Sunday, October 22, 2017

NWAC East Tonight 10.21.17: Spokane, Walla Walla Clinch East Titles


With the top four in the men's table all playing each other over the final three games of the season, match day one did not disappoint on Wednesday with a dramatic night of action. It was followed by an eventful Saturday as well.

The Spokane men blanked Walla Walla in convincing fashion midweek, 4-0, to create some space at the top and assure themselves of a spot in the postseason. Meanwhile, North Idaho College, seven points back of third, kept hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over second-place Columbia Basin, pulling within four of WWCC and five of CBC going into the final two games.

On the women's side the Warriors essentially clinched the top seed, winning in a stunning comeback in Spokane 3-2 to move six points clear of North Idaho, which blanked Columbia Basin 2-0 to move into second.


Then on Saturday, the highlight of the day was a first-place showdown between Spokane and Columbia Basin. Spokane went into the match with a three point lead, needing just a draw to lock up the East title. The two battled in a scoreless stalemate that looked it was headed toward that exact result when a free kick in the final 10 minutes gave the Sasquatch their third consecutive title since missing the postseason entirely in 2014.

Earlier in the day Walla Walla, to no surprise, claimed the East title on the women's side with big win against North Idaho. Spokane, meanwhile, played to a draw against fourth-place Columbia Basin, remaining in third now a point behind rival NIC. It sets up a final day showdown between the two that will determine the seeding and whether Spokane's run of six years finishing first or second ends. meanwhile Yakima Valley has a chance at fourth if they can top Wenatchee Valley and CBC falls to Walla Walla.

WOMEN  ##############

10/18 Walla Walla 3-2 Spokane 
Peyton Vasquez (Boise, ID) scored in the 21st and Cheris Brown (Spokane, WA) doubled the lead seven minutes later for the Sasquatch, who took that advantage well into the second half before things unravelled. Dominique Valezquez (Othello, WA) struck in the 70 and Klarissa Barajas (Kennewick, WA) equalized in the 75th. A controversial pair of calls in the final minutes fell in favor of the Warriors, who nabbed the win on a play that was ruled a goal with five minutes remaining for Barajas.

10/18 Columbia Basin 0-2 North Idaho 
Natalie Goetz (Coeur d'Alene, ID) gave the Cardinals the advantage two minutes before the break. Chelsea Love (Newman Lake, WA) added some insurance at the hour mark via Zoe Lee (Ammon, ID). Kinzie Hunter made three stops in the shutout.

10/20 Treasure Valley 3-3 Wenatchee Valley 
The Knights rallied to erase a deficit twice to earn the draw and remain in front of the Chukars in the table. Taylor Anthony (Gooding, ID) scored in the 16th and set up the second by McKenna Kester for the visitors in the 28th. Makenzi Howard scored in the 35th for the Knights and then set up the equalizer from Kalea Bokma (Wenatchee, WA) three minutes into the second half. The Chukars, though, reclaimed the lead quickly with a Kester tally in the 51st. Bokma struck again to give the Knights the draw in the 69th.

10/20 Blue Mountain 0-5 Yakima Valley 
The Yaks cruised to the win on a huge outing from Katie Balauro (Spokane, WA). She set up Persia Anderson's (Post Falls, ID) opener in the sixth minute with Nelly Pulido (Yakima, WA) converting a penalty in the 17th. Balauro scored the final tally of the half in the 28th and notched her second in the 62nd minute. She capped the match by setting up another Anderson goal five minutes later in a match in which they outshot the visitors 49-0, giving keeper Madison Smith an easy day.

10/21 North Idaho 1-5 Walla Walla 
The Cardinals held the initial lead with a goal from Aunika Capps (Naches, WA) in the 23rd minute. Klarissa Barajas, though, guided the Warriors to the win with a hat-trick. She tied it up in the 36th. Dominique Velazquez set up the goal and Haley Wammock's (Yakima, WA) tally in the final minute of the half. Demeree Mclean (Meridian, ID)  scored four minutes into the second half before Barajas added her other two goals in the 56th and 68th. Velazquez set up the final goal for her third assist of the contest.


10/21 Columbia Basin 1-1 Spokane
A long shot from Madison Gatherum (Richland, WA) gave the Hawks the lead 12 minutes in against Spokane, which struggled to find any good looks on goal for much of the contest. The Bigfoot finished with a 7-4 advantage in shots with Lily Kikendall (Selah, WA) keeping them off the board until Emily Carrell (Boise, ID) scored on a shot from distance as well in the 76th.



10/21 Treasure Valley 2-5 Yakima Valley 
Katie Balauro scored twice in the first half to put the Yaks up three, tallying in the 10th and 31st on either side of a Harley Hendry (Hauser, ID) strike in the 18th. The Chukars fought back with Taylor Anthony scoring on a breakaway a minute before the break and Sammie Patterson (Meridian, ID) converting a penalty with 15 left to pull within one. Dallas Trusty, though, locked up the win with a goal in the 78th and an assist on Kayla Sunada's goal in the 86th.

10/21 Blue Mountain 0-5 Wenatchee Valley
Four different players scored for the Knights, who had a 30-1 advantage in shots for an easy day for goalkeeper Trisha Priest (Omak, WA). Madeline Kaiser (Wenatchee, WA) and Brenna Whitney (Warden, WA) scored in the first half with Karina Guzman (Brewster, WA) tallying in the 46th and 73rd. Bethany Wagner (Cashmere, WA) struck in the 71st.
 
INW Players Elsewhere:  Clarissa Henderson (Twin Falls, ID) tallied an assist for Lane in a 8-0 win at Portland Wednesday... Reagan Grigg (Glenns Ferry, ID) scored the winner for Edmonds Saturday in a 1-0 win at Shoreline... Jenna Jensen (Spokane, WA) set up the final goal for Highline in a 6-0 win against Green River Saturday... Sarah Reiber (Yakima, WA) was involved in all three goals for Peninsula Saturday in a 3-1 win at third place Skagit Valley, setting up the opening two goals and scoring the final one.

NWAC EAST STANDINGS  (W-L-T... Points)

Walla Walla 13-0-0... 39#
North Idaho 10-3-0... 30^
Spokane 9-2-2... 29^
Columbia Basin 5-5-3... 18
Yakima Valley 4-5-4... 16
Wenatchee Valley 3-8-2... 11
Treasure Valley 1-9-3... 6
Blue Mountain 0-13-0... 0
^ Clinched playoff spot / # Clinched top seed

MEN  ##############

10/18 Columbia Basin 1-2 North Idaho
The Hawks outshot the Cardinals on the night 17-4, but the hosts took advantage of their few looks to earn the win. Conner Kinnune (Newman Lake, WA) broke the deadlock at the hour mark on an assist form Oscar Padilla (Weiser, ID). The Hawks evened it up in the 70th via Isaiah Arechiga (Kennewick, WA) and just three minutes from a draw Padilla set up Omar Hernandez (Idaho Falls, ID) for the victory.


10/18 Walla Walla 0-4 Spokane 
Hector Magana (Pasco, WA) set up all four Sasquatch goals, three of them from Ian Schimandle (Cheney, WA). His first came in the fifth minute and the contest went an hour before he struck for his second. Cole Johnson (Spokane, WA) made it three in the 72nd with Schimandle finishing the hat-trick two minutes later. Caleb Garuio stopped the only shot the Warriors had in the contest.

10/20 Treasure Valley 1-5 Wenatchee Valley 
Rafa Barajas (Chelan, WA) scored six minutes in via Greyson Gilman (Yakima, WA) and tallied again in the 18th. Micah Ching put away a penalty a minute before the break and Gilman set up Michael Raya (Yakima, WA) three minutes after intermission. Barajas finished a hat-trick in the 75th. Jordan Clauvis Kitumaini (Boise, ID) spoiled the shutout with a goal for the Chukars in the 89th.

10/21 Columbia Basin 0-1 Spokane
In a tight contest with only four total shots, most from set pieces, the contest in the constant drizzle and slick conditions dragged into the very late stages of the match before a set piece finally paid off for Spokane. A foul at the edge of the box with 10 minutes left that saw a Hawk defender sent off for the tackle was put into the far upper corner by David Uribe (Pasco, WA) in the 82nd on the resulting free kick for the win, though CBC threatened to find an equalizer. A free kick from midfield in the final minute, before stoppage time, resulted in a ball served into the six from the flank, but nobody was there for the finish, allowing Caleb Garbuio to record the shutout without a save on his ledger.

10/21 North Idaho 2-3 Walla Walla 
With the Cardinals looking to stay in the playoff hunt, the Warriors needed a positive result to lock up a playoff spot. Freddy Rodriguez (Hermiston, OR) scored in the 18th with Irvin Angulo (Caldwell, ID) evening things up for NIC at the half-hour mark. Alberto Anguiano (Kennewick, WA) reclaimed the lead for the hosts in the 39th and Rodriguez scored again in the 57th with a key insurance goal that turned into the game-winner with Cade Roske (Pocatello, ID) scoring for NIC four minutes later. The result clinched the postseason berth and put the Warriors into second courtesy of CBC's loss later in the evening, giving them control in the showdown for second on Wednesday.

10/21 Blue Mountain 0-2 Wenatchee Valley
The Knights finished out their campaign with Enrique Castro (Yakima, WA) scoring in the 31st and Lenin Guzman (Connell, WA) scoring in the 84th as they rolled to the win with a 30-3 advantage in shots. Ulysses Gonzalez (Mattawa, WA) and Jose Chairez (Othello, WA) combined for the shutout.

INW Players Elsewhere: Juan Soto (Yakima, WA) scored both goals on assists from Paul Cuevas (Yakima, WA) for Skagit Valley in a 2-1 victory over Shoreline Wednesday.

NWAC EAST STANDINGS  (W-L-T... Points)

Spokane 9-1-1... 28#
Walla Walla 8-3-0... 24^
Columbia Basin 7-3-1... 22^
North Idaho 5-4-2... 17
Wenatchee Valley 4-7-1... 13
Treasure Valley 2-8-1... 7
Blue Mountain 1-10-0... 3
^ Clinched playoff spot / #Clinched top seed


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