Griz open 2017 soccer season Friday on the road

Friday, August 18

Boise, Idaho

5:00 PM

Montana

Boise State

8/17/2017 12:51:00 PM | Soccer

By: Montana Sports Information

Match Notes (PDF) / Yearbook / Roster / Schedule

GAME 1: MONTANA AT BOISE STATE
Friday, Aug. 18 / 5 p.m. MT / Boise, Idaho
Video Stream (now on tape delay due to technical difficulties) / Live Statistics

GAME 2: MONTANA AT UTAH STATE
Sunday, Aug. 20 / 1 p.m. MT / Logan, Utah
Video Stream / Live Statistics

GRIZ SET TO OPEN 2017 SEASON ON THE ROAD
Montana will travel to Boise, Idaho and Logan, Utah this week to take on Mountain West foes Boise State (Friday) and Utah State (Sunday). The matches mark the start of a new chapter of Griz soccer, one that features a unique balance of 12 returning letterwinners and 14 newcomers.

"We're really excited to get going," head coach Mark Plakorus said. "I've been really impressed with how our upperclassmen have led the freshmen, both on and off the field. I think our players came in fit and prepared from the summer, and we've had a strong fall camp. Now we get to put it out on the field, against another opponent, and see how we stack up."

Friday's opener will begin at 5 p.m. MT, with live statistics available through GameTracker. For Sunday's 1 p.m. kickoff at Utah State, fans can stream the match for free through the Mountain West Network.

MONTANA AT A GLANCE

Montana went 9-6-5 in 2016 and tied for third in the Big Sky with a 5-2-3 league record. The No. 4 Grizzlies lost 1-0 to No. 5 Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament.
UM returns eight starters and 12 letterwinners, including All-Big Sky Conference second-team performers Chanelle Pederson and Hallie Widner. The Griz reached as high as No. 9 in last season's NSCAA Pacific Region rankings.
The Grizzlies return all but two of their goal scorers from 2016. Overall, UM returns 78.3 percent of its goals scored and total points from 2016, plus 73.9 percent of its assists.
On the flip side, UM will be replacing All-Big Sky Conference first-team selection Tess Brenneman and 2016 Big Sky Conference Goalkeeper of the Year Kailey Norman.
UM was picked to finish third out of 11 teams in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll.
UM is led by seventh-year coach Mark Plakorus, who has guided the Grizzlies to five Big Sky tournaments in his first six seasons.
UM has won three Big Sky Conference titles under Plakorus (2011 tournament, 2012 and 2014 regular-season).

SCOUTING BOISE STATE

Boise State went 6-11-4 in 2016, including 5-3-3 in Mountain West action. The 18 conference points were the second-most in school history.
Boise State returns nine starters from last year's squad, including 2016 MW Newcomer of the Year Raimee Sherle, who led Boise State in every offensive category, including a school-record four game-winning goals.
In addition to Sherle, Boise State welcomes back first-team All-MW goalkeeper Janelle Flores and all-newcomer selection Mikayla Schachtell.
The Broncos were picked to finish seventh out of 12 teams in the 2017 MW preseason poll.
Boise State is coached by Jim Thomas, who is 35-36-14 in four seasons with the Broncos.

SERIES HISTORY VS. The BRONCOS

Montana is 7-5-1 all-time against Boise State, first meeting in 2001.
UM is 3-2 in Boise, winning the last three matches, including in 2011, which was Plakorus' first game leading the Griz.
UM has won four in a row overall in the series and has not lost since 2008 (5-0-1).
The Griz opened their 2016 home slate with a 1-0 victory over Boise State. Charlene Burger scored in the 38th minute.

SCOUTING UTAH STATE

Utah State went 12-9-0 in 2016, tying for third place in the Mountain West with a 7-4 mark.
Utah State returns 14 letterwinners and five starters from last year's squad, led by senior midfielder Wesley Hamblin, who tallied eight goals and four assists in 2016 for the Aggies. Also back is primary goalkeeper Grace McGuire (69 saves, 18 goals allowed in 2016).
Junior defender Kelsey Andersen earned All-MW first-team recognition in 2016. She was joined by Hamblin (second team) and Mealii Enos (all-newcomer team). The Aggies graduated two all-conference performers, including their leading scorer.
The Aggies were picked to finish fourth out of 12 teams in the 2017 MW preseason poll.
Utah State is coached by Heather Cairns, who enters her 15th season with a mark of 145-110-34.
The Aggies hosted Southern Utah for an exhibition match on Aug. 11, blanking the Thunderbirds, 4-0.
Prior to Sunday's contest vs. Montana, Utah State hosts South Dakota on Friday.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE AGGIES

Montana is 2-1 all-time vs. Utah State.
The Griz and Aggies last met in 2007, a 1-0 win for Utah State.
UM is 0-1 in Logan (2007), after winning the first two meetings in the series (1996 and 2005 in Missoula).

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
The Griz are unbeaten in season openers under Mark Plakorus, going 4-0-2 in the past six seasons. Five of those matchups have been against Mountain West foes, including a 2011 overtime win at Boise State, Plakorus' first-ever victory.

All-time, UM is 11-9-3 in season openers.

Back on the field once more before we take off for Boise! #FightUniteWin pic.twitter.com/I3LC7I5QKw
— Montana Griz Soccer (@MontanaGrizSOC) August 17, 2017

LOOK WHO'S BACK
The Griz return 12 letterwinners from last year's squad, including six players who started three-quarters of their contests. That group includes McKenzie Warren and Hallie Widner – who tied for the team lead with four goals apiece – plus a slew of offensive talent. Overall, UM returns 78.3 percent of its goals scored and total points from 2016, plus 73.9 percent of its assists.

The biggest area of turnover comes on defense, where UM lost an all-conference defender and the conference's goalkeeper of the year.

WELCOME TO UM
Filling the vacancy of defenders are a half dozen prep stars: Avery Adams (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Gabbi DeMarce (Rapid City, S.D.), Taylor Hansen (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.), Emily Peters (Bremerton, Wash.), Caitlin Rogers (Murrieta, Calif.) and Claire Steffe (Castle Pines, Colo.) all signed in February.

Mikee Furrow (Caldwell, Idaho) and Morgan Meatovich (Las Vegas, Nev.) are incoming forwards, Ally Shelton (Ventura, Calif.) and Raye Burton (Centennial, Colo.) are midfielders, and Alexa Coyle (Bozeman, Mont.) and Rita Lang (Sherwood, Ore.) can play either forward or midfield. Kennedy Yost, a redshirt freshman transfer from the University of Colorado, is also a forward.

The group of newcomers spans from eight states: three each from California and Colorado, and one apiece from Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.

The group features several conference and state champions, in addition to a handful of club stars. Rogers twice advanced to the final eight at the US Youth Soccer National Championships with Legends FC, while Hansen won an ECNL national championship with San Diego Surf in 2014. Adams and Steffe both played for Real Colorado, an ECNL team that finished sixth in the nation in 2014. Additionally, Coyle was a national champion skier while Lang was born in Portugal and played for her nation's U16 and U19 national teams.

FILLING THE VOID
The Griz return the majority of their talent from a year ago, but will look to fill the void of several key pieces. Gone from last year's team are starters Tess Brenneman, Mary Gintz and Kailey Norman.

Brenneman was a two-time first-team All-Big Sky conference selection, while Norman was named the 2016 Big Sky Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. Gintz started 59 games for the Griz.

"The one thing you can't stop doing is losing players," Plakorus said. "We had some players who played significant minutes and made a big impact on our team. We'll feel their loss, but there's also players who have been watching them and learning from them. I think the mark of a good program is that you're sad to see the impact players go, but the new players are ready for the opportunity and excited to be the next one up. I have no doubt that we have those girls who are ready to step into those shoes."

CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Looking at the 2017 schedule, Plakorus believes that this year's slate may be the toughest he's ever assembled.

The Griz begin the season on the road, at Boise State (Aug. 18) and Utah State (Aug. 20) of the Mountain West. They'll return home to host the Montana Cup – vs. Air Force and San José State on Aug. 25 and 27 – before embarking on the road for three of the next four weekends of non-conference play. During that stretch, UM will face Power-5 opponents Nebraska in Pullman, Wash. (Sept. 3), Iowa in Iowa City (Sept. 8), Oregon in Eugene (Sept. 15) and Washington State in Missoula (Sept. 17).

But the games against the "bigger schools" are exciting for the Griz. In 2015, they beat Iowa. In 2016, they took down Purdue on the road. They've also played Washington State and Missouri to overtime.

"Every game is a lesson, and we've learned a lot about what it takes to get to the next level," Plakorus said."

The variety of teams UM will face will force it to see different styles of play and adapt on the fly. Plakorus also noted that it will challenge his players and make them uncomfortable – in a good way. All of this, ideally, will prepare the Griz for what they'll see in the Big Sky Conference, and hopefully in the NCAA tournament down the road.

PICKED TO FINISH 3RD
The Big Sky Conference announced the 2017 preseason soccer poll on Aug. 7, with Montana picked to finish third out of 11 teams. UM received 76 points in the poll, which was voted on by the league's head coaches.

Eastern Washington, which won the Big Sky tournament as a No. 5 seed in 2016, is the preseason favorite, earning 95 points and eight of the 11 first-place votes. Northern Arizona is predicted to finish second, receiving 80 points and one first-place vote; EWU beat NAU in last year's championship game. Idaho, the 2016 regular-season champion and last year's preseason favorite, is just behind UM with 75 points and one first-place vote. Northern Colorado is the other school to earn a first place vote, receiving one and 68 total points, for fifth place.

The Griz will face those four teams consecutively in October, with three of the four matchups coming on the road.

BRINGING IN REINFORCEMENT
In addition to second-year assistant coach Micaela Castain, Katie Benz joins the Griz coaching staff for 2017.

Benz's collegiate career at Cal included four trips to the NCAA tournament. Following graduation, she played professionally before getting into coaching in 2016, as volunteer director of operations at the University of Denver. Castain was a standout player at Washington State, leading the Cougars to three NCAA tournament appearances and being named the 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year and a second-team NSCAA All-American.

"Micaela and Katie are, first of all, two great people," said Plakorus, noting their character, work ethic and drive to be successful. "You look at these two young ladies and nothing came easy for them. They had to work extremely hard and went on to be successful. They're great coaches but great role models as well."

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
The Griz have won more than 70-percent of their home games over the past five seasons, going 25-10-7. In addition to four home conference games, UM will host Air Force, San José State, Washington State and Southern Utah in 2017.

"Missoula is a great soccer town," Plakorus said. "It has always supported us very well, and we always enjoy playing here in front of our fans."

AN OPPORTUNITY AND A RESPONSIBILITY
As the only Division-I women's soccer team in the state of Montana, Plakorus takes his job seriously. It's a big flag to carry, but something he enjoys doing.

"It's an unbelievable opportunity," Plakorus said. "As I began my coaching career, I always had my eye on Montana. I thought it was special what this school and these athletics teams mean to this state and this community. To be a Grizzly and run this program and be responsible for it is very special."

SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM
A total of 19 student-athletes from the 2016 soccer team earned Academic All-Big Sky Conference recognition in February for obtaining a 3.2 grade-point average or better. The figure was tied for the most in the league.

Of the 19, 13 will suit up for the Griz this fall, in addition to incoming freshman Alexa Coyle, who was one of just 49 high school seniors nationally named to the NSCAA High School Scholar All-America Team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will play its home opener next weekend, hosting the Montana Cup. The Griz will play Air Force on Friday, Aug. 25, at 5:30 p.m., followed by a match vs. San José State on Sunday, Aug. 27, at 1 p.m. The Falcons and Spartans will also play Eastern Washington that weekend at South Campus Stadium.

Click here for complete match notes.

We took a retreat to Kalispell and Glacier National Park last week, allowing us to bond off the field!

?? & More ?? https://t.co/xSXHdHrvba pic.twitter.com/GUYy9Fhzqk
— Montana Griz Soccer (@MontanaGrizSOC) August 15, 2017