfect University of Jamestown. Meanwhile it was a light week in the CCC.

The East Division of the NWAC was extremely busy on the week with most playing three games. The Columbia Basin College women swept their three fixtures while on the men's side the CC Spokane men rolled to three wins and North Idaho College won both of theirs.

Here is a rundown of the area schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

INW DII-III College Recap – Week Three: Family affair nets milestone at CWU

Among the Division II and III action this week, Central Washington coach Michael Farrand hit 100 wins thanks to his daughters and in the Northwest Conference a majority of teams began conference play on the women's side.

Here is a rundown of the area schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week.

INW DI College Recap – Week Three: Gonzaga, Idaho give Washington State challenge

Among the Division I action this week, the unbeaten Washington State women had a difficult go of things with local foes, rallying to defeat an upset-minded Gonzaga squad and going well into the second half to find a winner at neighboring Idaho. In the Big Sky, Montana gave Missouri a run on the road in an overtime loss and Idaho State made two big comebacks to defeat Hawaii.

CC Spokane splits versus Lane, South Puget Sound Saturday

Both Sasquatch squads put in dominant performances, but ended up differently | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

The CC Spokane Bigfoot ladies saw their impressive home unbeaten streak on the three-year old renovated field come to an end Saturday at Spokane Falls CC Stadium as they were upset by the visiting Lane Titans, suffering their first league loss this season in the process as well. In the second half of the doubleheader the men cruised to a 3-0 victory over South Puget Sound.

Heartbreak for Gonzaga in near upset of Washington State

Gonzaga nearly ended Washington State's unbeaten record against the Bulldogs | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

Facing one of the best opponents they may see all season, the Gonzaga women took Washington State nearly the distance Friday, taking a surprising initial lead and holding on to force overtime before falling 2-1 to the unbeaten Cougars, who rallied on a pair of finished crosses by Jocelyn Jeffers and Kailiana Johnson.

Brittany Doan put the hosts in front in the 17th minute, but it was the Bulldogs as a whole showing no fear against a defensive unit that had allowed just one goal in its five previous non-conference games, including two scoreless draws against ranked opponents. The Zags came out punching from the opening whistle and nearly scored on a number of occasions in the first half as they gave the Cougar defense a lot of fits in the early going.

INW Best XI - Week 2: Defenders Drobney and Ulen lead BSU, NIC to wins

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

For games September 2-7...

INW NAIA & NWAC College Recap – Week Two: NWAC East teams dominate inter-divisional play

Among the NAIA and NWAC action this week, the College of Idaho went unbeaten in two games in Utah and the University of Great Falls men won their conference opener. The NWAC East women's teams put forth an impressive outing, combining for a 8-2-4 record against Tacoma CC and members of the NWAC South Division on the week while the men went 6-2-1.

INW DII & III College Recap – Week Two: Division II schools open preseason play

Among the Division II and III action this week, MSU-Billings saw both the men and women each pick up a positive result in their openers as the Division II programs played their first official games of the year. Meanwhile the Whitworth women split on the road in Texas and the men's teams at Whitman and Whitworth both netted 2-1 wins over visiting Corban.

INW DI College Recap – Week Two: Boise State sweeps in-state rivals

Among the Division I action this week, the Broncos of Boise State dominated their two state rivals Idaho and Idaho State on the weekend while Washington State was unbeaten in Hawaii, though saw its season-opening shutout streak come to an end.

Another comeback performance leads Whitworth over Corban

The Pirates prevailed in their third comeback performance in the last four games | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

In a preseason contest against the reigning Cascade Collegiate Conference (NAIA) champion Corban University, the Whitworth men were trailing after the first half but rallied to pull even in the second and found a fantastic winner in overtime for the 2-1 victory to remain perfect on the year at 4-0-0.

Rylan Berriman's upper corner strike from about 20 yards on a run across the top of the area was a thing of beauty in the seventh minute of extra time, capping a nice series of play from the Pirates, who were continually peppering Corban with shots narrowly off the mark for the latter part of the game.

INW Best XI - Week 1: Ramos and Clair lead Whitworth, WSU to perfect starts

Each week INWsoccernews will release lists of the week’s best performances for men’s and women’s soccer in the region, recognizing players at schools in the region or those from the area that play elsewhere in the nation.

INW Lower Divisions College Recap – Week One: Hot starts for Whitworth men, Treasure Valley ladies

The Division III, NAIA and JC schools have gotten into full swing over the previous week-plus with the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), featuring MSU-Billings, Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington beginning non-league play this week, though several teams have played scrimmages and exhibitions.

The Whitworth men are arguably off to the most impressive start with a perfect trip to the midwest in which they knocked off 15th-ranked Wheaton. Elsewhere, the Treasure Valley CC women are off to an impressive in NWAC play at 3-0-0 after posting just two wins all of last season.

INW DI College Recap – Week One: Cougs cruising through non-league slate

After a number of exhibitions and scrimmages the week prior, official game play got into full swing in the past week throughout the northwest.  A few teams have gotten off to good starts, but Washington State is arguably the top team of the region thus far. Plus, a number of players from the region are doing well around the nation, including a few who are already making an impact as freshman for their respective programs such as Timmy Mueller (Post Falls) at Oregon State and Kara Marbury (Spokane, WA) at Illinois.

Here is a rundown of the area DI schools and their conferences as well as how players from the Inland Northwest performed around the nation in the past week-plus as everyone began official play.

Sasquatch men outlast Chemeketa Storm in CC Spokane doubleheader

Bigfoot men wrapped up a four-game week with a comeback victory (Photos: Gerald Barnhart)

The winless Chemeketa Storm nearly spoiled the home opener for the CC Spokane men Saturday afternoon, but a two-goal second half propelled the Bigfoot to a 2-1 victory in the second half of a doubleheader that kicked off with the Lady Sasquatch drubbing the Storm 5-0.