The Spokane men jumped from third to first on the weekend as they topped the Blue Mountain and Treasure Valley duo while co-leader Columbia Basin played to a draw against Wenatchee Valley. The other former co-leader Walla Walla was idle. Meanwhile, North Idaho rebounded from last week's tragic trip south where they lost to Blue Mountain and tied Treasure Valley, beating both Friday and Saturday.
Columbia Basin's surprise loss to Wenatchee Valley, who had one shot on goal in the contest, created a clear separation between the top three and the rest in the women's table as Spokane and North Idaho picked up a double dose of wins against Blue Mountain and Treasure Valley on the weekend. Walla Walla remains unbeaten thanks to a 2-0 road win at Yakima Valley.
WOMEN ##############
10/6 Treasure Valley 1-5 North Idaho
Three different players scored for the Cardinals in the first half. Chelsea Love (Newman Lake, WA) and Zoe Lee (Ammon, ID) scored back-to-back in the 14th and 15th with Katey Knaack (Coeur d'Alene, ID) pushing it to three in the 35th. Lee scored a second in the 54th minute before the Chukars got on the board via Amber Spaulding in the 67th. Love connected with Ali Fredericks (Sandpoint, ID) for the final tally in the 83rd.
10/6 Blue Mountain 0-7 Spokane
Peyton Vasquez (Boise, ID) and Sabrina Castaneda (Nampa, ID) scored back-to-back in the eighth and 10th minutes of the contest and Emma Hartwig (Spokane, WA) made it three before the break. In the second half Cheris Brown (Spokane, WA) scored in the 58th and then set up Shannon Frucci (Spokane, WA) in the 67th. Julia Adair (Spokane, WA) and Ashley Busch (Sandpoint, ID) capped the contest with goals both in the 84th minute. Nicole Rowley (Cheney, WA) did not need to make a save as the back line did not allow a shot from the visitors.
10/7 Walla Walla 2-0 Yakima Valley
Sally Culig (Boise, ID) was the star of the day, setting up both Warrior goals in the first half. The first tally came from Hannah Thompson (Richland, WA) in the 25th, and Klarissa Barajas (Kennewick, WA) added some insurance 11 minutes later. Paige Kubista (Nampa, ID) finished with the shutout on one save.
10/7 Wenatchee Valley 1-0 Columbia Basin
The Knights pulled themselves off the bottom a bit with a big win on the road against mid-table CBC. Angel Swiley scored the deciding goal in the 22nd minute on an assist from Brenna Whitney (Warden, WA). Jennifer Mendoza (Warden, WA) made six saves for the Knights, who were outshot in the game 11-4 with Swiley's goal being the only attempt on frame for the visitors.
10/7 Blue Mountain 0-3 North Idaho
In a contest that was a lot closer than expected, the Cardinals did not get on the board until Katey Knaack scored in the final minute of the first half. A Blue Mountain own goal in the 67th gave way to a goal from Ellory Ferris (Ellensburg, WA) just two minutes later to lock things up. As was the case the day before, Blue Mountain did not take a shot, giving Kari Bromley (Spokane, WA) an easy shutout performance.
10/7 Treasure Valley 1-7 Spokane
Peyton Vasquez scored two minutes into the contest on a loose ball in the box before the Sasquatch were momentarily stymied. Sydney Clements' (Spokane, WA) 19th minute goal on a ball from Cheris Brown, however, broke open the floodgates that saw the Bigfoot score five goals in 15 minutes, several on breakaways off through balls. Brown would tally the next two in the 22nd and 24th before Molly Thies (Dryden, WA) and Sabrina Castaneda got into the mix in the 31st and 34th. Marisa Saldivar (Ontario, OR) took full advantage of the Chukars lone shot in the game, scoring in the 44th to spoil the potential shutout for Michelle Czarapata. In the second half Brown picked up another assist, connecting with Chayse Avalos (Twin Falls, ID) in the 81st.
NWAC EAST STANDINGS (W-L-T... Points)
Walla Walla 9-0-0... 27
Spokane 7-1-1... 22
North Idaho 7-2-0... 21
Columbia Basin 3-4-2... 11
Yakima Valley 2-3-4... 10
Wenatchee Valley 2-6-1... 7
Treasure Valley 1-6-2... 5
Blue Mountain 0-9-0... 0
MEN ##############
10/6 Treasure Valley 0-2 North Idaho
Omar Hernandez (Idaho Falls, ID) was key in the win, setting up both goals. He found Conner Kinnune (Newman Lake, WA) at the 18-minute mark for the opening tally and with just over three minutes remaining forced an own goal from the Chukars to lock up the result. Tanner Sayer (Nampa, ID) and Luis Hernandez (Nampa, ID) combined for the shutout.
10/6 Blue Mountain 0-7 Spokane
The Bigfoot cruised to the win with four goals in the first half all from different players. Ian Schimandle (Cheney, WA) scored the opener in the eighth minute with Arturo Bahena setting up Chase Reidt's (Spokane, WA) goal in the 29th. Hector Magana (Pasco, WA) three minutes later made the difference three before finding Bahena for the final tally of the half in the 42nd. Schimandle kicked off the scoring again in the second half with a tally on an assist from Nick Frost in the 55th. Three minutes later Jesus Meraz-Rodriguez (Pasco, WA) got on the board. Frost set up Magana for the final tally in the 69th. Caleb Garbuio finished the shutout without needing to make a save as Blue Mountain had no shots in the contest.
10/7 Wenatchee Valley 2-2 Columbia Basin
Sitting tied for last, the Knights slightly edged themselves off the bottom with a draw against the division leaders. Israel Gonzalez (Grandview, WA), though, had the hosts in front early with a goal in the 13th minute. The Knights would answer and grab the advantage in the first half with Lenin Guzman (Connell, WA) evening things up in the 33rd and Greysen Gilman (Yakima, WA) tallying the go-ahead goal just four minutes later. Gonzalez would also set up the equalizer for CBC with Johnathan Mata (Grandview, WA) scoring in the 63rd, but the match remained deadlocked from there.
10/7 Blue Mountain 0-3 North Idaho
Conner Kinnune scored his second game-opening tally of the weekend 85 seconds into the contest for a one-goal advantage that held through to the intermission. An own goal by Blue Mountain 35 seconds into the second half followed by a Cade Roske (Pocatello, ID) goal three minutes later gave the Cardinals full control as they finished out the game for the win. Tanner Sayer and Luis Hernandez agains combined for the shutout.
10/7 Treasure Valley 0-2 Spokane
After a scoreless first half, Hector Magana found his former high school teammate Jesus Meraz-Rodriguez for the opening goal four minutes into the second half in a contest Spokane controlled from the outset. An own goal by Treasure Valley on a ball crossed through the six and near the goal-line gave the Sasquatch some insurance, though the defense limited the Chukars to one shot and had a man advantage for the final 12 minutes. Caleb Garbuio got the clean sheet.
INW Players Elsewhere: Trailing by two, Alain Murhula (Boise, ID) scored the first for Whatcom as they tallied three consecutive against Peninsula in what finished as a 3-3 draw.
NWAC EAST STANDINGS (W-L-T... Points)
Spokane 6-1-1... 19
Columbia Basin 5-1-1... 16
Walla Walla 5-2-0... 15
North Idaho 3-3-2... 11
Treasure Valley 2-4-1... 7
Wenatchee Valley 2-5-1... 7
Blue Mountain 1-6-0... 3
###
