THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Post Falls product McGowan fills gap in goal for NIC

Some kids take a ‘gap year’ in order to gain a passion for something after high school. 

It could be anything from a career to a future school, but sometimes it takes a little longer than a student’s senior year. 

For North Idaho College sophomore goalkeeper Kael McGowan, it wasn’t so much that he disliked playing soccer, but he had to go away to find that passion for it again. 

AFTER GRADUATING from Post Falls High in 2022, McGowan was accepted to play for the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club, a nonprofit under-19 elite club team based in Seattle. 

“After high school, I wanted to keep playing but didn’t want to go to college quite yet,” said McGowan, who is 6-foot-6. “My drive for soccer was going down, but I’d just been recruited to a good youth team. So I decided to take a break from school and find what I really wanted to do with my life.”

As it turned out, it was back home at NIC, where he’s in his second season as the starting keeper for the Cardinals. 

NIC went 2-8-4 in 2023 in McGowan’s freshman season, the program’s final year in the Northwest Athletic Conference before moving back to the NJCAA at the start of the fall this year. 

“The preparation from this year to last is a lot different in that I’m watching more of what I eat than before, and exercise,” said McGowan, who was the Inland Empire League Goalkeeper of the Year as a junior in 2020, when he helped the Trojans qualify for state. “The speed of play has gone up immensely, so that’s also part of it. I’ve got to mentally be ready to run and get into places on the field as quickly as possible.” 

This year, with the school able to offer full scholarships in the NJCAA, the Cardinals have added a handful of players from France, England, Trinidad and Tobago and Belgium. 

“Most of our communication is in English, so that hasn’t been too bad,” McGowan said. “But I knew some French coming into this season, so I’ve learned a little more so I can talk with them occasionally. The Trinidad guys, they talk in English, but it’s so fast that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. I can maybe say a sentence or two in French, but nothing too complicated.” 

In order to bridge any gaps, second-year NIC coach Brad Williams and McGowan use different words they use during matches in order to get players in the proper position. 

“We do it in a way that we get used to them beforehand, so for the backs and midfielders, when we go into the game, it’s instant,” McGowan said.  

“That’s the goalkeeper's role on the field is to be another coach on the field,” Williams said. “And we’ve had to do a lot of work with Kael on communication, and he’s still improving. But it’s good to know he understands the game and conveys those messages during the game. It’s really beneficial to have that on the field.” 

NIC HAS climbed the national rankings to 16th in this week’s NJCAA poll after being ranked 20th last week.

“At the beginning of the year, when the guys first got here and we were playing on the beach, you could see the level of play was a lot greater than last year,” McGowan said. “That’s when it really sparked for me because seeing that really made me want to catch up to where they were and work on the things I was bad at. Things just got fun this year.” 

NIC enters today’s game at Pacific Northwest Christian of Kennewick, Wash., with a 10-0-2 record. 

McGowan was recently named Scenic West Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Week for the second straight week. He was also named the NJCAA Goalkeeper of the Week on Wednesday. He's allowed six goals in 10 games, including two shutouts in his last four outings.

“It really shows the effort that I’ve been putting in, even from last year watching film and going over what I need to work on,” McGowan said. “It really reflects that and all the work that I’ve put into it. Being recognized by other people other than my coach, that made me feel really good.” 

McGowan had 10 saves in a scoreless draw at No. 2 Salt Lake on Sept. 28. 

“He’s developed a lot technically,” said Williams, who played goalkeeper at NCAA Division I Saint Francis in Pennsylvania. “I’ve spent a lot of time teaching him some specific details of his game that he needed to improve. And he’s a great student and picks everything up really quickly and is super attentive to the details. He’s been easy to work with in that sense, but he’s had to do a ton of work on his own. And it’s apparent that he’s done that and been coming through in his play.”

As for what has changed this season, McGowan added he’s willing to take more risks. 

“I’m trying to be a little more aggressive,” said McGowan, who is interested in continuing his career next year at a four-year school. “I’m trying to attack more to alleviate some of the pressure. But I’ve also tried to focus more on my communication with the back line and be as strong as possible.” 

Williams added that his play could be related to his approach to the match. 

“His attitude honestly is so good,” Williams said. “He’s super attentive to the details and he is really fun to coach because he’s smart and picks things up faster than most players do, which I think is special.” 

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.  

    Kael McGowan