THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, October 7, 2015
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October 6, 2015 8:06 PM
October is known for a tremendous postseason in baseball.
Without those boys to the west in the mix — again — it’s going to be on a lot of the area college and high school teams to vill the void.
And in case you might be missing it, they’re doing a pretty good job of it so far.
WITH ANOTHER month remaining in Northwest Athletic Conference soccer play, the North Idaho College men’s team is sitting in third place at 5-4-2 overall, 3-2-2 (11 points) in conference play. The Cardinals trail Walla Walla (5-1-5, 3-1-3, 12 points) and the Community Colleges of Spokane — which leads the East Division at 6-3-2, 4-2-1, 13 points.
“It’s real tight right now,” NIC men’s soccer coach Ken Thompson said. “Everyone is really evenly matched right now.”
The men host Walla Walla today in NWAC play at 4 p.m., and will host the Community Colleges of Spokane on Saturday.
The top three in each division advance to the conference playoffs.
NIC’s women’s team is currently fourth in the East at 4-3-2, 2-1-1 (7 points), trailing Walla Walla (4-4-2, 3-2-0, 9 points), Treasure Valley (6-6-1, 3-3-1, 10 points) and league leading Spokane — which is 8-0-1, 5-0-0, 15 points.
NIC has been fighting injuries and illness in recent weeks, but got a few players back for Saturday’s 2-0 win against visiting Columbia Basin.
“Lexi Smith was still feeling the effects of a stomach virus, but was determined to play and almost scored in the first half,” NIC women’s coach Dan Hogan said. “Alex Rankin (NIC’s other starting centerback) sprained her ankle during Thursday’s practice, but she played while suffering, making several good defensive plays while being slower and not being to cut as well.”
Like the men, NIC’s women will host Walla Walla and Spokane this week, and will host Wenatchee Valley in its home finale next Tuesday at Eisenwinter Field.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will also play the top teams on the road again, so getting a good result, either a win or draw, is going to be needed this weekend in both matches.
WHILE THE game didn’t have any impact on the postseason for either the Lakeland or Timberlake football teams on Friday night, you couldn’t tell that by the way that either team approached the game.
For both, it’s a rivalry game as both reside in the same district, so not wanting to lose to your neighbors weighed heavily on both sides.
“Our boys worked really hard to work for this game tonight,” said Timberlake junior Brandon Hausladen, who moved from fullback to quarterback after an injury to quarterback Ryan Starr on Sept. 25 at Pullman. “This is our biggest game of the year, and we worked hard and it showed on the field.”
Both Lakeland and Timberlake open league play this week, with the Hawks going to Sandpoint and Timberlake hosting Priest River.
“It’s the boys’ job to worry about school,” Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said. “It’s our job as a coaching staff to have them ready for league play and we’ll spend the week at practice doing that.”
Without those boys to the west in the mix — again — it’s going to be on a lot of the area college and high school teams to vill the void.
And in case you might be missing it, they’re doing a pretty good job of it so far.
WITH ANOTHER month remaining in Northwest Athletic Conference soccer play, the North Idaho College men’s team is sitting in third place at 5-4-2 overall, 3-2-2 (11 points) in conference play. The Cardinals trail Walla Walla (5-1-5, 3-1-3, 12 points) and the Community Colleges of Spokane — which leads the East Division at 6-3-2, 4-2-1, 13 points.
“It’s real tight right now,” NIC men’s soccer coach Ken Thompson said. “Everyone is really evenly matched right now.”
The men host Walla Walla today in NWAC play at 4 p.m., and will host the Community Colleges of Spokane on Saturday.
The top three in each division advance to the conference playoffs.
NIC’s women’s team is currently fourth in the East at 4-3-2, 2-1-1 (7 points), trailing Walla Walla (4-4-2, 3-2-0, 9 points), Treasure Valley (6-6-1, 3-3-1, 10 points) and league leading Spokane — which is 8-0-1, 5-0-0, 15 points.
NIC has been fighting injuries and illness in recent weeks, but got a few players back for Saturday’s 2-0 win against visiting Columbia Basin.
“Lexi Smith was still feeling the effects of a stomach virus, but was determined to play and almost scored in the first half,” NIC women’s coach Dan Hogan said. “Alex Rankin (NIC’s other starting centerback) sprained her ankle during Thursday’s practice, but she played while suffering, making several good defensive plays while being slower and not being to cut as well.”
Like the men, NIC’s women will host Walla Walla and Spokane this week, and will host Wenatchee Valley in its home finale next Tuesday at Eisenwinter Field.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will also play the top teams on the road again, so getting a good result, either a win or draw, is going to be needed this weekend in both matches.
WHILE THE game didn’t have any impact on the postseason for either the Lakeland or Timberlake football teams on Friday night, you couldn’t tell that by the way that either team approached the game.
For both, it’s a rivalry game as both reside in the same district, so not wanting to lose to your neighbors weighed heavily on both sides.
“Our boys worked really hard to work for this game tonight,” said Timberlake junior Brandon Hausladen, who moved from fullback to quarterback after an injury to quarterback Ryan Starr on Sept. 25 at Pullman. “This is our biggest game of the year, and we worked hard and it showed on the field.”
Both Lakeland and Timberlake open league play this week, with the Hawks going to Sandpoint and Timberlake hosting Priest River.
“It’s the boys’ job to worry about school,” Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said. “It’s our job as a coaching staff to have them ready for league play and we’ll spend the week at practice doing that.”
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.