OPENING KICK: Snow College men's soccer continues Scenic West Athletic Conference play on the road this weekend. The Badgers travel to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Thursday at 4:30 p.m MST, to face No. 13 North Idaho College. Then on Saturday, at 4:30 p.m. MST, the Badgers will be in Kennewick, Washington facing Pacific Northwest Christian College.

The Badgers are coming off a 1-1-0 week, where they played a two game home stretch. 4-1 loss to Salt Lake Community College, and 2-1 win to Utah State University Eastern.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT: NIC is currently No.13 in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Poll. NIC is coming off a winning week, with wins against College of Southern Idaho, 2-1, and Truckee Meadows Community College, 3-0.

NIC is currently undefeated with a 7-0-1 record and leading the SWAC standings at 3-0. The Cardinals' season came to an end last year with a loss to SLCC in the Region 18 semi-final game.

Snow College and NIC have played each other five times with Snow College winning three of the matchups. Last season Snow College and NIC split games, each team winning at home. NIC is averaging 4.25 goals per game, but have only allowed four goals all season.

PNWCC is coming off of a losing week, losing both their games, 8-0 to TMCC and 6-0 to CSI. PNWCC is currently 0-7, still looking for its first win of the season.

Snow College has won all six of its matchups against PNWCC, with its largest margin of victory being 21-0 in 2023. PNCC has only scored three goals all season, but allowing on average over five goals per game.

LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College men's soccer team played its first two home conference games this weekend, versus in-state foe Salt Lake Community College and Utah State Eastern University. The Badgers were defeated by SLCC 4-1, then bounced back and defeated USUE in a 2-1 thriller.

Snow College and SLCC were in a dog fight in the first half. The lone goal came from SLCC in the 10th minute, making the half time score 1-0. 

In the first half SLCC had six shots and Snow College had three. The second half was much more fruitful with goals. In the 47th minute, the Badgers leveled  the score  JJ Cubillas sent a  pass to Carter Archuleta, who scored  his first goal of the season.

For the rest of the game it was all Bruins as they scored goals in the 49th, 59th, and 79th minutes, putting the score 4-1. Snow College ended with 10 shots having one on goal, and SLCC had 14 shots with six on goal.

In the second game of the weekend,USUE came out of the gates firing, scoring the first goal of the game in the 13th minute. Snow College had many chances in the first half but could not find the equalizer. 

Snow College had eight shots in the first half compared to five for USUE. The Badgers scored the equalizer in the 49th minute as Jorge Beltran assisted Landon Michaelis for his first goal of the season.

USUE and the Badgers exchanged  many chances for the game-winning goal. In the 85th minute Liam Kibane found Amir Odeh for a touch pass to Cubillas, who scored the game-winning goal. Snow College held on to earn the 2-1 win. 

Snow College ended the game with 17 shots with six on goal, while USUE had ten shots and four on goal.

NEXT UP: Next week, Snow College will stay on the road and travel to Reno, Nevada Thursday, September 24 at 3:30 p.m. MST, to face TMCC. Then on Saturday, September 26 at 3:30 p.m. MST, the Badgers will be in Twin Falls, Idaho facing CSI. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.