Friday: Tough choice here... The Gonzaga men have a doubleheader in which they and Oregon State (featuring Post Fall's Timmy Mueller) face a pair of teams outside the region. Also, Southridge of the MCC comes north to face Lewis & Clark at Hart Field on the South Hill. It's the opening day of the HS soccer season. Southridge, a 3A school, claimed the MCC title a year ago with a 12-2 record while LC was 5-4. INWsn's choice, though, is USA v Costa Rica World Cup Qualifier. The match, taking place at Red Bull Arena in NJ, is on ESPN, Univision and Univision Deportes Network with coverage beginning at 3:30 ET. Kickoff is set for 3:50 ET. The US won their recent Gold Cup semifinal meeting against Costa Rica 2-0.
Saturday: North Idaho College plays Everett in a doubleheader with the ladies at noon and the men following at approximately 2:15.
Sunday: Gonzaga Tripleheader. The action begins with Oregon State facing UC Riverside at 11:00 am followed by the Gonzaga ladies hosting Hawaii at 1:30. The Bulldog men cap the day against American at 4:00.
Monday - Lewiston @ Shadle Park: One of the 5A Inland Empire League sides from across the border comes to town to face the Highlanders. The match is at Merkel at 4:00.
Tuesday: The Northeast A League begins league play with Medical Lake @ Freeman and Lakeside @ Riverside, but the Match of the Day is easily USA at Honduras World Cup Qualifier. The match is on beIN Sports and Universo with coverage beginning at 2:30. The USMNT clobbered Honduras 6-0 in their previous qualification meeting in March.
Must-See Matches Elsewhere in the INW region...
Friday - #14 Nebraska @ Washington State: The Cougs look for a big win against a ranked opponent early in the season in a doubleheader. The match begins at 7:30 following the opener of the Cougar Classic between Georgia Southern and Montana at 5:00. The Cougs and Griz switch opponents Sunday.
Saturday - Central Valley @ Wenatchee: It's a showdown of the second-place teams from a year ago in the GSL and Big Nine at the Apple Bowl at 3:00.
Saturday - West Valley (Yakima) @ Hanford: WV won the Big Nine a year ago and Hanford was tied for first (second on tiebreakers) in the MCC.
Monday - Seattle University @ Idaho: The Vandals host the reigning four-time WAC-champion Redhawks program, picked to finish first again, at 2:00 at the Kibbie Dome.
Monday - Carroll College Women @ Northwest Nazarene: The NAIA Saints head south to Nampa to face the Crusaders at 4:00.
Tuesday - Chiawana @ Southridge: It is the marquee match of the Opening Day of league play in the Mid-Columbia Conference. Chiawana (4A) was third a year ago and Southridge (3A) won the regular season title. The two played in the opener last year as well with Southridge prevailing in overtime, 2-1. The Suns also won the second encounter in a stunning 7-0 result.
*Matches highlighted here do not necessarily indicate games INWsn will be covering in person.
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