Montana faces Nevada, Utah Valley on the road

The Montana soccer team will play its first road matches of the 2015 season this weekend when it plays at Nevada and Utah Valley. The Grizzlies will face the Wolf Pack at 7:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday in Reno and the Wolverines Sunday at 11 a.m. in Orem.

Coverage: Both matches this weekend will have free video coverage and live stats. Links to all available services can be found on the soccer schedule page at gogriz.com.

How they started: Montana opened its season 1-0-1 at home last weekend. The Grizzlies started their season with a 0-0 double-overtime draw with Wyoming on Friday evening, then defeated Indiana State 4-3 in double overtime on Sunday afternoon.

Nevada has played just once this season. The Wolf Pack tied Gonzaga 1-1 last Friday at home. ... Utah Valley went 1-1-0 in its opening weekend of play. The Wolverines lost 6-0 at San Diego State on Friday night, then rebounded with a 2-0 shutout of Central Arkansas at Orem on Sunday.

Montana-Wyoming: The Grizzlies and Cowgirls played a tight match in which opportunities were limited for both sides. The teams combined to put just seven shots on goal. Montana went 23 deep, with seven of those players seeing the first minutes of their careers.

Wyoming, picked third in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll, was coming off a pair of exhibition wins. Montana, picked second in the Big Sky Conference poll, entered Friday's game without the benefit of an exhibition match.

"For us to play as well as we did, controlling the ball and creating opportunities and dangerous moments, was a great way to start our season," said fifth-year coach Mark Plakorus. "It was a very competitive battle, very physical. We played at a decent level our first game out.

"To play a team as good as Wyoming and not have an exhibition game when we could work some kinks out, we had to work those out as the game went along. I thought we got better defensively as the game went along."

Montana-Indiana State: The Grizzlies raced out to a 3-0 lead in the match's opening 50 minutes, with goals, the first of their careers, by redshirt junior outside back Mary Gintz, sophomore outside back Chanelle Pederson and freshman forward Dani Morris.

The Sycamores rallied with goals in the 53rd, 57th and 65th minutes to even the match at 3-3 before Morris scored the game winner at 106:11 in the second overtime.

Montana outshot Indiana State 23-14 and put 10 shots on goal after generating just one Friday against Wyoming. Despite the win, Plakorus felt his team had a letdown in performance from one match to the next.

"I was hoping we'd get the same thing Sunday that we got on Friday, but for whatever reason we just didn't," he said. "We have to learn how to go from Friday to Sunday and have the same level of preparation.

"The only way for young players to understand what two games feel like is to go through it. You think you know what you're doing, because you've done it in high school or club, but it's not anywhere close. But every time we go out it's more experience those younger players are getting."

More on Nevada: Friday's match will be played at Mackay Stadium, which features a synthetic surface and seating for 30,000. ... The Wolf Pack went 4-14-2 last season, getting outscored 48-12, and finished last in the Mountain West Conference with a 1-9-1 league record. ... Seven Nevada players suffered season-ending injuries last year, which factored heavily into its results. ... Wolf Pack coach Melissa Price is in her sixth year. She has a record of 26-60-13. ... Nevada, picked 12th in the Mountain West preseason poll, has six starters back and brought in 10 newcomers to bulk up its roster. ... The Wolf Pack won 1-0 at Pacific in their lone exhibition match. ... In Friday's season opener, Nevada got outshot 16-6 but still played Gonzaga to a 1-1 draw. The Bulldogs were the beneficiaries of an own goal in the 19th minute; the Wolf Pack pulled even in the final minute of the first half. ... Sophomore forward Angel Meriwether led the team in scoring last season as a freshman with five goals and three assists.

Plakorus's analysis: "Playing at Nevada is a little different, so it takes some getting used to. That's our big challenge right off the bat. The artificial turf is not really conducive to keeping the ball on the ground. The ball has a tendency to bounce, so it's in the air a little bit more. It's a lot harder to bring the ball under control because the speed of the ball is much different than on grass. You don't have the thick grass to kill the ball for you." ... "The last time we played them they played pretty direct. It's harder to deal with the bounces off the turf, so it puts a lot of pressure on your defenders." ... "Playing inside a football stadium is different as well. The stadium is big, but the field isn't going to be as wide, and there are a lot of (non-soccer) lines on the field." ... "They didn't have a great season last year, but that's because they lost a bunch of their starters to injury." ... "It's supposed to be hot as well, so it will be a challenging environment against a challenging team. Plus the challenge of it being our first road game."

History: Montana and Nevada have played just twice before. The Grizzlies lost 3-1 in Reno in 2010 and won 2-0 at Missoula in 2013 behind second-half goals from India Watne and Maddey Frey.

More on Utah Valley: Sunday's match will be played on the natural surface of Clyde Field. ... Utah Valley went 13-7-2 a year ago and tied for third in the Western Athletic Conference with a 7-3-0 league mark. ... Seven starters and 15 letter-winners are back from that team. The Wolverines also brought in 10 newcomers. ... Brent Anderson is in his 10th year as coach. He has an even record of 87-87-10. ... Utah Valley hosts Utah State Friday night before playing Montana Sunday morning. ... The Wolverines were picked fourth out of eight teams in the preseason WAC poll. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Duffin was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. ... Senior forward Kali Stubbs finished with a team-high 15 points last season, with five goals and five assists. ... Utah Valley won 2-1 at Weber State in exhibition play, an impressive result against the team picked fourth in the Big Sky poll.

Plakorus's analysis: "Their field is big and a great surface with a lot more space to play (than Nevada). And it will be a little bit different of an opponent. Utah Valley is very patient in its attack and looks to play a lot more and draw you out, so we have to be patient." ... "It's a different style we'll have to get used to, a different problem we'll have to solve, which is good. It's good to see as many different things as you can this early in the year and have as many experiences as you can. It's all good things for us. We just have to find a way to deal with it all."

History: Montana leads the all-time series with Utah Valley 3-2. ... The teams are 1-1 against one another in matches at Orem. Utah Valley won 3-2 in 2011, Montana won 1-0 in 2012. ... The teams' last meeting came at Missoula in 2013, a 3-1 Griz victory behind goals from Tyler Adair, Mackenzie Akins and India Watne.

Montana notes: Freshmen Ellie Otteson, Dani Morris and Taryn Miller started their first collegiate matches Friday against Wyoming. ... Making their first career appearances off the bench were redshirt freshmen Lily Obrigewitch and Mallory Sullivan and freshmen Janessa Fowler and McKenzie Warren. ... No player took more than a single shot against Wyoming. ... Junior goalkeeper Kailey Norman, second-team All-Big Sky last season, took a ball to the head late in the first half against the Cowgirls. She did not play beyond halftime of that match or at all against Indiana State. She is cleared to play this weekend. ... Mary Gintz, Chanelle Pederson and Dani Morris all scored their first career goals Sunday against the Sycamores. ... Aspen Peifer assisted on Pederson's goal, Jamie Simon on Morris's goal. It was the first career assist for both Peifer and Simon. ... Morris's second goal, the game-winner in the 107th minute, came off a throw-in from Gintz. It was Gintz's second career assist and capped a three-point game for the redshirt junior. She entered the season with one career point, an assist in 2013. ... Simon took a team-high five shots against Indiana State. Morris and Carlee Bates both took four. ... Center back Tess Brenneman did not leave the field in the two matches.

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Adair

Mackenzie Akins

Carlee Bates

Tess Brenneman

Maddy Emerick

Janessa Fowler

Mary Gintz

Taryn Miller

Dani Morris

Kailey Norman

Lily Obrigewitch

Ellie Otteson

Chanelle Pederson

Aspen Peifer

Jamie Simon

Mallory Sullivan

McKenzie Warren

University of Montana Athletics