Williams a Winner in NIC Debut

TUKWILA, Wash. — A few bounces or inches, it might have been a different story.

But, it was still a win for coach Brad Williams in his North Idaho College debut.

Spencer Lords converted a penalty kick in the 83rd minute for the Cardinals, who rallied with a two-goal second half to beat Edmonds Tritons of Lynnwood, Wash., 2-1 in the Northwest Athletic Conference friendlies at the Starfire Sports Complex on Tuesday.

NIC outshot Edmonds 7-1. Muhammed Diallo scored in the 78th minute to tie the match at 1-1 for NIC.

"Their keeper made a bunch of saves today," Williams said. "We had a few that were about 5 or 6 inches the other way from going in, and a few that hit the post and a lot of missed shots."

Williams, who formerly coached at Southwestern Oregon, was previously an assistant coach at N.C. State before taking over for Ken Thompson, who resigned after 10 seasons.

"It was a very warm welcome to NIC, and I'm happy to get the win," Williams said. "The guys have been working hard this preseason and I'm glad to see them pay it off with a win."

NIC concludes the friendlies against Bellevue today at 10 a.m.

First half — 1, Edm, Ismail Maamdu (Seth Phillips), 41:30. Second half — 2, NIC, Muhammed Diallo (Randy Lane), 78:45. 3, NIC, Spencer Lords (penalty kick), 83:00.

Shots on goal — NIC 7, Edm 1.

Saves — NIC, Kael McGowan 0; Edm, Mario Aziz 5.

For more information on North Idaho College Sports visit the Coeur d'Alene Press:  https://cdapress.com/news/2023/aug/23/nic-soccer-williams-winner-nic-debut/