Back with a whole new fire

Injuries had kept former Post Falls High standout Erica Simpson from the lineup when her Community Colleges of Spokane women’s soccer team faced off against North Idaho College all three times over the past two years.

Saying she made up for lost time in Wednesday’s key Northwest Athletic Conference match against the Cardinals at Eisenwinter Field in Coeur d’Alene might be an understatement.

SIMPSON, A 5-foot-8 sophomore forward, recorded a hat trick for the Sasquatch in a 3-1 win against the Cardinals, locking up the East Region title and bye in the opening round of the NWAC playoffs starting on Wednesday. Simpson, who is third in the NWAC in scoring with 38 points (17 goals and four assists), missed a month of the season after suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in a match against Columbia Basin College. She returned against Yakima Valley Community College on Oct. 12, scoring a goal in the team’s win.

“Coming back from injury has been pretty intense,” Simpson said. But I think my team has helped me a lot out there.”

“She just came out hungry,” Community Colleges of Spokane coach Jim Martinson said. “She came out here and did what she wanted to do.”

Simpson, in return, has helped them, scoring in all 10 matches she’s played in thus far in the 2016 season.

“She was out for five weeks with that injury,” Martinson said. “We just got her back, and she’s scored at least one goal a match since she’s been back. She was our leading scorer before she got hurt, and she’s almost our leading scorer after getting back. She’s been a rock star.”

On Oct. 24, Simpson was named NWAC Player of the Week after totaling five goals and an assist for the Sasquatch in wins over Wenatchee Valley and Treasure Valley. She also scored the game-winner on Oct. 15 against Columbia Basin, the only goal of the match.

As a freshman, plagued by concussions and other injuries Simpson played in just four matches, scoring five goals as Spokane won the conference championship. She scored a goal in the championship match, a 2-0 win over Highline. Entering this weekend, CCS is the lone unbeaten team in the conference.

“It would be great to win another championship, but our coach always tells us to trust the process,” Simpson said. “From coming back from injuries and concussion last year, to playing my first minutes against NIC, it’s probably the most exciting thing to get to play NIC.”

SIMPSON SCORED in the 29th and 34th minute to give the Sasquatch a 2-0 lead at halftime in a rain-soaked match on Wednesday at Eisenwinter Field. Her third goal in the 84th minute came from Anisha Nicholson, another Post Falls product.

“This is home for me,” Simpson said. “Idaho is my home.”

Simpson had interest to play at NIC, but opted to go to Spokane instead thanks to one thing that NIC couldn’t offer.

“Spokane took me,” Simpson said. “NIC wanted me, but Spokane took me. I just liked the (SFCC) campus over there better, the coaching staff was great and it really appealed to me to play on turf.”

“The reason we wanted her was exactly what she did (on Wednesday),” Simpson said. “She’s long, she’s inate in front of the goal and has a way to score goals that I haven’t seen in a player in a long time. Whether it’s falling down, in the air, or falling away, she finds a way to score goals. And that’s what we’ve loved about her.”

And if she had to do it again, she’d choose Spokane.

“Spokane has my heart,” Simpson said. “I really like it there.”

Had she remained healthy — and still could do it by season’s end — Simpson could break the school record of 29 goals in a season set by Alysha Overland in 2015. Overland transferred to Washington State after her sophomore year.

“She won’t do it it his year, but she probably would have if she wouldn’t have gotten injured,” Martinson said. “She’ll be in the top six in scoring for sure. She’s a stud and I wish we could have her another two years. If she can continue this run through the playoffs, it will help us. She deserves everything she gets.”

Simpson intends to study fashion design once her playing days are over, but is looking at chances at a four-year school.

“I’d like to move on if I could,” Simpson said. “That’s my main goal, to go on and play somewhere.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.