Cardinal men clinch playoff spot

RANGELY, Colo. — Drew Hansen, a sophomore from Coeur d'Alene High, scored in the 56th minute for North Idaho College, which clinched a berth into the Region 18 Tournament with a 2-0 win over Colorado Northwestern in the regular season finale for both. 

"The guys played strongly," third-year NIC coach Brad Williams said. "Colorado Northwestern is a difficult place to play for sure. Even though they don't have a lot of positive results, they're a tough team to play for sure. I'm proud of the guys for seeing it through." 

NIC (13-5-1, 9-4-1 SWAC), will be the fourth seed at regionals and face top-seeded Salt Lake (13-4, 11-3) in a semifinal match at 11:30 a.m. PDT in Taylorsville, Utah. 

"We had a strong showing this season," Williams said. "We're happy to be in the playoffs once again."

Colorado Northwestern finished 2-13-2, 2-11-2. 

First half — 1, NIC, Sebastiano Casini (Federico Ballisi), 22:28. Second half — 2, NIC, Drew Hansen (unassisted), 56:23. 

Shots on goal — NIC 10, CNCC 2. 

Saves — NIC, Ariel Martinez 2; CNCC, Sebastian Barreda 8. 

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