The NIC women’s soccer team qualified for the district tournament in Cheyenne, Wyo., in November after Edmonds Community College forfeited Friday’s game to the Lady Cardinals.
NIC then defeated Seattle University’s club team 1-0 Saturday in Seattle.
Anna Valentine scored off of an assist from sophomore midfielder Callie Martin in the 55th minute of the second half.
The Lady Cardinals had 21 shots on goal compared to Seattle U’s eight shots on goal.
A week earlier on Sept. 29, NIC (8-3-1) beat the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs’ club team 1-0 at Bill Eisenwinter Field.
From minute one, the Lady Cardinals pressured the Bulldogs’ defense with multiple shots on goal, including a header off the goal post by Valentine.
However, the majority of the first half highlights were made by the defense, as both goalies, NIC’s Hannah Slinkard, and Gonzaga’s Amanda Klasila, had multiple saves.
Early in the second half, Cardinal forward Aubree Mercier collided with the Bulldogs’ Alli Wonn. While Mercier stayed in the game, Wonn left for the remainder of the day.
The beginning of the second half continued like the evenly matched first, with multiple highlights by both teams’ defenses.
With only ten minutes left in the game, Cardinal freshman forward Ellie Engel broke away from the defense and shot a goal right past the charging Bulldogs goalie, taking the lead 1-0.
Yet Gonzaga did not give up. In the last five minutes, the Lady Bulldogs had four shots on goal, including one narrowly saved with only 30 seconds left by Cardinals goalie Whittni Mundel, sealing the win for NIC.
The Lady Cardinals will play its next three games at home starting with the University of Idaho’s club team Saturday at noon, then Western Wyoming Community College Oct. 19 and Washington State University’s club team Oct. 21 to wrap up its home schedule.
The Lady Cardinals’ last regular season game will be against Gonzaga University’s club team Oct. 27 before NIC moves on to the Region 9 District Championships that start Nov. 2 in Wyoming.