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: Broncos make run, but fall short in MWC Final; plus WAC & Big Sky tourney results

The Broncos of Boise State added to their quality season with a good run in the Mountain West Conference's postseason tournament, reaching the championship game before falling to San Diego State by the same narrow 1-0 scoreline from the regular season. The results, which included a victory over second-place Fresno State could have the Broncos on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

Meanwhile, the University of Idaho Vandals saw their final Western Athletic Conference contest finish with a big thud as they were unable to solve regular season champion Seattle University in their third consecutive meeting. After falling 3-0 and 3-1 in the final week of the season, the Vandals were thumped handily by the Redhawks, who cruised to the league championship with a 3-0 win in the Final.

The Vandals now begin preparations for the Big Sky, which crowned its postseason conference champion over the weekend. Weber State took the crown after a scoreless draw with Portland State via penalties, marking the third consecutive year the conference title has been decided from the spot. Two years ago the Wildcats missed the NCAA tournament after falling in the tiebreaker to Montana, who were edged in last year's shootout by Idaho State.

INW College Recap - Boise State, Idaho prep for MWC & WAC tournaments; Big Sky tourney set

A pair of victories propelled Boise State to third in the MWC in the final week of the season, placing them in the Second Round of their tournament and the University of Idaho found a bit of fortune in other results, allowing them to hold onto the fourth seed in their final season in the WAC, setting up a third consecutive match in the period of two weeks with Northwest foe Seattle University, who won this weekend's matches by 3-0 and 3-1 to finish perfect on the year in conference.

INW College Recap - Week 10: DI round-up - Several INW programs still in mix for postseason play

The Big Sky Conference regular season came to a close and all three programs in the region missed out on the top four and a playoff spot, including 2012 co-season champions and playoff finalists Montana and Idaho State. The Bengals, with a shot at making the final cut, won their opener on the road at North Dakota, but lost a decisive battle for fourth with Northern Colorado in the second outing.

Meanwhile, ISU's counterparts are still alive for a chance to reach the playoffs. The Boise State Broncos, facing two of the league's top teams, narrowly fell at home to powerhouse San Diego State but rebounded to edge New Mexico. The Vandals of Idaho lost at Kansas City, but won on the road versus New Mexico State to remain in a three-way race for fourth.

Across the Palouse, and the border, the Washington State Cougars, strong contenders for an NCAA tournament berth, posted a sweep of their PAC-12 counterparts in Arizona, blanking both the Wildcats and Sun Devils on the road.

INW College Recap - Week 9: DI round-up - Boise State wins in advance of big homestand

Though they currently sit fourth in the conference, the Boise State Broncos posted a 3-0 victory at Colorado to remain in a tight group in contention for the regular season title with the top two teams, San Diego State and New Mexico, coming to town this week. It was a tough week for Gonzaga as the men suffered their first conference loss at Santa Clara after nipping visiting Portland midweek and the women dropped an overtime decision at fifth-ranked Portland in a bizarre finish.

In the Big Sky, Idaho State split their two games this week amidst a record-setting performance from Amanda Ellsworth while the Montana Grizzlies snared a narrow victory over visiting Eastern Washington. In the Palouse, it was a depressing week as Washington State lost at home to the struggling Beavers and Idaho dropped a pair of one-goal decisions at home.

INW College Recap - Week 8: DI round-up - Gonzaga men continue unbeaten WCC start

The Gonzaga men's program continues to enjoy one of its most successful seasons in years, downing visiting Loyola Marymount and posting a 3-3 draw in a game against San Diego they had the better of play in. Meanwhile, the GU women split in California. Also splitting results on the weekend were Washington State, who scored three in each game, and Boise State. The Big Sky's INW trio saw mixed results as Montana also split, earning their first conference win, while Idaho State played to a draw and Eastern Washington lost twice, including being the first to lose to second-year Big Sky program North Dakota, who were zero for 13 previously.

INW College Recap - Week 7: DI round-up - In California Gonzaga men earn two road draws & WSU women split

The Gonzaga men had not earned a point on the road in conference play since 2009, but the Bulldogs continue to surprise many this season and came away with two points this weekend with a pair of draws at Saint Mary's and San Francisco in which the defense allowed just one goal. Also in California this week was Washington State. The lady Cougars suffered their first loss of the year against the third-ranked UCLA Bruins but rebounded with a win at USC. In other Division I results, the INW trio of Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Montana only picked up two wins in six combined Big Sky contests; Idaho split a pair of road games and Boise State won in their lone home contest.

INW College Recap - Week 6: DI round-up; Bengals & Grizzlies still deadlocked in Big Sky

With conference play underway for most of the Division I programs, the Big Sky kicked things off this week with a championship rematch between Idaho State and Montana, who ended up playing to a third consecutive draw between the two programs. Meanwhile, in their Pac-12 opener Washington State was surprisingly stymied by the Oregon Ducks in a scoreless draw.

Gonzaga men close out successful non-conference slate with 2-1 win over Seattle U

The Zags had plenty to celebrate in the wet conditions Saturday | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

Back home after nearly a month on the road in which the Bulldogs enjoyed their greatest success in quite some time, the Gonzaga men, ranked 23 by Soccer America, found some freedom from the wind in the second half Saturday afternoon to build a two-goal lead against Seattle University en route to a 2-1 victory on a very wet and blustery afternoon.

INW College Recap - Week 5: DI round-up; Gonzaga men top another ranked foe on the road

Fresh off of receiving their highest ranking since 1997, No. 19, the Gonzaga men continued their lengthy road series in Chicago, suffering a 1-0 setback before rebounding to defeat 21st-ranked and unbeaten Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the Washington State women remain unbeaten by adding a pair of non-conference victories in California to their ledger heading into conference play, and the ladies of Boise State finished their non-conference slate unbeaten against PAC-12 opposition (2-0-1) with a win at Arizona State before falling at 13th-ranked Baylor.

INW 2013 College Preview: WAC, PAC-12 and MWC at a Glance

With conference play kicking off in the Western Athletic Conference this week, INWsoccernews continues its series of conference glances with the WAC, the Mountain West Conference and the PAC-12, each featuring one school in the region (series concludes with Big Sky next week).

INW College Recap - Week 4: Big wins for Gonzaga men, women highlight area DI results

The Gonzaga men continue to roll with another surprising road result and it may have rubbed off onto the women's side as the Bulldog women posted their first victory over a PAC-12 school since 2007, ending a 15-game losing streak against the conference. Also on the women's side, Eastern Washington won against future Big Sky foe Idaho for the second straight year; Boise State picked up a pair of wins in North Dakota; and Washington State had a pair of good results.

INW College Recap - Week 3: Road wins for Gonzaga men highlight regional DI results

The headline makers in the region at the Division I level this week were underdog sides Gonzaga and Boise State. The Bulldog men claimed a pair of stunning road victories in California, including one against a well-ranked opponent, and the Broncos played to a scoreless draw against Washington State as well as Weber State.

INW Collegiate Recap - Week 2: Around the Division I Leagues

The Washington State Cougars were the big winners on the week among the region's Division I teams, posting shutout victories over nearby foes Idaho and Eastern Washington that were led by senior striker Micaela Castain.

The narrow 1-0 loss by the Eagles, however, was a bit of a moral victory; just as was the same scoreline as Gonzaga men fell to the University of Washington. Boise State, meanwhile, registered a real quality victory by downing the Huskies in Seattle, 1-0, two days after falling in overtime, 2-1, to Seattle University.

School changes to highlight final Vandals season in WAC

Denver University will not be following the University of Idaho to the Big Sky when the Vandals make the move in 2014-15. In their one and only season in the WAC Denver won the conference title this season at 6-0-2 (17-3-4 overall) and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time before bowing out to defending champion Stanford. 

College Recap - Big Sky, WAC, MWC: Idaho State lone team to win conference tourney

While their state's other Division I compatriots, Idaho and Boise State, were knocked out of their conference tournaments in the WAC and MWC, Idaho State stayed true to it's top seed - despite a three-way tie for the title - in the Big Sky and came away with a league-high fifth championship to clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament, advancing via an outstanding goalkeeping performance by freshman Sheridan Hapsic in two penalty kick shootouts at home.

College Recap - WAC & MWC: Idaho and Boise State playoff bound

It came down to the final game in the WAC, but the Vandals snared the final berth in the conference tournament Sunday with a victory against New Mexico after a difficult loss Friday to one of the conference leaders. Seattle University, meanwhile, clinched their berth Friday before falling to the same Denver team on Sunday, entering the tournament with the fifth seed. Meanwhile in the MWC, San Diego State finished the conference campaign with a perfect 7-0-0 record with a victory while Boise State finished tied for second with New Mexico after a win over Nevada, but will be the third seed in the conference playoffs due to a loss to the Lobos during the season.

College Recap - MWC & WAC: Boise State playoff bound, Idaho near

It could be a good year for soccer in the state of Idaho. With Idaho State having won a share of the Big Sky tournament and Boise State heading to the Mountain West tournament (see below), the Idaho Vandals can make it three for three with a good set of results at home in their final weekend of the WAC. 

IT'S OFFICIAL: Idaho Vandal soccer headed to Big Sky in 2014-15

In an announcement that has been expected for a few months, the University of Idaho confirmed Friday that it has officially accepted an invitation from and will join the Big Sky Conference for non-football athletics, beginning with the 2014-15 season.

INW Collegiate Recap - MWC & WAC: Boise State wins two on the road; Vandals split

The two Idaho schools performed well, picking up wins in three of their four matches. Despite being on the road, Boise State crawled out of their winless hole to put themselves in the picture for the Mountain West playoffs in a wide open table. The Idaho Vandals, meanwhile, earned their first conference win against mid-table San Jose State before falling to league-leading Utah State in a pair of home contests.