No. 7 Cardinal women beat No. 13 Laramie CCC

| October 15, 2011 9:00 PM

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Carissa Christensen had one goal and an assist as the seventh-ranked North Idaho Cardinals defeated the 13th-ranked Laramie County Community College Eagles 2-0 in a nonconference match Friday.

"Overall, I thought we played really well," NIC coach Dan Hogan said. "Allysa (Howell) had to make a tough play on a corner kick, but was in good position the rest of the day."

Demi Wignot opened the scoring in the first half for NIC (12-0-1), which faces the Colorado Gold Club team today in Cheyenne.

"We had a couple of chances that were just wide of the post that could have gone for another goal," Hogan said. "Overall, I thought we had the run of play the entire game. They were missing one of their players who is with the Columbian national team in the PanAm Games. They'll play better the next time we see them."

Laramie County (12-4-2) will compete in the Region IX tournament next weekend, with the winner advancing to the District B championships in Kansas on Nov. 4-5 against the top two teams from Region VI (Kansas) and NIC. In the semifinals, NIC will play the No. 2 team from Region VI, and the Region IX champ will play the Region VI champ.

Allysa Howell had eight saves for NIC.

First half - 1, NIC, Demi Wignot (Carissa Christensen), 9:00. Second half - 2, NIC, Christensen (unassisted), 50:30.

Shots on goal - NIC 15, LC 14.

Saves - NIC, Allysa Howell 8; LC, Alissa Pedraza 9.

Laramie County 1

North Idaho 0

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Spencer Gray scored in the 11th minute as the Eagles, ranked 17th in the NJCAA, defeated the Cardinals in a nonconference match.

"We changed the way we defended a little today and tried to force the ball into the wide areas," NIC coach Ken Thompson said. "We played tough after traveling on Wednesday and usually when you play hard, you get a few bounces, but that didn't happen today."

NIC midfielder Nick Shriner missed on a penalty kick early in the second half and a rebound attempt by Matt Lieggi was saved.

"They dodged a couple bullets today," Thompson said. "We stuck to the gameplan and it was definitely was a hotly contested game."

Dana Ashton had seven saves for NIC (5-5-2), which faces the Westminster College JV today in Cheyenne.

First half - 1, LC, Spencer Gray (Luis Gonzales), 11:00. Second half - none.

Shots on goal - NIC 5, LC 8.

Saves - NIC, Dana Ashton 7; LC, Cameron Clark 4.