SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – No. 3 seed College of Idaho secured a spot in the semifinals of the Cascade Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank with a 3-1 defeat of No. 6 seed Corban on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Yotes (13-5, 9-3 CCC) advance to play No. 2 seed Southern Oregon on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT with a spot in the championship game on the line.
After generating multiple opportunities over the first 20 minutes against the Warriors (12-5, 8-4 CCC), C of I got on the board first in the 28th minute on a
Lily Schlake goal, her team-high ninth of the season. Schlake is the first player in the program to tally nine or more goals since Jamiece Yizar had 15 in 2015.
With the 1-0 lead late in the first half, C of I goalkeeper
Shae Waters faced three shots in less than 60 seconds in the 42nd and 43rd minutes, coming away unscathed to keep the lead intact. Juliana Pires first hit a shot off the crossbar, with CCC Offensive Player of the Year Maria-Frances Serrant then having her try saved by Waters. The final effort came on a header by Mei Suetsugu that went wide.
In the 52nd minute,
Payton Mongelli placed a corner in front of the net which
Isabel DeVille headed in for her first career goal to make it 2-0 Yotes.
Corban answered back in the 63rd minute with a Pires goal, her 10th of the season. On the Pires tally, the shot bounced off the crossbar, hit the right post and then went into the net.
Chloe Teets capped the scoring for the night in the 69th minute with her first goal of the season coming off a Mongelli corner.
Waters had a gritty performance in goal in the win, facing 11 shots on frame and saving 10 of them.
The Warriors outshot the Yotes 18-10, however the 5-3 edge in corners proved to be the difference with a pair of goals for C of I coming off those opportunities.
The trip to the semifinals is the first for the C of I program since 2018.
No. 4 Northwest defeated No. 5 Eastern Oregon 2-0 and No. 1 Oregon Tech topped No. 8 Carroll 1-0 in other quarterfinal action on Tuesday. The Eagles will meet the Owls at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday to decide the other half of the championship tilt.
