INW College Recap - Week 13: Season coming to a close, with a few exceptions

It was a difficult weekend for college soccer fans in Eastern Washington as the Washington State Cougars were knocked out of the tournament at home in penalty kicks, and despite finishing third with an emphatic win in their home finale, the Gonzaga men were not selected Monday for the men's tournament.

Elsewhere, however, some teams will continue to play in national tournament action. Rocky Mountain College is the lone team from the region still alive with their NAIA tournament campaign set to begin this weekend, but there are several other schools featuring INW players still in play. Among them are the Santa Clara women (DI), Puget Sound women (DIII), Corban men (NAIA), Concordia women (NAIA) and Westminster women (NAIA)

INW College Recap - Week 12: Frontier & Cascade - Rocky Mountain men headed to NAIA tourney; C of Idaho reach CCC playoffs

In the Unaffiliated Group qualifying tournament, the top-seeded Rocky Mountain sides split after reaching their respective championship contests. The Battlin' Bear men edged Jamestown College 1-0 to reach the NAIA tournament while the ladies dropped their first game of the year against conference foe Westminster, 1-0, in the Final.

Meanwhile, the CCC ladies started the postseason tournament to narrow the field down to two. Top seeds Concordia and Northwest University prevailed in the semifinals, though the Eagles needed penalties to squeak by Corban. On the men's side they finished out the regular season with the Yotes posting a huge win in their finale to jump up to fourth and claim the final berth in the conference tournament, which kicks off Tuesday.

INW College Recap - Week 11: Frontier & Cascade - Conference playoffs set begin for all but CCC men

Eastern Oregon finished their turnaround season with a victory over the College of Idaho to claim the fifth season in only their second postseason appearance in program history while on the men's side of the CCC, the College of Idaho remains in the running for the fourth and final seed going into their final game, though they need a home victory Saturday versus seventh-place Warner Pacific and a loss by Evergreen at last-place Northwest Christian.

Conference play finished up in the Frontier Conference, which will play host to the Unaffiliated Group tournaments courtesy of top seed Rocky Mountain College. The RMC men wrapped things up by avenging last week's loss to Great Falls and the ladies were the only team to sweep the final-week series between the three Montana-based schools which saw Carroll split as Great Falls lost to both rivals.

INW College Recap - Week 10: Frontier & Cascade - Playoff races heat up going into final weeks

The College of Idaho men saw their postseason chances take a hit when the Yotes fell at Evergreen, which is also chasing the fourth and final spot in the conference tourney, and now trail by five points along with Oregon Tech. On the women's side, things are a lot more wide open, but Eastern Oregon currently sits fifth, one point back of third with a game against the last-place Yotes in the final week.

In the Frontier Conference, the Great Falls men moved into first with a victory over rival Rocky Mountain but the two meet again in the final week. On the women's side RMC is still on top with an unbeaten record, but in the small conference everything is still up for grabs as the three Montana schools all play one another in the final week.

INW College Recap - Week 9: Frontier & Cascade - Rocky Mountain women post a road sweep

The Rocky Mountain women had a good week on the road, handing Carroll the program's first defeat at home in two years before heading to Utah for a win at Westminster. The Eastern Oregon women, meanwhile, earned a split on the road and almost came away with a draw against unbeaten Northwest University only to see it slip away in the final minutes.

Successful collegiate career nears end for Oliver Gore at Rocky Mountain College

Gore has enjoyed his time as a Battlin' Bear, but what lies ahead? | Photos: Gerald Barnhart 

As a striker for an NAIA program at a school featuring just over one thousand students in Montana, national media attention - not to mention professional scouting - does not exactly beckon. For Rocky Mountain College's Oliver Gore, however, that may not matter as his senior season in the Frontier Conference nears an end and he will be able to explore options himself.

This week the Englishman was selected by INWsoccernews as part of it's Best XI for the third time this season and eighth over the past two years after he tallied a goal and an assist over the weekend. His 17th goal of the year was number 63 of his career at RMC.

INW College Recap - Week 8: Frontier & Cascade - Rocky Mountain posts sweep over Jamestown

In the Cascade Conference, the Eastern Oregon women split on the weekend while the ladies from the College of Idaho dropped both matches at home. The Yotes did pick up a victory in the lone men's match however. Rocky Mountain were the lone winners in the Frontier as they swept a doubleheader with Jamestown, which had more success at Great Falls with a men's tie and women's win. The Westminster women also visited Montana, tying Carroll and beating Great Falls.

INW College Recap - Week 7: Frontier & Cascade - Eastern Oregon turnaround season success continues

A trip to Jamestown proved to be a difficult trek for Great Falls as the Argos men's and women's sides lost all four games on the weekend by the same 2-1 scoreline. Though the second game was cancelled due to field conditions, the Carroll women came away with a 4-1 win against Jamestown and Rocky Mountain women played to a 1-1 draw with conference foe Westminster.

Meanwhile in the Cascade Conference the College of Idaho men picked up the lone win in three games for the Yotes and the Eastern Oregon women split their two road contests to continue their impressive turnaround season.

INW College Recap - Week 6: Tough week for INW schools in Frontier, Cascade Conferences

The RMC Battlin' Bears traveled to Utah where the men edged host Westminster 1-0 while the ladies rebounded from a 1-0 loss to 21st-ranked CSU San Marcos before rebounding to top William Jessup 3-2. It was a rough week for the rest of the teams in the region as the Carroll women and College of Idaho men were both swept.

INW College Recap - Week 5: UGF Men's four-win week highlights Frontier, Cascade Conference results

The Argonauts had an excellent week, posting big victories over visiting Walla Walla twice midweek before traveling to Utah and posting two more, including one against conference foe and host Westminster. Meanwhile, the lady Argos were able to avenge their preview Red Lion Challenge loss to the College of Idaho, but fell at Westminster.

INW College Recap - Week 4: Eastern Oregon women continue hot start with two more wins amidst GNAC, NWC & NAIA action

In the GNAC, it was a tough trip to California for MSU-Billings, who suffered a pair of 2-1 overtime losses. On the other side of that scoreline though was Central Washington women, taking a 2-1 extratime win at Eastern New Mexico. The NWC saw the Whitworth and Whitman women split a pair of 2-0 contests with one another while the Whitworth men split a pair in Oregon.

In a trip to Vegas, the Frontier Conference saw some tough competition with the Rocky Mountain men posting the only victory, a 2-1 win over Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and their female counterparts earning a scoreless draw against 15th-ranked CSU San Marcos. The Great Falls men came close to a win, falling to CSUSM 3-2 in overtime.

In the CCC, the Eastern Oregon women continue to impress under second-year coach Jennifer Simonetti with the best start in program history, blanking Point Park University (PA) 2-0 and Walsh University 1-0 in overtime, both on the road.

INW College Recap - Week 3: Frontier domination highlights DII, DIII & NAIA action

The NAIA's Frontier Conference duo of Rocky Mountain and Great Falls posted some dominating wins in the Red Lion Challenge against their counterparts from the Cascade Collegiate Conference as their conference won eight of ten games in the event. Meanwhile, the CCC's Concordia women rolled to a big win over quality DIII side Whitworth. The Whitworth men, however, completed a successful road trip to Texas with a draw and a victory.

Red Lion Challenge concludes heavily in Frontier Conference's favor

It was a wet afternoon as the Red Lion Challenge concluded Saturday | Photos: Gerald Barnhart - GALLERIES

Frontier Conference coaches

The second day of the Red Lion Challenge finished nearly the same as it did the day before between the Frontier Conference and the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Frontier sides took four of the five games - eight of ten for the event - with the men sweeping in convincing fashion.

The ladies nearly wrapped up the event with six one-goal decisions were it not for Carroll College posting a two-goal victory in the nightcap Saturday evening.

On the men's side the four-game series over the weekend saw a total of 24 goals with Frontier registering all but four and posting a pair of shutouts Saturday.

Frontier Conference dominates opening day of Red Lion Challenge

The Frontier Conference dominated the first day of competition | Photos: Gerald Barnhart - GALLERIES

The Frontier Conference won four of the five games Friday afternoon in Spokane, Washington at the Red Lion Challenge against competition from the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Action on the day included a pair of rather one-sided, eight-goal men’s contests while the ladies battled to three one-goal decisions with five total goals, including one that finished in overtime.

INW 2013 College Preview - Frontier & Cascade Collegiate Conferences at a Glance

As the two conferences continue to square off in the preseason highlighted by this week's upcoming Red Lion Challenge in Spokane September 6-7, the two NAIA conferences are preparing for their upcoming campaigns and bids for the the national tournament at the end of the year.

Not only were the Concordia men picked to win the Cascade Collegiate Conference, but they were also voted number 11 in the preseason NAIA poll where they were joined by the Frontier Conference's Rocky Mountain College, which came in at 22. On the women's side Concordia was even higher in the NAIA poll, coming in at number five while Rocky Mountain was 24.

INW Collegiate Recap - Cascade & Frontier Conferences in full swing entering Red Lion Challenge

The Red Lion Challenge returns for a second year to Spokane's Dwight Merkel Sports Complex Sept 6-7

Competition between the two northwest NAIA conferences, the Cascade Collegiate Conference and Frontier Conference, is already underway as the two leagues head into the second edition of the Red Lion Challenge this weekend. On Friday and Saturday four men's teams and six women's sides will square off in a series of neutral site matches at the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex in north Spokane.

The two conferences have already begun to clash with the Great Falls women falling 3-2 on the road against Eastern Oregon on Labor Day and Carroll College defeating the visiting College of Idaho 2-1. The Rocky Mountain College women topped Evergreen State 3-1 while on the men's side RMC played to a 1-1 draw with the Geoducks

College Recap - CCC & Frontier: Rocky Mountain sweeps Frontier; Northwest, Concordia have same opportunity

Not surprisingly, the top two seeds in the Cascade Collegiate Conference's tournament, Northwest and Concordia, were victorious in the semifinals. On the men's side, the College of Idaho closed the season on a positive note with a pair of shutouts against Oregon Tech while others were playing for the postseason. Chief among the other results was Warner Pacific spoiling Concordia’s bid for an unbeaten season.

In the Frontier Conference, Rocky Mountain captured the league championship with a pair of victories over their state foes on the weekend, blanking Great Falls and narrowly slipping by Carroll in the season finale. The title sends them to Tennessee, where they will square off with Martin Methodist College of Tennessee (14-3) Saturday for the Frontier / TransSouth Unaffiliated Group championship. The men made it a sweep with a victory over the Argos, sending them to Salt Lake City to face the same MMCT Saturday.  

College Recap - CCC & Frontier: Northwest spoils Concordia title sweep in CCC

The Concordia women suffered their second straight loss in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, this time to second-place Northwest University, allowing the Eagles to take the conference lead and ultimately win the regular season championship. Meanwhile, the race for the postseason came to a dramatic finish with Corban needing help from one-win Eastern Oregon and nearly had the final berth with Southern Oregon scored late for a draw. The Concordia men remained unbeaten and clinched a 13th regular season title in 15 years as three of the four playoff teams are set heading into the final weekend of play.

College Recap - CCC & Frontier: Lone shot of game stuns NAIA No. 1 Concordia

In the CCC, the nation's top-ranked Concordia women suffered a stunning overtime defeat at the hands of Northwest Christian on their lone shot of the match and the College of Idaho men and women had mixed results. The Great Falls men and women had busy weeks with a trip to California followed by important Frontier Conference contests with Westminster.

INW Collegiate Recap - CCC & Frontier: Yotes struggle, Westminster prevails vs RMC

 It was a tough week for the College of Idaho. The Coyote women dropped a narrow one-goal decision to unbeaten Concordia before posting a big win, but the men suffered a pair on 1-0 defeats. In the Frontier Conference, Westminster got a good split with Rocky Mountain, winning men's contest and playing to a draw in the women's.