COEUR d'ALENE - During the course of the season, the ball can bounce a funny way sometimes.

For the ninth-ranked North Idaho Cardinals, it has bounced their way more often than not.

Anna Valentine and former Coeur d'Alene High standout Hayley Smith scored two goals apiece as NIC defeated the Community Colleges of Spokane 4-2 at Eisenwinter Field on Wednesday in a nonconference women's soccer match.

Spokane jumped out to a 2-0 lead as freshman Ali Floyd and Nikki Caudill scored less than a minute apart in the first half to give the Bigfoot an early lead.

"We got into a hole and kept fighting back," NIC coach Dan Hogan said.

Smith scored on an assist from Adrienne Moore before halftime to get NIC within 2-1.

"I told them at half to keep fighting and the goals would come," Hogan said.

And they did in the second half.

NIC outscored CCS 3-0 in the second half as Valentine scored on an assist from Carissa Christensen to tie the match at 2 in the 61st minute.

"A lot of our scoring has to do with Anna," Hogan said. "She's such a competitor and gets a lot of chances to score."

Valentine added another goal as she dove for a pass from Aubree Mercier to beat Asia Porter to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead in the 63rd minute.

"I knew I had to beat the keeper," Valentine said. "This was huge for us. It's probably the biggest win of my life."

Smith added a goal on a header in 78th minute to extend the lead.

"It felt great," Smith said. "It was a good cross and I scored. That was a play we used to go to in high school, so I felt right at home."

NIC held CCS to seven shots on goal, compared to 14 for the Cardinals.

NIC (10-0) hosts Western Wyoming on Oct. 7.

“They’re a good team,” Community Colleges of Spokane coach Jim Martinson said. “They’ve got better athletes than they’ve had in the past. You’ve got to hand it to Dan. He did a great job recruiting this group.”

Spokane (7-1), which plays in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges, entered the game ranked second in the poll.

“For us, it gives us a chance to look at some different players,” Martinson said. “It was a really good matchup for us.”

First half — 1, CCS, Ali Floyd (unassisted), 16:28. 2, CCS, Nikki Caudill (unassisted), 17:37. 3, NIC, Hayley Smith (unassisted), 41:43. Second half — 4, NIC, Anna Valentine (Carissa Christensen), 61:30. 5, 5, NIC, Valentine (Aubree Mercier), 63:47. 6, NIC, Smith (Mercier), 78:28.

Shots on goal — CCS 7, NIC 14.

Saves — CCS, Asia Porter 10; NIC, Hannah Slinkard 4, Allysa Howell 0.