NCAA tournament win No. 17 on "Greatest Moments" list
11/29/2013 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Nov. 29, 2013
By Alyssa Askew, Big Sky Conference
In a five-year span, three Big Sky women's soccer teams won a first-round match in the NCAA tournament. Each year featured a different Big Sky team.
Those three first-round wins rank 17th on the Big Sky's list of the top "25 Greatest Women's Moments."
Let's start with the very first, first-round win, in the year 2000. The University of Montana soccer team had just come off its second straight Big Sky championship, its third in four seasons. After winning the Big Sky, the Grizzlies went on to play in a play-in game, hoping to advance to the NCAA tournament. The Grizzlies did just that. UM hosted the play-in game against Northwestern State and defeated the Demons 6-0, and advanced to the first round of the NCAA tournament.
In the first round matchup, UM traveled to Pullman, Wash., to take on the Washington State Cougars. UM's head coach at the time, Betsy Duerksen, who now lives in Southern California, recalls the whole experience.
"That experience was incredible," she said. "We woke up that morning at Washington State and there was snow on the ground. We thought maybe the game would be postponed or cancelled but they went ahead and shoveled the field and we played."
The game was postponed 20 minutes because of the amount of snow that had to be shoveled off right before kickoff.
The Grizzlies went on to defeat Washington State 1-0.
"That team had incredible fight and I still vividly remember Shannon Forslund scored our only goal on an amazing full-field run," Duerksen said. "It led us to our first and only NCAA win in program history."
In the second round, Montana lost to Washington 5-0.
Duerksen has nothing but good things to say about the 2000 team.
"They were really a special team in my opinion, so to have someone else recognize them, really emphasizes to me how special they were," she said. "It basically just solidifies that they were a great team."
Three years after Montana's first-round win, another Big Sky team was back in the NCAA winner's circle. In the 2003 Big Sky championship match, Idaho State defeated Montana 1-0 in overtime. After that win, the Bengals were headed to the Big Dance.
The detail that former Idaho State coach Gordon Henderson has about the first-round is uncanny.
"It was cold, and it was kind of wet and muddy," he said. "Our plan was to keep it tight for the first half hour of the game and see where we're at. And it went pretty much according to plan."
During the game, Henderson recalls both teams having a few chances to score here, and a few chances to score there. But no one could capitalize in regulation. Once the game headed into overtime however, both teams were playing pretty tight.
"Once it went into a shootout, I don't know what it was, it was just something about that squad of players," he said. "It was honestly the most relaxed I'd been throughout the whole game, I just had a feeling that something was going to come of it.
"Every penalty kick we took was perfect. And again it was a very wet day, so the goal box was kind of muddy," he added. "Usually it's the goalkeeper that has the advantage in a shootout because they have nothing to lose. They know if they make one stop, they are the hero. But because the ground was as soft as it was, I think it gave the advantage to the kickers. After each passing round, you could tell that the pressure was mounting on Utah, not on us."
Idaho State ended up advancing past the 14th-ranked Utes after ISU's goalkeeper Shannon Boyle made a save on the third kicker to give ISU the 5-4 advantage. Idaho State successfully converted all five of its attempts.
"I think it's a tremendous honor," said Henderson, after finding out his team made the top moment's list. "Not only for the players on that squad but also for Idaho State University. It was definitely a special year and I have so many fond memories of it, especially that day.
"I remember right after we won, everyone ran onto the field into a dog pile," Henderson added. "And I actually just stood on the sidelines and watched with a big smile on my face, a huge smile on my face. I personally would have taken that moment just to watch the team. To me personally, it was always about the team. For me to be able to watch that, it's kind of like having pride in your kids."
Idaho State went on to lose in the second round to BYU 2-0.
Two years later, it was like déjà vu, but this time it was Weber State's turn.
In 2005, Weber State had just won its second straight Big Sky Championship, which sent WSU to the NCAA tournament.
In the first round, Weber State faced in-state rival BYU on Utah's home field.
"We played them at a neutral site," Weber State coach Tim Crompton said. "We were a good team. We played them earlier in the year and got beat up pretty good."
Earlier in the season, Weber State lost to BYU 5-1. After starting out the season 1-3-1, Weber State went on to win 13 of its next 14 matches.
"As the course of the season went on, they obviously gained experience, and by the time we got back to that place, our team was confident," said Crompton. "As the game started, it was pretty clear that we were going to be able to compete with them."
After Weber State's Sarah Cortez scored a goal in the 13th minute, Crompton recalled: "Our goalkeeper Kandice Golar played tremendously. Without that happening, I don't think we win the game."
After Weber State's goal, the Wildcats held BYU scoreless until the 64th minute. At the end of regulation it was still 1-1.
"As a group defensively, their ability to put pressure on the ball, it just doesn't happen any better collectively," Crompton said. "They pressured the ball collectively as well as any team that I've ever coached."
After neither team scored in overtime, the match headed into a shootout.
"Once we got into the shootout we were really confident," Crompton said. "They'd already done far more than anybody ever thought they would do. In those moments, there is less pressure on you."
Weber State went on to advance to the second round past BYU after defeating the Cougars 4-3 in a shootout.
In the second round, Weber State faced the University of Arizona.
"As fate would have it, I think their goalkeeper is the one that kept them in the game," Crompton said. "Their keeper made at least three saves that I thought were going in for sure. They were great shots, but she made better saves."
Weber State ended up falling to Arizona 1-0, even after outshooting Arizona 20 to 11.
Even though the team came up short in the second round, Crompton can only remember the good times.
"I think it's certainly an honor to have the opportunity to sit here now and be able to say I was blessed with the opportunity to coach those players at that time in their lives then, and then on top of that see them succeed at the level that they succeeded," he said. "I think that 2005 team certainly exemplified the difference between reaching a goal and succeeding."
Crompton is still the head coach of the Weber State women's soccer team. In fact, his Weber State team just faced BYU in the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament. He was hoping that history would repeat itself, but Weber State lost 4-0.
"I'm still trying to get another first-round win," said Crompton.
Gordon Henderson, the former Idaho State head coach, is now the director of coaching for the Ohio South Youth Soccer Association. Henderson is in charge of over 65,000 members and his job, essentially, is to, "Coach the coaches to coach the players."
He even jokes about how things come full circle.
"My son is a junior in high school, so he is now in the process of getting scouted by college coaches," Henderson said. "It's interesting going from being the coach and scouting and recruiting players to now being the parent of a player who is being scouted and being recruited. It's quite different being on the other side of that. It's just funny to see how it comes full circle."
Betsy Duerksen, the former Montana coach, resigned following the 2003 campaign and now coaches youth soccer in Southern California.
"Getting into youth soccer as opposed to collegiate soccer has really given me an opportunity to be around my three kids a lot more," said Duerksen.
