Griz host Wildcats on Friday

The Montana soccer team will host Weber State on Friday at 3 p.m. at South Campus Stadium in the Grizzlies' lone match of the week. The match marks the midpoint of Montana's Big Sky Conference schedule.

Get in free: By flashing your ticket to Saturday's football game between Montana and Mississippi Valley State. Friday is also the team's annual pink game to promote breast cancer awareness.

Where they stand: Montana is 5-5-3 overall and tied for sixth in the Big Sky standings. The Grizzlies have four points with their 1-2-1 league record.

Weber State is 5-5-1 overall and tied for second in the Big Sky behind league leader Eastern Washington. The Wildcats have a 3-1-0 league mark.

What's at stake (Montana): If it's not too early for the postseason bubble to make an appearance, the Grizzlies would be on it. With six league matches remaining, there are plenty of opportunities to reach 15 points, which was last year's cut to make the tournament, but with a road trip to Northern Arizona and Southern Utah next week, and a season-ending trip to Cheney to face Big Sky leader Eastern Washington, the three home matches left on the schedule take on added significance.

What's at stake (Weber State): The Wildcats, who have 23 underclassmen on their roster, were picked sixth in the preseason coaches' poll, but a three-match winning streak has WSU near the top of the Big Sky standings and thinking about more than just making the tournament. After facing Montana in Missoula on Friday, Weber State will travel to Cheney for a match on Sunday against Big Sky leader Eastern Washington. It's a weekend of big opportunities for the Wildcats.

Most recently: Montana went on the road last week and came away with a single, frustrating point.

In Friday's 1-1 draw at Sacramento State, the Grizzlies went up in the 51st minute on Madison Adams' second goal in two matches and took the lead into the final five minutes of regulation, but the Hornets scored the equalizer in the 86th minute.

In Sunday's 1-0 loss at Portland State, Montana outshot the Vikings 11-4 in the first half and outplayed them by the same ratio, but the Grizzlies were unable to convert any of their chances. Montana wasn't the same team in the second half and gave up the unassisted game-winner in the 71st minute.

Weber State swept its matches last week, winning 3-1 at home over Northern Arizona and 2-1 at Southern Utah.

The Wildcats played from in front in both matches, going up 1-0 in the opening 10 minutes against both the Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds, and taking 2-0 leads in both with goals in the 22nd minute.

Been there, done that: This is the fourth time in six years Montana has started 1-2-1 in league, and the Grizzlies have mostly rebounded well from those slow starts.

In 2011, Montana made the Big Sky tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament. In 2012, the Grizzlies won out and claimed a share of the regular-season title at 6-2-1. Montana lost a shootout to Idaho State in the Big Sky tournament championship match.

Montana also started 1-2-1 last season. That team won four of its final six league matches and defeated higher-seeded Weber State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament.

More on Weber State: The Wildcats opened their season with a 4-0 loss at Utah and also had road setbacks at San Diego State and Missouri as part of a difficult nonconference schedule. ... WSU opened league with a 2-1 home loss to Northern Colorado on a sloppy, wet field, then started its current three-match winning streak with a 2-0 home win over North Dakota. ... The Wildcats' top three scorers this season are underclassmen and five of the team's seven goal-scorers are underclassmen.

"(Coach Tim Crompton's) teams are always well prepared. He has a young team that played a very challenging nonconference schedule, so obviously they learned a lot of things about their team," said UM coach Mark Plakorus, who is 3-3-1 against the Wildcats.

"They've had four conference games and have played very well in all of them. They've been attacking and have scored some goals, so Tim's been preparing his team well. Even though they're young, they are talented and going to be a challenge."

History: Montana leads the series with Weber State 13-12-2, with a 9-3-1 advantage in matches played in Missoula. Since the start of soccer in the Big Sky Conference in 1997, neither team has won more than two straight matches in the series.

The Grizzlies lost 1-0 at Ogden last fall but defeated the Wildcats 2-0 at the Big Sky tournament at Moscow, Idaho, behind a pair of goals from Ashlee Pedersen.

Montana notes: The Grizzlies have won just once in their last seven matches, going 1-4-2 since their 1-0 home victory over Boise State on Sept. 9. ... Montana has scored more than one goal in a match just once since opening the season with 2-0 and 2-1 victories over Oakland and Purdue. The only other multiple-goal match came against Idaho State on Sept. 25 at South Campus Stadium, a 2-0 victory. ... Montana is tied with Eastern Washington for the Big Sky lead in shutouts with five. The Grizzlies' goals-against average of 0.88 ranks third behind Sacramento State (0.83) and EWU (0.86). ... Senior goalkeeper Kailey Norman leads the Big Sky in shutouts with five and ranks second in goals-against average (0.88) and third in save percentage (.810). ... Sophomore midfielder Hallie Widner scored a goal in each of Montana's first three matches. She's been limited to no goals and just nine shots the eight matches since then.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

Team of the Week: Idaho. The preseason favorite flexed its offensive muscle at home last week, knocking off Northern Colorado 2-0 on Friday, then dispatching North Dakota 5-1 on Sunday. Idaho claims it outshot those two opponents 56-16.

Week 2 contenders: Eastern Washington (3-0-1 BSC), Idaho (3-1-0 BSC), Weber State (3-1-0 BSC). Everyone else gets placed on the tournament bubble.

Friday's matches: Weber State at Montana, Northern Arizona at North Dakota, Southern Utah at Northern Colorado, Portland State at Idaho State, Idaho at Sacramento State

Non-Montana match to pay attention to: Idaho at Sacramento State. The Vandals have scored 11 goals in their Big Sky victories over Montana, Northern Colorado and North Dakota. The Hornets have allowed 11 goals all season.

Sunday's matches: Southern Utah at North Dakota, Northern Arizona at Northern Colorado, Weber State at Eastern Washington, Idaho at Portland State, Idaho State at Sacramento State

Match to pay attention to: Weber State at Eastern Washington. The Wildcats are this year's lone wolf in the Big Sky schedule, meaning that every Sunday opponent had the previous Friday off, the same situation Montana faced last season. The Eagles will be rested and waiting.

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Players Mentioned

Madison Adams

Kailey Norman

Ashlee Pedersen

Hallie Widner

University of Montana Athletics