INWsn College Best XI - Week 13-Plus: Hutchinson, Bodily Provide Key Postseason Performances

Well... well... well. We left the final window for honors roll on through the tournaments as the number of teams left playing narrowed. The big surprise, though, was the number of teams that went on fantastic eye-opening runs, providing a significant amount of drama and excitement along with a difficult decision for Player of the Week.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 12: Sherle, Moore Earn Top Honors Among Tough Choices

Choosing INWsn Players of the Week was a tough choice as both the men's and women's lists had a pair of leading contenders... and with playoffs or championships at stake the importance of their performances was heightened.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 10 & 11: Two for One Edition of Weekly Honors

Busy times with high school and college action locally delayed Week 10's list... so you get twice as many honors this week - and it is exceptionally exciting given some of the performances.

Kelsey Turnbow (Spokane, WA) guided Santa Clara to a thrilling comeback result in a pair of wins for the Week 10 INWsn Player of the Week nod and Morgan Weaver lit things up in Week 11 for Washington State, overshadowing a nice performance from Western Washington's Darby Doyle (Spokane, WA) that would have earned the nod most other weeks.

On the men's side Whitman made a huge stride in the race for the Northwest Conference title, handing Pacific Lutheran its first loss, 2-0, of the season in the first part of the tough two-game trip to the west side that also included a win at Puget Sound as well. Goalkeeper Owen Davis-Bower earned the shutouts in both games for the Week 10 INWsn Player of the Week selection. In Week 11 it was also a two-man choice just as it was for the ladies, both of them on the same side, however. Jake Levine took the nod for the honor over teammate Skyler Munroe as the striker played a key role in both games for Northwest Nazarene as the Nighthawks earned their first two wins of the GNAC campaign.

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.

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.

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.

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.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 5: Alger and Levine Lead WSU, NNU to Wins

A trip to island paradise landed a pair of victories for Washington State with defender Brianna Alger leading the way and Northwest Nazarene rolled to a pair of 2-0 victories in California off the boot of Jake Levine, who played a role in all four strikes.

INWsn College Best XI - Weeks 3 & 4: Turnbow, Myers, Hauser and Sherwood Lead Honors

Quite a few outstanding scoring outbursts highlighted the list of honorees this week, particularly amongst the women's performances as Kelsey Turnbow (Spokane, WA) and Rikki Myers (Northwest Nazarene) earned Player of the Week honors. On the men's side consistent goal creation landed Nolan Sherwood the honor and a surprising shutout of powerhouse Peninsula earned Colin Hauser (Boise, ID) the nod.

INWsn College Best XI - Weeks 1 & 2: Cottrell, Elwer and Peralta Off to Hot Starts

Goalkeeper Cydni Cottrell picked up where she left off last season and has Eastern Oregon off to a fantastic start as they prepare for the Cascade Conference season. Meanwhile, Idaho prep player of the year Lauren Elwer is having an immediate impact as a freshman for the Gonzaga women. In the NWAC, Jose Peralta has been a consistent spark for the Warriors at Walla Walla CC.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 13: Michkiosky, Wennin Lead Teams to CCC Titles

A literal second season in the Cascade Collegiate Conference for the top eight with a second automatic berth at stake following the regular season champions already earning a berth to the NAIA dance, many of the leagues teams had a chance to make a run to the national tournament over the course of four days in Springfield, Oregon last week.

Katie Michkiosky (Wenatchee, WA / Wenatchee Valley College) and Kristofer Wennin helped lead fifth seed Northwest University and third seed Rocky Mountain College to surprise championships to claim those berths.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 12: Hansen Leads Griz to Big Sky Title

Defense has been the staple of the University of Montana game this season and the fifth seed Griz used three shutout performances to run the table at the Big Sky Tournament to win the league championship and a berth to the NCAA tournament, avenging their only two losses of the season in the process.

INWsn Player of the Week selection Taylor Hansen was at the heart of not only that defensive effort, but played a key role in the attack for the first two victories, registering assists on all three goals. She drove up the right side against Northern Arizona and struck a pinpoint ball to Janessa Fowler for the 1-0 winner. In the semifinals she sent a perfect ball forward from midfield to Alexa Coyle who spun and fired for the opening goal in a 2-0 win against Weber State in which she also helped set up the second, connecting with fellow back Taryn Miller (Spokane, WA), who delivered a long ball forward to Fowler in the box for the second goal.

Navarro helped Saint Martin's win twice in a bid to finish second in the GNAC only to come up a point short of Western Washington, which also finished the season on a winning run.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 10: Winston Shutouts Push Eagles Into Postseason

Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon are both headed to the postseason with Kelsee Winston (Pasco, WA) and Carlos Solorio guiding them to victories against previously unbeaten sides on the weekend.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 9: Hedge & Meraz-Rodriguez Dominate In Wins

West Coast Conference contender Santa Clara kept pace with the other leaders early in the league with a 4-1 win against Saint Mary's on the weekend thanks to a big performance from Kelcie Hedge (Post Falls, ID) and Emilio Meraz-Rodriguez (Pasco, WA) was a superstar for Evergreen State as they posted a stunning 4-0 road win against fellow mid-table side Oregon Tech as the race for the Cascade Collegiate Conference postseason continues.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 8: Defenders Made Presence Known Last Week

In the women's ranks last week defensive play seemed to be the theme of the week as a number of teams won close contests or saw a balanced attack with numbers spread out or defenders playing a role. One such team was Walla Walla CC, which picked up a big win on the road against Yakima Valley College in a battle of contenders for the NWAC East. Defender Victoria Higley not only helped the Warriors blank a YVC side that won their previous meeting, but provided a goal and an assist in the attack to earn the Player of the Week nod.

On the men's side forward Carlos Solorio led Eastern Oregon to a pair of 2-2 draws  on the road against fellow mid-table opponents to remain in good position to make a run for the postseason, sitting sixth for an eight-team tourney. He was involved in both goals in their draw at Evergreen State and on another in their tie at Northwest University.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 7: Sherle Honored Again As She Reaches MW Peak

At the rate things are going this season, INWsn might as well just leave her on the list for the rest of the season. It was another big week from Raimee Sherle as she scored four of the team's five goals for a pair of Mountain West wins. Despite the opposition knowing what is coming she still finds a way to do it, and two of the goals came on drives in which she came out of the midfield, beating players along the way. The four goals put the junior forward even with Amy Kofoed (Utah 1999-01) for the career goals record among Mountain West players with 41. Her tally of 16 this season is five more than any other player in the Division I right now.

This is the fourth appearance on the list this season for Sherle, who is only the second player in the five years of the INWsn Best XI to earn back-to-back Player of the Week honors. Cassie Black (Eastern Washington) was recognized in weeks four and five in the first year of the site in 2012. Sherle was also honored on the list three times last season, including a PotW nod in Week 9.

On the men's side a pair of Northwest Nazarene players put up excellent performances in a bid for the nod, but sophomore striker Jake Levine had a goal and assist in each win. He set up the game-winning overtime goal on the road against Saint Martin's and helped lead the Knighthawks to a 4-2 road win over MSU Billings.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 6: Record-Setting Performance Earns Nod for Sherle

Bridget Daley's hat-trick for Idaho in their conference opener looked like a sure bet for the highlight performance of the week, but then Raimee Sherle netted three goals in 3:11 Sunday for Boise State, recording one of the fastest hat-tricks in NCAA history and setting the program record for goals in just her junior year. INWsn's Player of the Week selection now has a dozen goals on the year through their 10 matches.

Facing two of their regularly toughest opponents Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran, Drew Williams helped lead Whitworth to a draw and a victory to keep them unbeaten and near the top of the Northwest Conference table early in the season to earn the Player of the Week nod.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 5: Haro & Espinoza Honored

Defender Maddy Haro continues to be the consistent presence for the Cougars. In addition to leading the back line her ability to serve the ball has been a repeated threat for the opposition. In the Cougars' final week of non-league play she set up three goals for a pair of victories that helped push WSU up to #14 in the nation.

At the other end of the pitch, freshman Johan Espinoza played a key role for Wenatchee Valley last week in leading the Knights to a pair of wins in the NWAC East. Despite his team being outshot by visiting Spokane on Wednesday he gave he Knights the win with a pair of goals. Later in the week he scored twice more in leading them to a 3-0 victory at North Idaho College to even out their conference record to 2-2.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 4: Carroll's Sheldon Takes Honor in Standout Week

On a list with several choices for the Player of the Week, the two-game performance from Carroll's Lizzie Sheldon against a pair of Northwest Conference foes landed her the nod in a difficult decision that could have just as easily gone to the hat-trick performance of Boise State's Raimee Sherle or the two-game effort by Larkin Russell of Portland.

After returning from a tough trip to Canada with three shutout losses the sophomore got things going for the Saints with all three goals in an overtime contest against Whitman and then scored in another overtime affair as they fell to Whitworth, picked to finish third in their league this year.

On the men's side of things it was Emilio Meraz-Rodriguez (Pasco, WA / Walla Walla CC) earning the nod for Evergreen State for helping lead the Geoducks to a victory against a Whitman side that has been picked to win the Northwest Conference this season.

INWsn College Best XI - Week 3: Lennon Leads Providence to Pair of Wins

Malena Lennon tallied a goal and assist twice last week for the University of Providence ladies as they downed Briar Cliff, 2-1 in overtime, and Mid-America Christian, 4-1, away from home to earn the INWsn Player of the Week selection. Previously a defender with the program, Lennon came into the season with just five goals and assist on her career ledger. The results turned the Argos record around to 2-1-0 heading into their final preseason game this weekend against in-state DII foe MSU Billings.

On the men's side results were not particularly positive for area programs and players, but among them was a three-win week for Eastern Oregon led by INWsn Player of the Week choice Aidan Wright. The keeper moved the Mountaineers record to 2-1-1 with two wins and a draw on the road last week in Arizona to finish up the preseason.