It all comes down to this

The Montana soccer team will wrap up its regular-season schedule this week when it plays Eastern Washington on Friday afternoon in Cheney. The Grizzlies and Eagles will square off at 3:30 p.m. (MT) at the EWU Soccer Field.

What's at stake: Pretty much the entire season. Montana is one of five teams fighting for the final three spots at next week's Big Sky Conference tournament, which opens Wednesday at either Moscow, Idaho, or Cheney.

The Grizzlies, who are on a five-match unbeaten streak (3-0-2), can play themselves into the tournament with a win and could finish as high as second place, which would mean a No. 2 seed in the tournament and bye to Friday's semifinal round.

If Montana ties or loses on Friday, the Grizzlies' postseason fate will come down to the results from the league's other matches that day.

In a nutshell: Montana could finish as high as second place or could walk off the field on Friday with its season having come to an end. Pretty high stakes, pretty tight conference race.

"That's what you want as a competitor. You want to play in meaningful games," said coach Mark Plakorus. "This is a meaningful game in a lot of ways, and that's exciting. It's what you want college soccer to be. It should be a lot of fun."

Even though Eastern Washington is one of the three teams to have clinched a tournament spot, along with Idaho and Sacramento State, the Eagles still have plenty to play for. With a win and an Idaho loss at home to Idaho State on Friday, EWU would host next week's tournament.

And even if that doesn't work out, a win would give the Eagles the No. 2 seed and bye at the tournament.

Coverage: If you can't make the game, you can watch it through Eversport.tv or monitor through live stats. Links to both options can be found at gogriz.com.

The three-point case for Montana:

1. The Grizzlies are playing their best soccer of the year. They've shut out four of their last five opponents, and that would be a streak of five straight if not for a late-match hiccup at Northern Arizona.

2. Montana has won six straight over Eastern Washington, with just a single goal allowed in those matches. The Grizzlies have left Cheney with a shutout win their last three trips to EWU.

3. Kailey Norman. She is the Big Sky's best goalkeeper -- Norman leads the league in both goals-against average (0.71) and shutouts (8) -- and a senior who isn't ready for her career to be over.

The three-point case for Eastern Washington:

1. The Eagles followed up a three-match winless streak (0-2-1) with a 6-1 thumping of North Dakota on Sunday in Grand Forks, a team Montana needed overtime to beat on Friday on the Grizzlies' home field.

2. Eastern Washington is the Big Sky's highest scoring team, averaging 2.24 goals per match for the season. Montana averages less than half that (1.11).

3. Chloe Williams. Last year's Big Sky Offensive MVP has been even more dangerous this season. She has 13 goals in 17 matches, four more than anyone else in the league.

Most recently: Montana picked up four points at home last weekend, earning an important 1-0 overtime victory over North Dakota on Friday and playing to a 0-0 draw against Northern Colorado on Sunday.

The results came despite outshooting its two opponents 45-14 and putting 14 shots on goal compared to just three for the Fighting Hawks and Bears.

Montana won Friday's match in the 99th minute when McKenzie Warren took a shot from near the end line. It glanced off the left post and went to Hallie Widner, who one-touched it in.

Eastern Washington played the same two teams last weekend, facing Northern Colorado in Cheney on Friday before traveling to Grand Forks for a match on Sunday at North Dakota.

The Eagles led the Bears 2-1 at the half on Friday, but goals in the 58th and 80th minutes gave Northern Colorado, which was coming off back-to-back 1-0 home losses, an important 3-2 road win that kept UNC in the tournament race.

On Sunday, Eastern Washington put up 35 shots, 17 on goal, in its 6-1 win over North Dakota. The match was tied 1-1 early on, but the Eagles pulled away with goals in the 21st, 22nd and 42nd minutes to build a 4-1 halftime lead.

Montana three-dot notes: Hallie Widner's goal on Friday was her first since the team's match at Wyoming on Aug. 26. It evened her with McKenzie Warren for the team lead with four goals. ... Warren, who assisted on Widner's game-winner, has been involved in Montana's last three goals. She scored twice in the Grizzlies' 2-0 win at Southern Utah on Oct. 16. ... Two shutouts last weekend give Kailey Norman 24 for her career. She is within four of Railene Thorson's program record of 28. Norman's 28 wins also rank second behind Thorson's 45. ... Montana is 13-5-1 all-time against Eastern Washington, 7-3-0 in matches at Cheney. ... The Grizzlies won last year's matchup 2-1 in overtime in Missoula. Dani Morris, out this season after undergoing knee surgery, opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Eastern Washington evened the score in the 33rd minute. The match remained tied until Allie Lucas put in a shot by Jenna Castillo that was blocked in the 108th minute.

Around the Big Sky Conference: The three teams closest to Montana in the standings who also have not clinched tournament spots all have the benefit of playing home games on Friday.

Northern Arizona hosts 10th-place Southern Utah, Northern Colorado hosts last-place North Dakota, and Portland State hosts Sacramento State, which is tied for second place with Eastern Washington.

All five matches on Friday have the potential to impact tournament outcomes in some way. The picture will clear up as scores become final throughout the afternoon and evening.

Friday start times:
Sacramento State at Portland State: 2 p.m. (MT)
Montana at Eastern Washington: 3:30 p.m. (MT)
Idaho State at Idaho, 4 p.m. (MT)
North Dakota at Northern Colorado, 6 p.m.
Southern Utah at Northern Arizona, 8 p.m. (MT)

Big Sky Conference standings:
Idaho: 6-1-2 (20) -- Chance of hosting: 96 percent
Eastern Washington: 5-2-2 (17) -- 5-2 at home this season
Sacramento State: 5-2-2 (17) -- Can't host but can earn No. 2 seed
Montana: 4-2-3 (15) -- Has lost just once since Sept. 23
Northern Arizona: 4-2-3 (15) -- Missed last year's tournament
Northern Colorado: 4-4-1 (13) -- Last year's tournament champion
Portland State: 4-4-1 (13) -- Holds head-to-head wins over UM, UNC
Idaho State: 4-5-0 (12) -- Hurt by home losses last week to SUU, NAU
Weber State: 3-6-1 (10) -- Once hot, finished 0-5-1
Southern Utah: 2-6-1 (7) -- Given up league-worst 40 goals this season
North Dakota: 1-8-0 (3) -- Bottom-two finish all five years in the Big Sky

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jenna Castillo

Allie Lucas

Dani Morris

Kailey Norman

McKenzie Warren

Hallie Widner

University of Montana Athletics