For the third time since the 2018 season, the Clark College women’s soccer team is in the NWAC championship match.
The Penguins, the West No. 2 seed, took down East No. 1 Columbia Basin 2-1 on Friday at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila.
Anna Neal, a Prairie High grad, scored the tie-breaking goal in the 83rd minute off an assist from Kelli Huskic.
“I knew when I poked the ball back to her, I just knew it was going in,” Huskic said in a postgame interview with NWAC Sports.
Huskic, a recent NWAC offensive player of the week, scored in the 48th minute to give Clark (15-3-1) a 1-0 lead. Neal and Evergreen grad Chloe Klappholz were credited with assists.
Columbia Basin (15-2-1) tied the match with a goal in the 77th minute.
Hockinson High grad Amanda Jeschke, a recent NWAC defensive player of the week honoree, had two saves in goal.
The Penguins’ were runner’s-up to Peninsula last year, and was also beat by Peninsula in the 2018 championship match.
But this time around, Peninsula is not the final obstacle. Spokane (14-2-3) knocked off Peninsula in the quarterfinals and then beat Lower Columbia on Friday 4-1 in the second semifinal.
The championship match is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Starfire.
Your tax-deductible donation to The Columbian’s Community Funded Journalism program will contribute to better local reporting on key issues, including homelessness, housing, transportation and the environment. Reporters will focus on narrative, investigative and data-driven storytelling.
Local journalism needs your help. It’s an essential part of a healthy community and a healthy democracy.
