KIRKLAND – Northwest starts its postseason quest with an 8 p.m. contest against Eastern Oregon on Tuesday at Springfield, Oregon's Willamalane Park.
Northwest broke the series tie with its win last weekend and leads the rivalry 9-8-2.
Callie Wright scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Eastern Oregon on Friday and earned CCC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Claire Jo Diede had an assist in the win for NU. Mackinley Gregus had Eastern Oregon's goal, with Katie Arnold getting the assist. NU led 2-0 at halftime and withstood an 11-shot onslaught by the Mountaineers in the second half.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference put its tournament on the shelf last spring, so the Eagles are making their eighth consecutive trip to the postseason. NU is 11-7-1 in the postseason under Head Coach
Bryan Chud, including a 7-4 mark in the conference tournament. The Eagles are looking for their first postseason win since 2018.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference quarterfinals begin with two games at 6 p.m. on Tuesday as Carroll plays top-seeded Oregon Tech, and Rocky Mountain takes on Southern Oregon. While NU plays Eastern Oregon, the College of Idaho battles Corban in the 8 p.m. contests.
Northwest finished off the regular season with wins over Eastern Oregon and the College of Idaho.
Kayla Soderstrom got the goal in Saturday's win, while
Kierstin Patefield picked up 10 saves for the overtime shutout. Patefield captured CCC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Wright had two goals on the last weekend of the regular season to take the team points lead with 20. She has eight goals and four assists on the season. Diede has 18 points on six goals and six assists, and
Kayla Soderstrom has three goals and six assists for 12 points.
Nine Eagles have scored goals this season, led by Wright with eight and Diede with six.
Gracie VanAssche, Soderstrom, and
Elizabeth Moretti have scored three apiece, and
Olivia Morris and
Grace Burke have two each.
Patefield leads the Eagles with 73 saves and carries a 1.00 goals allowed average. She has a Cascade Collegiate Conference-leading eight shutouts this season. She is third all time at NU with 14 career shutouts.
Eastern Oregon is 11-5 overall and 8-4 in the CCC after a 3-0 win over Evergreen State on Saturday. Morgan Farrington leads the Mountaineers with seven goals, followed by Kana Mateaki with six. Madeline Barker has allowed 0.68 goals per game and has 58 saves and six shoutouts.
