THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Work already full go for NIC soccer

It happened pretty quick, don’t you think.

One week, North Idaho College is opening its season on the soccer field and volleyball court.

Next, the Cardinals are preparing to open Scenic West Athletic Conference play.

That’s how it goes sometimes in sports.

IN ITS final nonconference match on Monday, NIC used its depth to down Wenatchee Valley 4-0 at Eisenwinter Field in Coeur d’Alene.

“We’ve been clear from the start that we’re going to change the lineup sometimes,” third-year NIC men’s soccer coach Brad Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of quality in our lineup this year. Sometimes, when there’s a day in between games, we’re going to have to rely on our depth. And that’s what we did today.”

Temperatures in the 90s also dictated a little more rotating than normal.

“We’ve been working toward this for a while,” Williams said. “We’re really going to need our depth going into the conference.”

NIC opens conference play at Pacific Northwest Christian of Kennewick, Wash., today. The women’s match is at 11 a.m., followed by the men’s at 1:30 p.m.

Among the locals on the men’s soccer roster this season are freshmen Kai Delio (Lake City High), Jacob Molina (Lake City) and Kason Pintler (Coeur d’Alene), and sophomore Drew Hansen (Coeur d’Alene).

Hansen scored in Monday’s match against Wenatchee Valley, and both Pintler (27 minutes) and Molina (43 minutes) played significant minutes against the Knights.

“Both Kason and Jacob have really stepped up,” Williams said. “They’ve continued to work hard each day in practice and are very deserving of their time on the field.”

The Cardinal women opened the season with games at Eastern Arizona and Arizona Western in Yuma, Ariz., on Aug. 22-23, then played at home last Saturday against Northwest College of Powell, Wyo.

Arizona Western is the second-ranked team in the NJCAA. NIC fell 6-0.

“Going down to Arizona was a great experience,” sixth-year NIC women’s coach Kellsi Parson said. “We found out how mentally tough our team really is. Playing in 115-degree weather is something you can’t train for. There was no quit in the girls and since coming home, we have grown from it. We have had some hot days at training and they continue to push through. The future is bright for this team with the mentality they brought back from Arizona.”

THIS YEAR, all teams at NIC have had their budgets cut by 33%, which included tuition and housing. Previously, the school covered one trip home for athletes, but that provision has since been eliminated in an effort to cut $1.5 million to the budget.

“We were reduced pretty heavily, and still have some scholarships, but it’s not the same as it was,” Williams said. “We had a lot of kids that had to move on and have a lot more walk-ons this year.”

Upon its return to the NJCAA from the regional-friendly Northwest Athletic Conference, the school’s athletic budget went from $2.2 million to $6.6 million for all sports. The school opted to cut men's and women's golf entirely after last spring. 

The school had said previously that it intends to make more cuts for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

“All of these guys, it was really important to get eyes on them,” Williams said of the recruiting process. “I went to Boise, Salt Lake City, California, Nevada and all over the western states trying to see them live before getting them on campus. Personalities were the biggest keys for the program. We want great people and are trying to find guys to be great partners with each other.”

Same for Parson when it came to her squad.

“Every year is different, but it definitely changed how we’re going to run things this year,” Parson said. “Our personnel was different and we really had to connect with each person we brought on campus. I think we hit on all the key spots to make us really good. We didn’t end up changing much of what we did, but wanted to make sure those kids wanted to be here and fit the new system.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is that whoever is here is going to fight like crazy to achieve their goals.

Something that might be worth keeping an eye on the rest of the school year.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdPress.