Friday, September 25
Grand Forks, N.D.
3:00 PM (MT)
Montana
at
North Dakota
Griz open Big Sky schedule on the road
9/24/2015 11:56:00 AM | Soccer
Montana plays at North Dakota on Friday, at Northern Colorado on Sunday
The Montana soccer team will open its Big Sky Conference schedule this week when it travels to North Dakota and Northern Colorado. The Grizzlies will face UND at Grand Forks at 3 p.m. (MT) on Friday and the Bears at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Greeley.
Coverage: Friday's match will have both video and live stats options. Sunday's match can be tracked through live stats. Links to all available services can be found on the soccer schedule page at gogriz.com.
A new quest begins: Montana got on a roll last season early in conference play -- a road sweep of Sacramento State and Portland State in the second weekend being particularly important -- and never allowed any other team a chance to think it had a shot at the regular-season championship.
The Grizzlies went 8-0-2 in league and outscored its opponents 19-4 to win its first outright Big Sky title since 2000 and host the league tournament, also for the first time since 2000.
"It's become the culture of our team to compete for championships. That's why these players come here. They want a competitive environment and the opportunity to win and compete for championships," said fifth-year coach Mark Plakorus, who has guided the Grizzlies to three Big Sky titles.
But repeating will be difficult. A number of last year's non-tournament qualifiers -- Southern Utah, Weber State, North Dakota -- are much stronger, the Grizzlies have had a number of injury-related setbacks, and as the lone wolf of the league schedule, Montana will be facing Sunday opponents on the road who did not have a Friday match.
With teams' pre-league schedules completed, six enter Big Sky play .500 or better, highlighted by Eastern Washington, which is off to a 6-1-1 start. Southern Utah (5-3-0), Northern Arizona (5-4-0) and Northern Colorado (5-4-0) also are above .500, while Idaho (4-4-1) and Weber State (4-4-1) are at .500.
"You want to start off on a good foot. Everybody is 0-0, so it's an important weekend for everyone," said Plakorus. "We're not going to win anything or lose anything in terms of a championship this weekend, but we can take steps in the right direction.
"Teams in the league are so familiar with each other that there are really no surprises at this point of the season. There is a lot at stake, so it's more intense. Everything gets ratcheted up a little bit.
"But it's why we went through the schedule we went through, to prepare us for what we're going to have to face. We've seen just about every style and system of play, and I think we've had everything that can happen to a team happen to us. So I think we're as prepared as we could be for what's in front of us."
Montana will open its Big Sky schedule at North Dakota, a team that has struggled to compete in the Big Sky and was picked last in this year's preseason poll, but UND is making nice gains under third-year coach Matt Kellogg.
North Dakota won two of its first three matches this season, on the road at Northern Illinois and at home against South Dakota (a 4-0 drubbing), to surpass last season's win total before the season had even reached September.
UND has been shut out its last three matches and will take a 2-5-1 record into Friday's match.
Northern Colorado, under 17th-year coach Tim Barrera, has been one of the Big Sky's most consistent teams since joining the league in 2006. The Bears won 10 matches a year ago and made their fourth tournament appearance in the last five years. UNC was picked fifth in the preseason poll.
"Always when you go on the road and play conference games, it's going to be a challenge," said Plakorus. "Just getting to these places can be tough, so we have to be mature in the days leading up to it to make sure we can handle the travel.
"And then you have the opponents themselves. Both are well-coached and will be prepared and ready for us."
Montana vs. North Dakota: Montana is 6-0 in its matches against North Dakota, outscoring UND 23-2. The Grizzlies won 3-0 at Grand Forks in 2013 in their only other road trip to date to UND. Montana defeated North Dakota 7-0 in Missoula in last year's regular-season matchup.
Montana vs. Northern Colorado: The Grizzlies and Bears have split their matches 4-4-2, with UNC holding a 3-1-1 advantage in matches played in Greeley. Montana has scored just three goals in its last six matchups against Northern Colorado and suffered a 4-0 shutout in its last trip to Greeley, in 2013. In last year's match in Missoula, Hallie Widner sent the Grizzlies to a 1-0 victory when she scored in the 83rd minute off an assist from Mackenzie Akins.
Montana Notes:
* Montana has dropped three straight matches, to Purdue, Creighton and UC Santa Barbara. That's the longest losing streak for the Grizzlies since early in the 2012 season.
* The Grizzlies have scored just two goals in their last five matches, the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Iowa and one in a 3-1 loss to Purdue. Montana has been shut out its last two matches -- 1-0 against both Creighton and UC Santa Barbara -- and enters Friday's match trying to snap a scoreless streak that has reached more than 210 minutes.
"The opponents we've been playing are not the easiest. They are good teams with good athletes, so that makes it very difficult to begin with," said Plakorus.
"Beyond that, the attack is the youngest part of our team. I've got to instill confidence in them to go forward and attack and risk. That's the biggest thing. You've got to risk to score goals. It's a hard thing to do, but it will come. We have the players to do it."
* Montana played at UC Santa Barbara last Friday without sophomore defender Ashlee Pedersen and sophomore defensive midfielder Jenna Castillo. They were added to the season-ending loss of attacking midfielder Jamie Simon on Sept. 4 and the offseason losses of Hallie Widner and Savannah Witt. All starters.
"It's unfortunate in terms of some of the injuries we've had, but at the same time, we have players who can step in and do the job," said Plakorus. "Every player on this team is expected to be ready to play at any time. That's the standard we have."
* Montana has not outshot an opponent since winning at Nevada on Aug. 28. The Grizzlies were credited with a season-low two shots in Friday's 1-0 loss at UC Santa Barbara.
* Montana has generated just three corner kicks the last four matches after creating 18 through the first five matches. The Grizzlies' opponents have taken 22 corner kicks the last four matches.
* Junior goalkeeper Kailey Norman has allowed just five goals the last five matches since giving up six in a 6-2 loss at Utah Valley on Aug. 30. But because of Montana's low goal-scoring numbers, she is 1-4-0 in those five matches, with three 1-0 losses.
Intriguing Friday matchups:
* Eastern Washington (6-1-1) at Weber State (4-4-1). The Eagles have played a soft nonconference schedule. They'll get a chance to show they are for real on the road against one of the Big Sky blue bloods.
* Southern Utah (5-3-0) at Portland State (2-6-0). The Vikings are off to a slow start -- they've scored just two goals in eight matches -- but PSU has not finished lower than tied for second in the Big Sky standings since 2007. Expect eighth-year coach Laura Schott to get her team righted.
Upcoming: Montana will host Southern Utah and Northern Arizona next week at South Campus Stadium.
Coverage: Friday's match will have both video and live stats options. Sunday's match can be tracked through live stats. Links to all available services can be found on the soccer schedule page at gogriz.com.
A new quest begins: Montana got on a roll last season early in conference play -- a road sweep of Sacramento State and Portland State in the second weekend being particularly important -- and never allowed any other team a chance to think it had a shot at the regular-season championship.
The Grizzlies went 8-0-2 in league and outscored its opponents 19-4 to win its first outright Big Sky title since 2000 and host the league tournament, also for the first time since 2000.
"It's become the culture of our team to compete for championships. That's why these players come here. They want a competitive environment and the opportunity to win and compete for championships," said fifth-year coach Mark Plakorus, who has guided the Grizzlies to three Big Sky titles.
But repeating will be difficult. A number of last year's non-tournament qualifiers -- Southern Utah, Weber State, North Dakota -- are much stronger, the Grizzlies have had a number of injury-related setbacks, and as the lone wolf of the league schedule, Montana will be facing Sunday opponents on the road who did not have a Friday match.
With teams' pre-league schedules completed, six enter Big Sky play .500 or better, highlighted by Eastern Washington, which is off to a 6-1-1 start. Southern Utah (5-3-0), Northern Arizona (5-4-0) and Northern Colorado (5-4-0) also are above .500, while Idaho (4-4-1) and Weber State (4-4-1) are at .500.
"You want to start off on a good foot. Everybody is 0-0, so it's an important weekend for everyone," said Plakorus. "We're not going to win anything or lose anything in terms of a championship this weekend, but we can take steps in the right direction.
"Teams in the league are so familiar with each other that there are really no surprises at this point of the season. There is a lot at stake, so it's more intense. Everything gets ratcheted up a little bit.
"But it's why we went through the schedule we went through, to prepare us for what we're going to have to face. We've seen just about every style and system of play, and I think we've had everything that can happen to a team happen to us. So I think we're as prepared as we could be for what's in front of us."
Montana will open its Big Sky schedule at North Dakota, a team that has struggled to compete in the Big Sky and was picked last in this year's preseason poll, but UND is making nice gains under third-year coach Matt Kellogg.
North Dakota won two of its first three matches this season, on the road at Northern Illinois and at home against South Dakota (a 4-0 drubbing), to surpass last season's win total before the season had even reached September.
UND has been shut out its last three matches and will take a 2-5-1 record into Friday's match.
Northern Colorado, under 17th-year coach Tim Barrera, has been one of the Big Sky's most consistent teams since joining the league in 2006. The Bears won 10 matches a year ago and made their fourth tournament appearance in the last five years. UNC was picked fifth in the preseason poll.
"Always when you go on the road and play conference games, it's going to be a challenge," said Plakorus. "Just getting to these places can be tough, so we have to be mature in the days leading up to it to make sure we can handle the travel.
"And then you have the opponents themselves. Both are well-coached and will be prepared and ready for us."
Montana vs. North Dakota: Montana is 6-0 in its matches against North Dakota, outscoring UND 23-2. The Grizzlies won 3-0 at Grand Forks in 2013 in their only other road trip to date to UND. Montana defeated North Dakota 7-0 in Missoula in last year's regular-season matchup.
Montana vs. Northern Colorado: The Grizzlies and Bears have split their matches 4-4-2, with UNC holding a 3-1-1 advantage in matches played in Greeley. Montana has scored just three goals in its last six matchups against Northern Colorado and suffered a 4-0 shutout in its last trip to Greeley, in 2013. In last year's match in Missoula, Hallie Widner sent the Grizzlies to a 1-0 victory when she scored in the 83rd minute off an assist from Mackenzie Akins.
Montana Notes:
* Montana has dropped three straight matches, to Purdue, Creighton and UC Santa Barbara. That's the longest losing streak for the Grizzlies since early in the 2012 season.
* The Grizzlies have scored just two goals in their last five matches, the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Iowa and one in a 3-1 loss to Purdue. Montana has been shut out its last two matches -- 1-0 against both Creighton and UC Santa Barbara -- and enters Friday's match trying to snap a scoreless streak that has reached more than 210 minutes.
"The opponents we've been playing are not the easiest. They are good teams with good athletes, so that makes it very difficult to begin with," said Plakorus.
"Beyond that, the attack is the youngest part of our team. I've got to instill confidence in them to go forward and attack and risk. That's the biggest thing. You've got to risk to score goals. It's a hard thing to do, but it will come. We have the players to do it."
* Montana played at UC Santa Barbara last Friday without sophomore defender Ashlee Pedersen and sophomore defensive midfielder Jenna Castillo. They were added to the season-ending loss of attacking midfielder Jamie Simon on Sept. 4 and the offseason losses of Hallie Widner and Savannah Witt. All starters.
"It's unfortunate in terms of some of the injuries we've had, but at the same time, we have players who can step in and do the job," said Plakorus. "Every player on this team is expected to be ready to play at any time. That's the standard we have."
* Montana has not outshot an opponent since winning at Nevada on Aug. 28. The Grizzlies were credited with a season-low two shots in Friday's 1-0 loss at UC Santa Barbara.
* Montana has generated just three corner kicks the last four matches after creating 18 through the first five matches. The Grizzlies' opponents have taken 22 corner kicks the last four matches.
* Junior goalkeeper Kailey Norman has allowed just five goals the last five matches since giving up six in a 6-2 loss at Utah Valley on Aug. 30. But because of Montana's low goal-scoring numbers, she is 1-4-0 in those five matches, with three 1-0 losses.
Intriguing Friday matchups:
* Eastern Washington (6-1-1) at Weber State (4-4-1). The Eagles have played a soft nonconference schedule. They'll get a chance to show they are for real on the road against one of the Big Sky blue bloods.
* Southern Utah (5-3-0) at Portland State (2-6-0). The Vikings are off to a slow start -- they've scored just two goals in eight matches -- but PSU has not finished lower than tied for second in the Big Sky standings since 2007. Expect eighth-year coach Laura Schott to get her team righted.
Upcoming: Montana will host Southern Utah and Northern Arizona next week at South Campus Stadium.
Players Mentioned
M/F
/ Soccer
M
/ Soccer
G
/ Soccer
D
/ Soccer
M
/ Soccer
F
/ Soccer
F/M
/ SoccerGriz Volleyball Press Conference - 10/6/25
Tuesday, October 07
Griz TV Live Stream
Monday, October 06
Montana vs Idaho St. Highlights
Sunday, October 05
Montana Volleyball Hype Video
Thursday, October 02
