INW player highlights around the nation; Frontier results

The following is a recap, mostly highlights, of how players from around the Inland Northwest  did this weekend around the nation outside the region along with recaps for Montana schools MSU-Billings, Rocky Mountain College and the University of Great Falls.

Carroll College win season opener, 3-1, vs Northwest U

The 25th-ranked Carroll College (Frontier Conference, NAIA) women’s team opened the season with a non-league victory against Northwest University (Cascade Collegiate Conference, NAIA) Thursday in Helena, Mont. The match was the first official game of the season for any of the schools in the Inland Northwest.

19 Spokane sides; 10 others from INW in Seattle for USCS National Cup XI Northwest Regional

US Club Soccer is holding the Northwest Regional tournament at the 60 Acres Soccer Complex in the greater Seattle area this weekend to determine the entrants into the National Cup XI Finals held later this year in Waukegan, Illinois July 27-30. Nearly 30 teams from10 different clubs around the Inland Northwest  are set to compete in the 27 Boys and Girls brackets at the event.

Nineteen clubs are headed to the Puget Sound from Spokane with a platoon of 16 teams representing the Spokane SC Shadow, two from FC Spokane and another from the Spokane Foxes. The Shadow have six teams playing on the boys side and 10 girls teams making the trek to represent the Lilac City. FC Spokane has a boys and girls team each and the Foxes are participating in the U14 Girls Premier tournament.

College of Idaho coach takes on double duty

The College of Idaho announced that long-time men’s head coach Brian Smith of Boise has been appointed Director of Soccer, taking on the additional responsibility as the head coach of the women’s team.

Idaho State wraps up spring slate with success

The Idaho State University Bengals traveled to Boise over the weekend for the final friendlies of the spring season.

They played to a pair of draws, getting a 1-1 result Saturday against a Washington State University program that finished fourth in the Pac-12 a year ago and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. The following day they drew 2-2 with host Boise State despite holding a two-goal advantage with 20 minutes remaining.

Seattle U’s INW trio face Sounders Women Friday

The Seattle Sounders Women continue their preseason slate Friday evening at the Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Wash. with a friendly versus local Seattle University, which features three Inland Northwest players from Boise, Pasco and Spokane.

Junior M/F Carlee Norquist (Boise, Idaho), sophomore M/F Shawna Anderson (Pasco, Wash.) and redshirt sophomore midfielder Ashley Fritts (Spokane, Wash.) will be going up against the W-League team featuring five US Women’s National Team players.

The match-up will create a Tri-Cities showdown between Anderson and Richland native Hope Solo, the star goalkeeper from the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Solo faced only a few challenges in their opening friendly versus Seattle Pacific University, leaving late in the contest with a shutout performance and three saves.

Players honored at Gonzaga Women’s banquet

In addition to honoring the team’s departing seniors, Gonzaga University recognized several players on the team for their contributions in 2011, including Spokane Valley junior Morgan Manchester and Boise freshman Katey Pennington.