Widner honored by Big Sky Conference

Montana sophomore Hallie Widner, who scored twice last weekend and added an assist on a game-winning goal that has since gone viral, was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.

Widner and the Griz soccer team opened their season with victories over Oakland, an NCAA tournament team last season, and Purdue at West Lafayette, Ind.

It was the second career Offensive Player of the Week award for Widner, who was recognized once as a freshman back in 2014. The effervescent midfielder, who was named first-team All-Big Sky and the league's Newcomer of the Year that season, missed the 2015 campaign with a broken leg.

"The things we got from Hallie in terms of her scoring this past weekend, that's all icing on the cake," said sixth-year coach Mark Plakorus. "Just to see her running around and enjoy playing with her teammates again is great to see."

Widner scored Montana's second goal, in the 27th minute, in the Grizzlies' season-opening 2-0 victory over Oakland on Friday. It was her first goal since scoring the game-winner in Montana's 1-0 victory over Northern Colorado on Oct. 26, 2014.

On Sunday she was instrumental in both goals as Montana overcame an early deficit to post a 2-1 overtime victory over Purdue on the Boilermakers' home field. It was the first time since 2011 that the Grizzlies rallied for a win in a true road match.

Widner's header from five yards out in the 84th minute, off a throw-in from senior Mary Gintz, evened the match at 1-1.

In the second minute of the first overtime, Widner took a pass from sophomore Ellie Otteson in traffic and heel-passed the ball to an open McKenzie Warren. The sophomore, who was set up just inside the top of the 18-yard box, drilled a shot into the upper-left corner of the goal.

Both because of its beauty and because it was the game-winner against an opponent from the Big 10, the goal was highlighted on the NCAA's website Monday as one of the six best goals scored last weekend as NCAA Division I soccer schedules opened across the nation.

"Hallie is just a different player. Not only is she extremely talented, she is versatile. She is good passing the ball, she is good running with the ball, she is good with her head, she is good at taking shots. She's a complete player. You can't take just one thing away from her," said Plakorus.

"She's a really good leader who gives our team a lot of confidence. She really sets the tone for our team, but she is also very unselfish and very humble. She just wants to do whatever it takes to help her team, and that's very infectious."

With the wins, Montana opens a season 2-0-0 for the first time since 2011 and for just the second time since 2004. The Grizzlies play road matches this week at Wyoming (1-0-0) and Denver (0-2-0).

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Mary Gintz

Ellie Otteson

McKenzie Warren

Hallie Widner

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