Postseason hopes on the line this weekend

The Montana soccer team will close out its Big Sky Conference schedule this weekend with road matches at Portland State and Sacramento State.

The Grizzlies will face the Vikings at 2 p.m. (MT) on Friday in Hillsboro, the Hornets on Sunday at 1 p.m. (MT) in Sacramento.

Montana will wrap its regular season with a nonconference match at Cal Baptist on Friday, Oct. 26, in Riverside.

Where they stand (Montana): The Grizzlies (2-7-6, 1-2-4 BSC) are tied for sixth in the Big Sky standings with Eastern Washington. Both are sitting on seven points.

Where they stand (Portland State): The Vikings (5-9-0, 3-4-0 BSC), winners of three of their last four, are alone in fifth place, two points up on the Grizzlies and Eagles.

Where they stand (Sacramento State): The Hornets (3-11-2, 2-5-0 BSC) are in eighth place, just a point behind the Grizzlies and Eagles.

Trending (Montana): Even. How could it be anything else for a team that has played to four ties in its last six matches, with a one-goal win and a one-goal loss sprinkled in for variety?

Trending (Portland State): Up. Wins over Idaho State and Southern Utah got things turned around. A 1-0 road win at Sacramento State on Sunday has PSU on verge of making its second consecutive tournament.

Trending (Sacramento State): Down. Since opening league with a 1-0 win at Eastern Washington, the Hornets have dropped five of six, including their last four, three by shutout.

Notes to set the stage:

* Weber State (8-4-4, 6-1-1 BSC), Northern Arizona (9-3-3, 5-0-2 BSC), Idaho (8-6-2, 5-1-1 BSC) and Northern Colorado (9-7-0, 5-2-0 BSC) have clinched four of the six spots for the Big Sky tournament.

* All four of those teams are still mathematically alive to win the regular-season title.

* The top two teams when the dust settles on Sunday will earn tournament byes into the tournament semifinals, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 2. Seeds 3-6 will meet in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Oct. 31.

* Five teams -- Portland State (9 points), Eastern Washington (7), Montana (7), Sacramento State (6) and Southern Utah (4) -- go into the final weekend with a chance to claim the final two tournament spots.

* Portland State can clinch a tournament spot with a victory over Montana on Friday. Very little else can be decided on Friday, outside of teams playing themselves off the tournament bubble.

* Friday's schedule: Montana at Portland State, Northern Colorado at Sacramento State, Idaho at Southern Utah, Eastern Washington at Northern Arizona, Weber State at Idaho State

* Teams for Griz fans to cheer for on Friday: Northern Colorado, Idaho, Northern Arizona. For a team on the bubble, it's best that the teams who have clinched spots just keep winning.

* Sunday's schedule: Montana at Sacramento State, Northern Colorado at Portland State, Eastern Washington at Southern Utah, Idaho at Northern Arizona

* Teams for Griz fans to cheer for on Sunday: To be determined

This week's storylines:

* The time for talking is over, of trusting the process, of being close to scoring goals in bunches. All that matters now is results.

It did earlier as well, back when Montana was hosting Northern Colorado in its Big Sky opener nearly a month ago, but things tend to get a lot more real, a lot less abstract, when the end of the schedule draws near.

Montana is one of five teams fighting for the final two spots at the six-team Big Sky tournament, which opens in two weeks at Ogden, Utah, as the league enters its final weekend of matches.

Two of the other five teams trying to claim a postseason spot: Portland State and Sacramento State, which makes this a delightful weekend for anyone who is a fan of drama and providential scheduling.

Montana can play its way into the tournament, play its way out of the tournament or do just enough where it needs help from the outside. So, yeah, there is a lot at stake.

"The players know where we are and that we need to get a result on this trip," said first-year coach Chris Citowicki. "We have to have faith in what we're doing and that it will work out."

* The good news for Montana is that the Grizzlies, despite an outcome that looks mostly ho-hum (0-0), played really well on Sunday against Northern Arizona, a team that had won its previous four matches by the same 2-0 score before rolling into Missoula.

It wouldn't be accurate to write that Montana outplayed Northern Arizona, but the Grizzlies did have the edge in quality goal-scoring opportunities, even if none of them resulted in a ball reaching the net.

"I feel like NAU was fortunate to get out of here with a tie," said Citowicki. "They were lucky to survive it. We played as aggressively as we possibly could, trying to create the best opportunities we could.

"We didn't play it safe. Everything was put out there, so it was a good tie. It was a good result for us. If we bring that against the next two teams, I think we'll have a good chance at winning. We've just got to bring it."

* One of the reasons for a more dynamic offensive presence was that Citowicki moved Janessa Fowler out of her holding midfielder position up the field to forward.

And the indefatigable Taylor Hansen, normally an outside back, was moved up the field as well, where her speed could be unleashed with the goal of scoring, well, goals, not defending against them.

Fowler took three shots in the match, Hansen two, as the pair accounted for nearly one-third of the team's total of 16.

Ali Monroe started at holding midfielder, Emily Peters made her first career start at outside back, and it worked. As one player said this week, it felt like the team was playing Montana Soccer again.

"There were a lot of pieces that fell into place for us over the weekend," said Citowicki. "That's the most dangerous we've looked all year. I know it was a tie, but it wasn't a tie like some of the other ones.

"Taylor and Janessa were amazing. It was a complete picture up there. I think that's the best we've looked all year. It seems to be falling into place at the right time."

* Yes, Montana has just one league win, but the Grizzlies have still only been beaten by two teams.

Northern Colorado needed a goal in the 88th minute to force overtime before winning 2-1 in the 105th. Weber State went up a goal in the 52nd minute and held on for a 2-1 win on its home field.

Of the other teams who have clinched a tournament spot, Montana played to a tie with both Idaho and Northern Arizona.

During the season, those ties are unrewarding. Come tournament time, they result in shootouts, and Citowicki likes his team's chances should it get that opportunity.

More on Montana:

* It's official. No Griz team has ever played in more draws than this one, with six. The 2016 team ended the season with five ties.

* Montana opened its final home weekend on Friday with a tie with Southern Utah that was a lot less satisfying than Sunday's draw with Northern Arizona. The Grizzlies and Thunderbirds played to a 1-1 deadlock, with SUU scoring in the 32nd minute, Montana in the 80th on a Fowler penalty kick.

Montana outshot Southern Utah, which only put two shots on goal in 110 minutes, 23-7.

* Of Montana's five goals in league, three have been on penalty kicks. Only Kennedy Yost's first-half goal against Northern Colorado and Alexa Coyle's game-winner at Idaho State came during live play. Because of that, and the lack of scoring in general, the Grizzlies have only two assists this season.

* It's been nearly a year since Montana scored two goals in a match. The last time it happened was on Oct. 22, 2017, a home victory over North Dakota.

* Only Northern Arizona (10), Weber State (14) and Idaho (16) have allowed fewer goals this season than the 17 let in by Montana. The Grizzlies have a 1.03 goals-against average and six shutouts.

* Montana's eight goals this season match the program low, scored by the 2010 team in 18 matches in what was former coach Neil Sedgwick's final season. The team scored 21 or more goals the next seven seasons under Mark Plakorus.

* The fewest goals scored by the team leader in that category, three, came in 2007 (Kaitlyn Heinsohn) and 2009 (Frankie Brady). Only three times in the last 11 years has the team leader scored more than five goals: Erin Craig's 10 in 2011, Erin Craig's seven in 2012 and Hallie Widner's seven in 2014.

Alexa Coyle, Janessa Fowler and Kennedy Yost share the lead this fall with two each.

Three things to know about Portland State:

1. Portland State was 2-8 and on a five-match losing streak before picking up a 3-1 home win over Idaho State on Sept. 30. The Vikings scored the match's first three goals in a 3-2 road win at Southern Utah and got a goal in the 33rd minute on Sunday to win 1-0 at Sacramento State.

2. Portland State has scored 17 goals this season, and they have, remarkably, come from 12 different players. Senior Krystal de Ramos holds the team lead with three.

3. The Vikings were picked sixth in the preseason coaches' poll, which might prove to be somewhat accurate. That Idaho was picked seventh and Weber State eighth -- while Eastern Washington collected eight of 10 first-place votes -- tells us we should maybe quit doing polls for soccer.

Montana-Portland State history: The Vikings are one of two league teams (Northern Colorado is the other) that the Grizzlies do not have a winning record against. PSU holds a 12-11-3 edge in a series that dates back to 1995.

Montana is 5-5-1 against Portland State on the Vikings' home field.

The teams played to a 1-1 draw in Missoula last season, with Taryn Miller scoring for the Grizzlies in the eighth minute, Ellie Vasey for the Vikings in the 26th.

In the teams' last match at Hillsboro, in 2016, Aurora Bodenhamer, of whose name I remain envious, scored in the 71st minute to give the Vikings a 1-0 victory.

Three things to know about Sacramento State:

1. The Hornets have three wins this season: 3-2 over Nevada, currently in last place in the Mountain West Conference; 1-0 at Eastern Washington; and 3-0 over Idaho State, currently in last place in the Big Sky Conference. It's a thin resume for a team from which more was expected this fall.

2. Sacramento State was picked fifth in the preseason coaches' poll after advancing to its third consecutive Big Sky tournament last fall.

3. Like so many league teams, Sacramento State scores by committee. Five players have scored either two or three goals this fall, with senior Caitlin Prothe and sophomore Skylar Littlefield leading the way with three each.

Montana-Sacramento State history: The Grizzlies lead the series with the Hornets 13-7-5 and are unbeaten (3-0-1) against Sac State the last four years.

Montana is 5-5-1 against Sacramento State on the Hornets' home field.

The Grizzlies defeated the Hornets 1-0 last fall in Missoula on Alexa Coyle's goal in the 84th minute.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Idaho handed Weber State its first league loss on Sunday, winning 2-0 in Moscow. That gives Northern Arizona, which is undefeated at 5-0-2, a clear path to the Big Sky title, with home matches this week against Eastern Washington and Idaho.

* Eastern Washington led Idaho State in Cheney on Sunday 3-1 at the half, and the Eagles were only getting started. They scored five unanswered goals in the second half to win 8-1 in a match they were only +6 in shots.

* Northern Colorado's Maddie Roberts and Southern Utah's MaKenzie Lawrence lead the Big Sky in goals with seven. The last time the league leader at season's end had fewer than 10 was in 2013. Only six league players have five or more goal this season.

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Players Mentioned

Alexa Coyle

Janessa Fowler

Taylor Hansen

Taryn Miller

Ali Monroe

Emily Peters

Hallie Widner

Kennedy Yost

University of Montana Athletics