NIC ROUNDUP: Cardinals fall to Salt Lake for SWAC title, lose chance to host Region 18 tourney
• MEN'S SOCCER
HERRIMAN, Utah — North Idaho College, ranked eighth in the latest NJCAA poll, had its chance.
Unfortunately, third-ranked Salt Lake put away its chances more often, and NIC lost its chance to host the Region 18 tournament.
The Bruins defeated the Cardinals 3-0 in the Scenic West Athletic Conference finale for both at Zions Bank Training Center on Saturday, clinching the conference title and the right to host the Region 18 tournament.
"We couldn't get it done," said NIC coach Brad Williams, whose team played to a 2-2 tie with Utah State-Eastern on Thursday in Price, Utah. "Our legs were tired from Thursday, and we couldn't play how we normally play. We're not happy with losing this last game and not winning weeks."
NIC (15-1-3, 11-1-2 SWAC) will be the second seed in the Region 18 Tournament and face third-seeded Utah State-Eastern (10-4-4, 8-3-3) on Thursday in Herriman, Utah. Top-seeded Salt Lake (14-0-3, 11-0-3) will face fourth-seeded Snow (9-6-3, 8-4-2) of Ephraim, Utah, in the other semifinal, with Thursday's winners advancing to the championship match next Saturday.
NIC and Salt Lake played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 26 in Worley, a match marred by a post-game brawl.
Had NIC won either match this week, or tied Salt Lake on Saturday, the Cardinals would have hosted the men's and women's Region 18 tournaments. Had NIC hosted, the games would have been held at the Field of Dreams in Ponderay, NIC athletic director Shawn Noel said.
"It's unfortunate that the season turned out like this at the very end," Williams said.
First half — 1, SLCC, Mekhi Haughton-Parris (Esteban Fernandes), 27:43. 2, SLCC, Fernandes (unassisted), 30:46. Second half — 3, SLCC, Michael Radomski (Matt Hagan), 59:21.
Shots on goal — NIC 1, SLCC 5.
Saves — NIC, Nathan Gutierrez 2; SLCC, Ariel Martinez 1.
• WOMEN'S SOCCER
Salt Lake 6
North Idaho 0
HERRIMAN, Utah — Seanna Harris notched a hat trick and Oakley Zenger had a goal and five assists for the 12th-ranked Bruins in a Scenic West Athletic Conference win over the Cardinals at the Zion Banks Training Center.
The loss ends the season for NIC (10-6-3, 7-5-2 SWAC), which would have needed a win and some help to qualify for the Region 18 tournament.
Salt Lake (13-1-3, 10-1-3) won the conference title and will be the top seed to the Region 18 Tournament starting Thursday in Herriman, Utah.
First half — 1, SLCC, Seanna Harris (Oakley Zenger), 9:20. 2, SLCC, Harris (Zenger), 16:35. 3, SLCC, Ashley Price (Zenger), 35:42. Second half — 4, SLCC, Price (Zenger), 61:31. 5, SLCC, Harris (Zenger), 63:14. 6, SLCC, Zenger (Kamryn Weaver), 66:56.
Shots on goal — NIC 3, SLCC 13.
Saves — NIC, Brooklyn Sperry 4, Alayna Gardner 3; SLCC, Manaka Shindo 1, Lexie Lund 2.
• VOLLEYBALL
Southern Idaho d.
North Idaho
TWIN FALLS — Freshman Mikayla Esquivel had 12 kills, sophomore Daphne Neeley 11 digs for the Cardinals, whose season ended with a 26-24, 22-25, 25-16, 25-22 Scenic West Athletic Conference loss to the Golden Eagles.
NIC (19-11, 5-7 SWAC) is on a bye next week, the final week of conference play. The Cardinals, currently fifth, trail Snow (15-10, 5-5) for the fourth and final playoff spot. But Snow holds the tiebreaker in sets won head-to-head. The Cardinals claimed a five-set win on Oct. 16 and the Badgers won in four on Oct. 17, both in Coeur d'Alene.
CSI (19-6, 8-2) is in a three-way tie for the conference lead with Salt Lake and Utah State-Eastern, with the conference champion hosting the Region 18 Tournament Nov. 4-5.
Freshman Camryn Farrar (Coeur d'Alene High) had five kills and 14 digs for NIC.