Several other area players are also preparing for NCAA tournament matches this weekend by virtue of conference championships or at-large berths.
NCAA Games of Note (seed) / [rank]:
Friday, November 10
Rice [RV] @ Baylor [23] - 2:00 PT
Alabama [RV] @ Clemson [RV] - 4:00 PT
Saturday, November 11
Washington State @ (2) Central Florida [8] - 4:00 PT
Utah Valley @ (1) Stanford [1] - 7:00 PT
Santa Clara @ California [19] - 1:30 PT
Texas Christian @ Arizona [RV] - 6:00 PT
Eastern Washington @ (3) Southern California - 12:00 PT
NCAA DI Women's Bracket [+]
Round-up of recent games and news through final Pac-12 men's games on November 9
BIG SKY CONFERENCE
Eastern Washington captured the Big Sky Conference title for the second consecutive year, earning the 2017 Double as the regular season and tournament champions. Their reward is a First Round NCAA Tournament rematch against defending national champion USC, which is a three seed this year. Last year the Eagles gave the Trojans a handful before falling 3-1, and were one of only two teams to score against them in the tournament. USC finished third in the Pac-12 this season with an 8-2-1 record.
INWsn's Big Sky Tourney Round-Up [+] (loaded with pics!)
WOMEN - BOISE STATE
11/2 - 3-Boise State 0-1 2-San Diego State
The Broncos were knocked out in the semifinal round of the Mountain West Tournament. The match went to the break scoreless with the powerhouse Aztecs, but the eventual tournament champions would get the game-winner on a counter three minutes into the second half and hold on for the win
WOMEN - WASHINGTON STATE
11/3 - Washington State 0-0 Washington
Defensive stalemate. That's all you can really say about this game. Both teams had nine shots. Neither had one go on goal so both keepers finished without a recorded save. A whole lot of zeros.
The Cougars, seventh in the conference at 4-6-1, were awarded an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. They are one of seven from the Pac-12, and will face two-seed Central Florida in Orlando in the opening round Saturday, November 11 (4:00 pm PT). UCF, the unbeaten regular season AAC champions, fell 5-3 on penalties to South Florida after a scoreless draw in the conference tournament final. The eighth-ranked Knights bring a 16-game unbeaten streak into the NCAA tournament. Though the Cougs had a losing conference record and 9-7-3 overall mark, they had plenty of positive results on their ledger against ranked opponents (at the time of the match):
Result (then rank) Opponent (current rank)
0-0 D v #19 Minnesota NR
1-0 W v #14 Nebraska NR
1-2 L v #2 Stanford #1
3-0 W v #24 Utah NR
1-0 W v #2 UCLA #4
1-2 L v #6 USC #9
0-1 L v Arizona RV
WOMEN - GONZAGA
11/4 - Gonzaga 1-2 Loyola Marymount
The Zags gave up two goals in the first half the first on a long cross that floated over the keeper and the second on a headed free kick. Callie Best (Spokane, WA) closed out her career with a penalty kick in the 59th minute but that was all the Bulldogs could muster in a rally attempt.
MEN - GONZAGA
11/4 - Gonzaga 0-1 Portland
A side volley in the 34th minute of the contest decided the game, which saw just 11 shots total - nine of them from the Pilots and only three combined on frame.
Remaining Schedule...
11/11 - Gonzaga @ Pacific
SPECIAL NOTES
SANTA CLARA & Turnbow, Hedge and Sanchez -- Kelsey Turnbow (Spokane, WA) and Kelcie Hedge (Post Falls, ID) were on fire for the Broncos in a 3-0 win against San Diego Thursday with a goal and assist each. Turnbow scored the opener in the 19th minute off a cross and then turned provider three minutes into the second half with a cross that Hedge nodded home. Hedge would provide a helper in the 74th... Maria Sanchez (American Falls, ID / Idaho State) then played a key role in the season finale, a 4-3 comeback win against BYU in which the Broncos rallied from a deficit twice. She scored the second equalizer in the 36th minute and delivered a free kick for an assist in the 42nd for the lead at the break. A shot from Sanchez rebounded and finished by a teammate for the final goal of the game in the 56th.
The Broncos, second in the WCC with an 8-1-0 record, received an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament and will face California in the opening round Saturday at 1:30 PT. It will be a rematch of their non-conference showdown in August in which the Broncos held the lead only to see the Golden Bears score in the 80th minute and prevail in overtime. Santa Clara went 1-4 against the Pac-12 this season, but three of the losses were by one goal. All five of those opponents are headed to the NCAA Tournament.
ALSO TOURNEY BOUND
Stanford (No. 1 seed) - Junior forward Averie Collins (Bozeman, MT)
Arizona - Senior goalkeeper Jackie Bollinger (Wenatchee, WA)
Clemson - Associate Head Coach is Jeff Robbins (Spokane, WA)
More Notes
Down two against Washington, Timmy Mueller (Post Falls, ID) set up the first goal of four consecutive by Oregon State in a comeback 4-3 win against the Huskies in the season finale Thursday... Sam Werner (Bozeman, MT) scored the second goal for Stanford in a 4-0 win against San Diego State on Sunday and helped lead them to a 1-0 win over #22 California Thursday in their season finale.
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