KIRKLAND – Northwest finished off a tall task Saturday, putting itself in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship Tournament with a 1-0 win over the College of Idaho.
 
The Eagles came into the weekend needing to beat two teams ahead of them in the standings to procure the postseason berth and pulled off a pair of 1-0 wins over Eastern Oregon on Friday and the Yotes on Saturday.
 
The tournament pairings will be announced after the final meaningful contest Sunday between Rocky Mountain and Carroll.
 
Gian Herrera got the game-winner, playing home a near-perfect cross from Noah Prophet in the 27th minute. It is Herrera's third goal of the season and Prophet's first assist.
 
The Eagles just missed a second goal in the 66th minute when the Yoyes' keeper came out high to contest Kyle Han. Han powered a long attempt past the fortunate goalkeeper and off the corner of the post-crossbar joint.
 
Alexandre Thiehofe turned away four Coyote shots on goal to collect the shutout win. The pair of shutouts for Thiehofe on the weekend gives him four for the season.
 
"Today was another well-played game by our team," said NU Head Coach Gary McIntosh. "Having to win today to make the playoffs gave us the extra motivation to come out and play hard. This was a total team effort for every guy that stepped onto the field and for the guys that did not get to play. All 29 guys worked hard at practice to get this win."
 
The win sealed a memorable day for the seniors, who were recognized before the game. Dennis Kozorezov, Kyle Han, Dylan Murphy, Titus Nickson, and Tyler Siedenburg were honored.
 
"Great to see the seniors get the win today," McIntosh said. "All five of them mean so much to me and the program. Always tough to see such a great group of seniors play their final home games. We now will take a few days off and then get back to preparing for the playoff game next Tuesday."
 
NU had 14 shots, led by Elliot Misic with four. Herrera had two shots on goal with Titus Nickson and Misic getting one each.
 
The win gave the Eagles their 10th win of the season, marking the first 10-win season since 2016. It is Coach McIntosh's seventh season with 10 or more wins. He is the only coach to get a 10-win season for NU men's soccer.
 
College of Idaho was locked into the fifth seed in the postseason coming into Saturday's contest.
 
The Eagles make their second consecutive trip to the conference tournament, which was canceled last spring.