First Round results were mixed for the men and women, but when the final whistles sounded on Saturday it was the two top seeds Walla Walla and Columbia Basin moving onto the Final Four at Starfire in Tukwila.
** BREAKING NEWS: Championship Weekend has been significantly altered last minute due to vandalism of the lights at Starfire. Times have been changed and the men's semifinals have been moved to Saturday, thus cancelling the All-Star Games scheduled for those times. All the times listed below should be correct, but please refer to NWAC's official site for the official information.
NWAC EAST WOMEN
It was a rough first round for the East as both Spokane and Columbia Basin were knocked out. The Hawks were one of two second seeded sides to fall at home on the day. The quarterfinals proved a bit more celebratory for the East as Walla Walla was victorious in a tight one against Skagit Valley, which was looking for a second upset win. Tacoma, which knocked off CBC, was the lone lower seed - a three - to reach the Final Four at Starfire.
Among the honors announced this week, Walla Walla swept the big honors with midfielder Sariah Valencia (Grandview, WA) and forward Jessica Maher (Richland, WA) being named East Region Co-MVPs and Jordan Hacker receiving the East Region Coach of the Year award.
FIRST ROUND - Wednesday, November 6
W3 Tacoma 3-0 E2 Columbia Basin... The match was in a scoreless stalemate for over an hour before the visitors broke through in the 61st. Tacoma added two more in the next 13 minutes to move onto the quarters.
E3 Spokane 1-2 W2 Bellevue... The hosts tallied in the 31st and added a key insurance goal in the 51st as Lizzy Gonzalez (Caldwell, ID) scored for the Bigfoot in the 58th. It was all the Sasquatch could muster though as they came up short.
S3 Lane 0-4 N2 Whatcom... The hosts scored in the ninth and added three more in the second half.
N3 Skagit Valley 2-1 (OT) S2 Portland... The visitors took the lead in the 38th with Portland equalizing in the 69th. The Cardinals, though, prevailed in the 98th to move on.
QUARTERFINALS - Saturday, November 9
N3 Skagit Valley 1-2 (OT) E1 Walla Walla... Jessica Maher (Richland, WA) scored the opening goal via Aubree Skone (Warden, WA) in the 19th minute. The visitors tallied on one of their two shots on goal in the 71st to send the game to overtime for the second match in a row. This time the hosts prevailed though with Maher netting her second in the 100th minute.
W2 Bellevue 0-4 N1 Peninsula... The Pirates tallied three times in the first half and added a final goal in the 89th to cap the game.
W3 Tacoma 1-0 S1 Clark... Tacoma became the lone three seed to reach the Final Four with the deciding goal in the 51st minute.
N2 Whatcom 0-5 W1 Highline... Two goals in the first 10 minutes got the ball rolling for the hosts. They added two in the first 11 minutes of the second half as well.
WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR (Starfire)
SEMIFINALS - Friday, November 15
W3 Tacoma v N1 Peninsula 11:00 am
W1 Highline v E1 Walla Walla 2:00
ALL-STAR GAME - Saturday, November 16 - CANCELLED
Featuring...
F - Lizzy Gonzalez, Fr (Caldwell, ID) - Spokane
F - Rebecca Wheeler, So - Columbia Basin
F - Taylen Wohl, So (Clarkston, WA) - Walla Walla
M - Megan Haugen, So (Richland, WA) - Columbia Basin
M - Kylie Somerday, Fr (Spokane, WA) - Spokane
M - Sariah Valencia, Fr (Grandview, WA) - Walla Walla
M - Gretta Wiersma, Fr (Wenatchee, WA) - Wenatchee Valley
M - Megan Wilkinson, So (Pasco, WA) - Spokane
M - Grace Hipke, So (Richland, WA) - Peninsula
D - Blake Danna, So (Richland, WA) - Walla Walla
D - Grace Ellis, So (Spokane, WA) - Spokane
D - Mya Spencer, Fr (Ephrata, WA) - Columbia Basin
D - Abigail Uhart, Fr - Yakima Valley
D - JuliAnna Ventura, Fr (Pasco, WA) - Walla Walla
G - Josey Gunter, Fr (MaCammon, ID) - Walla Walla
* Players advancing to NWAC Final will not play
CHAMPIONSHIP - Sunday, November 17 - 11:00
Women's NWAC East Table
*1 - Walla Walla 12-0-2... 38 points
*2 - Columbia Basin 9-1-4... 31
*3 - Spokane 9-5-0... 27
Yakima Valley 7-4-3... 24
North Idaho 6-5-3... 21
Treasure Valley 5-9-0... 15
Wenatchee Valley 1-12-1... 4
Blue Mountain 0-13-1... 1
* Clinched playoff berth (3 total)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NWAC EAST MEN
Wenatchee Valley was one of a trio of three seeds to advance in the opening round and the Sasquatch prevailed at home. Their runs, though, came to an end in the quarterfinals as all of the top seeds advanced. Spokane and Columbia Basin's contests went to shootouts with the Hawks advancing to the Final Four as the lone representative from the East.
Among the honors announced this week, Columbia Basin defender Jason Cortes (Kennewick, WA) was named the East Region Most Valuable Player and Wenatchee Valley's Kyle Vierck was named East Region Coach of the Year.
FIRST ROUND - Wednesday, November 6
E3 Wenatchee Valley 2-1 (OT) W2 Highline... Luis Navarrete (Wenatchee, WA) gave the Knights the lead in the opening minute of the second half, but the hosts pulled even on a penalty with 12 minutes left to force overtime. In extra time Alex Medina (Wenatchee, WA) struck for the game-winner in the 106th minute to send WVC through to the semifinals.
W3 Pierce 0-1 E2 Spokane... In a tight contest that saw just three shots from each team, a goal from Brennan Murphy (Spokane, WA) in the 35th minute proved to be the difference. Dylan Abad was only called upon for two saves in the shutout.
N3 Everett 3-1 S2 Lane... The hosts tallied first, but Everett held a 2-1 lead at halftime and added another to lock it up in the 84th.
S3 Southwestern Oregon 2-1 (OT) N2 Whatcom... The visitors tallied in the 71st with the hosts answering three minutes later. Southwestern Oregon, though, found the winner in the 100th minute.
QUARTERFINALS - Saturday, November 9
N3 Everett 1-1 (10-11, 13rd SO) E1 Columbia Basin... Looking for another upset the visitors got on the board first in the 42nd minute on a penalty, but Juan Mendoza (Yakima, WA) found Francisco Lagunas (Sunnyside, WA) in the 55th to even it up on a header. The match would eventually advance to a shootout as CBC keeper Danny Puga (Pasco, WA) and his counterpart made eight saves in the match. Trailing after a first round shot off the crossbar, the Hawks rallied courtesy of a save from Jose Moreno (Pasco, WA) in the third round. He stopped another in the fifth, but the chance to win was sent wide, sending matters to sudden death rounds. The next seven rounds were all converted by both sides, taking things to a 13th round. Moreno again made another stop, denying the same player for a second time in the tiebreaker. Mario Negrete (Sunnyside, WA) then stepped up with a conversion to end matters.
E2 Spokane 1-1 (2-4 SO) S1 Chemeketa... The hosts claimed the lead in the 58th minute, but a ball from Abad set up Felix Nava for the equalizer in the 78th. Despite outshooting Chemeketa 12-2 in shots on frame, the Sasquatch saw the match go to a shootout and their season come to an end.
E3 Wenatchee Valley 0-3 N1 Peninsula... The Pirates scored just two minutes into the match to grab control, but the Knights kept things in check going into the break. Emmanuel Lopez (Wenatchee, WA) dealt a blow to his hometown school by setting up the second for Peninsula in the 59th minute as they pulled away for the win.
S3 Southwestern Oregon 0-3 W1 Tacoma... Tacoma scored six minutes in and added two more in the second half to grab the win.
MEN'S FINAL FOUR (Starfire)
SEMIFINALS - Saturday, November 16
S1 Chemeketa v N1 Peninsula 11:00 am
W1 Tacoma v E1 Columbia Basin 2:00
ALL-STAR GAME - Saturday, November 16 - CANCELLED
Featuring...
F - Christian Bahena, So - Spokane
F - Luis Navarrete, So (Wenatchee, WA) - Wenatchee Valley
F - Mario Negrete, Fr (Sunnyside, WA) - Columbia Basin
F - Diego Gomez, Fr (Sunnyside, WA) - Skagit Valley
M - Ignacio Castillo, So (Quincy, WA) - Wenatchee Valley
M - Juan Mendoza, Fr (Yakima, WA) - Columbia Basin
M - Jose Peralta, So (Boardman, OR) - Walla Walla
M - Jonathan Reynoso, So - Blue Mountain
M - David Uribe, So (Pasco, WA) - Spokane
M - Allen Escalante, So (Walla Walla, WA) - Tacoma
D - Carlos Campo, So - Spokane
D - Jason Cortes, So (Kennewick, WA) - Columbia Basin
D - Abraham Diaz, Fr (Walla Walla, WA) - Walla Walla
D - Ruben Flores, Fr - Spokane
D - Jacob Luhrs, So - North Idaho
G - Alexis Calderilla, So (Wenatchee, WA) - Wenatchee Valley
G - Colin Hauser, So (Boise, ID) - Edmonds
* Players advancing to NWAC Final will not play
CHAMPIONSHIP - Sunday, November 17 - 2:00
Men's NWAC East Table
*1 - Columbia Basin 10-1-1... 31 points
*2 - Spokane 6-2-4... 22
*3 - Wenatchee Valley 6-3-3... 21
Walla Walla 3-3-6... 15
North Idaho 3-6-3... 12
Blue Mountain 1-5-5... 8
Treasure Valley 0-10-2... 2
* Clinched playoff berth (3 total)
LOOK AT THE NWAC EAST LEADERS
Women's Leaders (East Games Only)
 |
| Click to view larger |
Men's Leaders (East Games Only)
###
