COEUR d'ALENE - North Idaho College center fullback Brady Ulen was everywhere Saturday, in a 2-0 Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer quarterfinal win over Peninsula College of Port Angeles, Wash., at Eisenwinter Field.

The 5-foot-11 sophomore headed balls out of harm's way, when Pirates midfielders sent long balls trying to get behind the Cardinals defense. He'd clear balls either out of bounds or to teammates, when Peninsula tried to dribble past him.

And oh by the way, in the 68th minute, Ulen scored an insurance goal for the 2-0 lead, off a rebound bobbled by Pirates goalkeeper Oscar Torres.

The soft tab by Ulen for an unassisted goal from 6 yards away came after a free kick by Alec Johnson, who drilled it toward Torres after Peninsula was caught on a handball call.

NIC will play next Saturday against Edmonds Community College of Lynnwood, Wash., which won 2-0 on Saturday over Tacoma Community College, in the semifinals at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash.

The championship game is at 5:30 p.m. next Sunday at Starfire Stadium.

"One of our biggest focuses all year has been scoring on free kicks," said Ulen, the former Post Falls High standout. "At least once every other game and our biggest thing is just crashing the (penalty) box. We know Alec's going to shoot it from 20 to 25 yards out and the biggest thing is always follow the ball up, no matter what."

Coeur d'Alene High grad Jake Gonzales, along with Eli Herman, Tristan Jones, Sean Cotton and Johnson all teamed up with Ulen to clear away potential threats time and again.

"It is tough to get over, past or through Jake, Brady, Alec and Eli," NIC coach Ken Thompson said. "They beat us a little bit in the flanks, but when it came down to it, they couldn't get behind those four guys."

The Cardinals (16-1-2), who won their fifth straight game, scored their first goal in the 30th minute. Coeur d'Alene High grad Braden Ridgewell, a freshman, booted a left-footed shot into the net from about 16 yards out to the right of the net, past a diving Torres, on a ball that ricocheted off of the chest of Johnson, a Lake City grad, though the goal was credit as unassisted.

"We had bodies in the box," Thompson said. "Braden put it in exactly the right spot. In the free kick, it hit the wall and it's hard to read. I don't know if they responded to that ricochet the way we did. We've got a fiery group."

Meanwhile, Peninsula (13-2-4), the two-time defending conference tourney champion, made solid attempts at trying to score a goal in the final 21 minutes, but could not come through thanks to three saves by NIC goalkeeper Mitch Markovetz, who finished with five in the game.

In the 69th minute, Markovetz put up a big save from point-blank range, on a one-time attempt by Chris Chertude. Markovetz came through again in the 84th minute, making a diving save on Chertude, then two minutes later he leapt high for another grab off a free kick.

"I thought their center back (Ulen) was a major factor in the game," Peninsula coach Kanyon Anderson said. "He won everything, he was great. Their keeper made a couple big saves at the end. I thought some of our better opportunities, I thought we let them slip away by shooting them high or wide and I think that's the thing we look back on."

The Pirates had a one-time opportunity in the 10th minute, but Micah Weller's high kick was fired wide. Another close shot came in the 64th, but Santiago Sierra's header sailed just high.

First half - 1, NIC, Braden Ridgewell (unassisted), 30:00. Second half - 2, NIC, Brady Ulen (unassisted), 68:00.

Shots on goal - PC 5, NIC 11.

Saves - PC, Oscar Torres 9, NIC, Mitch Markovetz 5.