NWAC East Update 10.26.19: CBC Men Win East, Playoff Picture Coming Into Focus

Columbia Basin won a battle of the top two in the East on Saturday, downing Spokane to clinch the NWAC East Men's title.

On the women's side of things the Hawks locked up the second seed by completing a sweep of the Sasquatch on the season. Walla Walla kept its unbeaten status intact with a win over North Idaho that left the Cardinals in playoff limbo along with Yakima Valley, which suffered a surprise loss at the hands of Treasure Valley as the Chukars won their second of the weekend. NIC and YVC are tied for fourth and sit three back of Spokane for the third playoff spot with the Bigfoot and Cardinals set to square off on the final night while the Yaks visit Wenatchee Valley, which is coming off of finally getting its first win.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 9: Howard and Camarillo Deliver Big Results

The season is starting to look a lot like the year of the goalkeeper on the women's side as week after week numerous netminders are putting forth outstanding performances. This week there was an abundance at the position, which was led by Claire Howard, who is dominating the Big Sky at the moment for Montana. On the men's side an offensive outburst by Wenatchee Valley and Jose Camarillo was just enough to win a goalfest and hand Spokane its first loss in the NWAC East.

NWAC East Update 10.24.19: Warrior Women Clinch NWAC East Title

 In a pair of doubleheaders in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene eight of the top nine teams were in action across the women's and men's tables. In women's action a draw at North Idaho between the Cardinals and Columbia Basin allowed unbeaten Walla Walla to clinch the NWAC East title with a tightly contested 2-0 win at Spokane that saw just five shots on goal combined. On the men's side a draw between Spokane and Walla Walla and a CBC win at NIC essentially set the three teams headed to the postseason as Spokane became the second to clinch and Wenatchee Valley holds a six point lead for the final berth with games left versus the bottom two.

College Notebook 10.24.19: Races for Postseason Heating Up

As November nears, so do the conference and national tournaments. Simple mathematics makes its way from the classrooms in many situations as the players examine the point totals and where their teams stand in the chase for the postseason.

NWAC East Update 10.22.19: Separations Form, Teams Clinch as Crunch Time Starts

Last Wednesday was a day of firsts on the men's side as Walla Walla finally picked up its first victory while Spokane suffered its first defeat. The Sasquatch loss allowed Columbia Basin to step to the top of the table with their pair of victories, which also enabled them to secure a playoff spot. The Warriors, meanwhile, used their road trip to finally get going in the win column with a sweep of Blue Mountain and Treasure Valley.

On the women's side Yakima Valley's two matches made a huge impact on the race for the three playoff berths as their draw against North Idaho cost both sides, who were trailing Spokane, which avenged an earlier season loss to the Yaks with a 1-0 win in Yakima Saturday to further increase their lead. The results also enabled unbeaten Walla Walla to officially lock up a postseason berth.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 8: Crooks & Gomez Earn Top Honors

Freshman goalkeeper AJ Crooks (Spokane, WA) continues to impress on the other side of the nation in the SEC for Alabama. This week against the ranked Aggies she made six big saves to earn a pivotal draw for her side and then helped lead them to a shutout against LSU, earning her first career SEC clean sheet and the INWsn Player of the Week honor. Closer to home, Diego Gomez (Sunnyside, WA) guided Skagit Valley to a big 3-2 win against Everett in the chase for the playoffs in the NWAC North as part of a two-win week that closed the gap between the two.

College Notebook 10.16.19: Gonzaga Ladies Double Historic Result

In 26 previous meetings, perennial power Portland had won 25 times against Gonzaga and played to a tie once. The Zags finally broke through against their WCC foe in Spokane last year for their first win. Visiting Portland would surely be a different scenario one would imagine, but the Bulldogs were able to repeat the accomplishment.

NWAC East Update 10.14.19: The Walla Walla Conundrum Continues

Aside from Friday's two contests, goals were a hard thing to come by in a tight set of matches for the men this week as two went scoreless and another two were 1-0 affairs. At the end of the day Spokane was still unbeaten and Walla Walla - somehow - still winless.

On the women's side a tough week for Yakima Valley allowed Columbia Basin to move into second and Spokane third in what is turning into an exciting race for second in the NWAC East as unbeaten Walla Walla holds a five-point lead despite dropping their first points of the season to the Yaks on Wednesday. Climbing into that race was North Idaho with a pair of wins as the foursome sit within a four point span of one another.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 7: CCC's Rassier and Swenson Lead Weekly Honors

A pair of performances in the Cascade Collegiate Conference led the way this week as Rylee Rassier played a role in six of Northwest's seven goals on the weekend as they handed Corban its first loss and Sky Swenson similarly was a part of four of the five scored by Rocky Mountain as they downed a pair of quality opponents.

College Notebook 10.10.19: Eastern Washington Soars Past Idaho

In a showdown with rival Idaho, the Eastern Washington Eagles controlled the contest in Cheney and rolled to a 3-1 victory to move to 1-0-1, but Montana is also off to a hot start in the Big Sky Conference, posting a pair of one-goal wins on the weekend to remain perfect after three games.

Opening league play, the Gonzaga women smacked visiting San Diego 6-0 with the duo of India Jencks and Samantha Heilman lighting it up and MSU Billings earned a narrow 1-0 win at Northwest Nazarene on the opening day of GNAC men's play only to finish with a split on the weekend.

Washington State ran into the buzz saw that is second ranked Stanford, suffering a 5-0 loss. The Cougars, however, rebounded quickly with a 1-0 overtime win over #20 California on the weekend. The Washington men, however, faired differently with their trip to face Stanford - ranked number two as well - courtesy of Blake Bodily (Eagle, ID).

Finally kicking off league play this week are the Gonzaga men in the WCC Saturday.

NWAC East Update 10.07.19: Walla Walla Women Blank Columbia Basin, Remain Unbeaten

Spokane gave Walla Walla a bit of a scare on Wednesday, but the Warriors took a 3-2 decision at home and then made a statement in the final game of the first half of the season, blanking Columbia Basin in convincing fashion Saturday.

On the men's side Spokane closed out the first half of the season unbeaten and a point ahead of CBC courtesy of a scoreless draw Wednesday at Walla Walla and a 2-0 win at rival North Idaho Saturday. In a shocker, a loss for Walla Walla Saturday combined with Blue Mountain taking the battle of the winless sides versus Treasure Valley allowed the Timberwolves to leap past the still winless (0-2-4) Warriors in the table.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 6: Spokane Duo Light it Up for Pacific Lutheran, Yakima Valley

Pacific Lutheran headed to the east side to take on the 'Whits' and midfielder Jackson Moore played a key role in guiding the Lutes to a pair of wins that put them in command of the Northwest Conference as Puget Sound slipped up, scoring two goals and adding three assists in a dominant 5-0 win at Whitworth and 3-1 victory at preseason favorite Whitman. On the ladies side midfielder Corynn Vigil broke out for five goals as they outlasted Treasure Valley 5-2 and slipped by Blue Mountain 1-0.

College Notebook 10.03.19: Yellowjacket Women Stun Concordia to Open GNAC

The MSU Billings women, last place finishers in the GNAC a year ago, got off to a great start with a sweep of Western Oregon and defending champion Concordia. In the Big Sky there's a bit of new hope in the new season, perhaps, as Idaho State showed a bit of fighting spirit. Though they are 0-1-1 after the first week, it was not for trying as they took Portland State to overtime and led twice in a draw against Sacramento State.

On the men's side of things, the powers of the east met the powers of the west in the Northwest Conference. It was Pacific Lutheran that laid the best hand out on the table with a huge win at Whitworth and another good result at Whitman whilst the 10th ranked Loggers fell in both games.