Sports in brief: Cougars women get NCAA invite

College soccer: Washington State was awarded an at-large bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championships on Monday, but got no break from the selection committee as far as travel is concerned.

The Cougars (13-5-2 overall), despite finishing third in the Pacific-10 Conference at 5-2-2, were shipped to College Park, Md., where they will face Villanova (11-5-5) on Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific.

Villanova, like WSU, was one of 32 teams awarded at-large berths in this year’s 64-team championship, which will culminate on Dec. 6 at Aggie Stadium in College Station, Texas.

•Whitworth’s men’s team qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament after winning its third straight Northwest Conference championship with an 11-1-2 league record.

The Pirates (13-2-3) will face Chapman University (11-4-2) at 11 a.m. on Saturday as part of a four-team grouping at the University of California at Santa Cruz that also includes the host Banana Slugs (13-4-2) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (11-7-2).

Chiefs put streak on line tonight

Hockey: The Spokane Chiefs put their season-best four-game winning streak on the line tonight when the Everett Silvertips visit the Arena.

It’s a key game in the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League because both teams have 21 points, tied for third, although Everett has played one less game.

Several Chiefs carry hot streaks into the game, none hotter than goalie James Reid. He has allowed three goals in winning all four games, stopping 107 of 110 shots.

Shock add three linemen to roster

Arena football: An old Spokane Shock nemesis and a former Washington Husky were added to the Shock roster.

Defensive lineman Jerry Turner, 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, gave the Shock fits when he played for Bakersfield in 2006. He played two seasons in the Arena Football League for Kansas City and spent last season in the af2 with Arkansas.

Offensive lineman Clay Harrell, 6-2, 315, spent the last two seasons in the AFL with the Nashville Kats (2007) and the Los Angeles Avengers (2008).

Juan Garcia, 6-3, 310, started 37 straight games for the Huskies at center before graduating after last season and earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors.