Griz three results from a championship

The Montana soccer team, the tournament's No. 5 seed, will face No. 4 Northern Arizona on Wednesday when the Big Sky Conference Championship opens at Weber State's Wildcat Soccer Field in Ogden, Utah.

The Grizzlies, who will face the Wildcats at 3 p.m., are making their fifth consecutive tournament appearance and their Big Sky-leading 17th overall. Montana will be trying to win its first tournament title since 2011, its fifth overall.

The schedule:

Quarterfinal I: Wednesday, noon -- No. 6 Eastern Washington vs. No. 3 Northern Colorado
Quarterfinal II: Wednesday, 3 p.m. -- No. 5 Montana vs. No. 4 Northern Arizona

Wednesday at a glance: Northern Colorado defeated Eastern Washington 3-1 in Greeley during the regular season. ... Northern Arizona and Montana played to a 0-0 draw in Missoula on Oct. 14.

Semifinal I: Friday, noon -- No. 2 Idaho vs. Eastern Washington/Northern Colorado
Semifinal II: Friday, 3 p.m. -- No. 1 Weber State vs. Montana/Northern Arizona

Friday at a glance: Idaho lost at Northern Colorado 3-0 in Greeley in late September and defeated Eastern Washington at home 1-0. ... Weber State faced both Montana and Northern Arizona in Ogden, playing to a 0-0 draw with the Lumberjacks and defeating the Grizzlies 2-1.

Championship: Sunday, noon, with the winner advancing to the NCAA tournament

Montana tournament bona fides:

* Montana will be playing in the Big Sky tournament for the fifth consecutive season and making its 17th appearance overall. In the first 21 years of the league tournament, the Grizzlies missed out just five times: 2005, '07, '09, '10 and '13.

* Montana has a tournament record of 11-10-4, with championships won in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2011. The Grizzlies made it to the title match in 1998, 2003, '04 and '12.

* In previous tournaments hosted by Weber State, Montana has a record of 2-4-0.

* Though Montana and Northern Arizona both have a history of consistently advancing to the tournament, they have not met in the postseason since 2000 and have met just three times at the tournament:

1998, semifinals at Ogden: (2) Montana 2, (3) Northern Arizona 0
1999, championship at Missoula: (1) Montana 2, (3) Northern Arizona 0
2000, championship at Missoula: (1) Montana 1, (3) Northern Arizona 0

* Montana has played in the quarterfinal round just two times previously. No. 5 Montana defeated No. 4 Weber State 2-0 at Moscow in 2015 and lost 1-0 as the No. 4 seed to No. 5 Eastern Washington in Cheney in 2016.

* Montana will be trying to snap a three-match postseason losing streak on Wednesday. The team's last three tournament matches:

2015, semifinals at Moscow: (1) Idaho 3, (5) Montana 2
2016, quarterfinals at Cheney: (5) Eastern Washington 1, (4) Montana 0
2017, semifinals at Cheney: (3) Northern Colorado 2, (2) Montana 1 (2ot)

* Things have gone mostly well for Montana in its first appearance at the Big Sky tournament under a new coach:

1997 -- It was Betsy Duerksen's fourth year at Montana but the first year the Big Sky hosted a soccer tournament. No. 1 Montana defeated No. 4 Portland State 4-0 in the semifinals, No. 2 Weber State 4-2 in the championship.

2004 -- Under new coach Neil Sedgwick, No. 3 Montana knocked off No. 2 Eastern Washington 2-1 in the semifinals at Portland. In the championship match, No. 4 Weber State shut out the Grizzlies 1-0.

2011 -- Under first-year coach Mark Plakorus, No. 4 Montana, the lowest seed in the four-team field, played No. 1 seed and host Northern Colorado and No. 3 Weber State to 1-1 draws in the semifinals and championship. The Grizzlies advanced to the NCAA tournament with shootout wins in both.

* This season is feeling like 2011 all over again:

2011: Playing for a first-year coach
2018: Playing for a first-year coach

2011: Won three matches (3-3-1) during league, still made the tournament
2018: Won three matches (3-2-4) during league, still made the tournament

2011: Lost 2-0 to regular-season champion Northern Colorado on the road during league
2018: Lost 2-1 to regular-season champion Weber State on the road during league

2011: Played a nonconference match before the tournament, losing 2-1 in overtime at Seattle
2018: Played a nonconference match before the tournament, losing 2-1 at California Baptist

2011: Played No. 1 seed and host Northern Colorado in the semifinals
2018: With a win on Wednesday, would play No. 1 seed and host Weber State in the semifinals

2011: Overlooked, advanced to the NCAA tournament
2018: Overlooked, to be answered this week

Why they think they can be the team celebrating on Sunday afternoon:

No. 1 Weber State (9-4-4, 7-1-1 BSC) -- The Wildcats are playing at home and have lost just twice in their last 14 matches, to Arizona State and on the road at Idaho.

No. 2 Idaho (9-6-3, 6-1-2 BSC) -- Since starting league on Sept. 21, the Vandals have just one loss and enter the tournament on a six-match unbeaten streak. Also have a bye to Friday's semifinal round.

No. 3 Northern Colorado (10-7-1, 6-2-1 BSC) -- Scored 11 more goals this season than any other league team. Won the tournament in 2015 on the road, played in last year's championship match on the road.

No. 4 Northern Arizona (9-4-4, 5-1-3 BSC) -- Has lost just once since mid-September, has allowed just one goal its last eight matches, with seven shutouts.

No. 5 Montana (4-8-6, 3-2-4 BSC) -- Lost just once in its last eight league matches, has scored in seven of its last eight matches, closed league with a road sweep of Portland State and Sacramento State.

No. 6 Eastern Washington (8-7-3, 4-4-1 BSC) -- Has won the last two tournaments, enters postseason on a three-match winning streak, including an 8-1 win over Idaho State, a 1-0 victory at Northern Arizona.

Accomplished field: Since 2011, Weber State, Northern Colorado, Northern Arizona, Montana and Eastern Washington have all won a tournament championship. Idaho, as the top seed and host, lost the title match in a shootout to Northern Colorado in 2015.

Field of tears: Before Eastern Washington broke the trend by winning the last two tournaments on its home field, the host team had failed to raise the trophy seven of the previous eight years.

Seeking to make (or at least match) history: Eastern Washington is trying to win its third consecutive tournament championship. Only Idaho State, in 2001, '02 and '03, has won three in a row.

Montana notes:

* With her 86th-minute goal at California Baptist on Friday in Montana's 2-1 loss, Kennedy Yost moved into a tie with Alexa Coyle for the team lead with four goals and nine points.

* Just five players have scored this season for the Grizzlies. In addition to Coyle and Yost, Janessa Fowler has three, all coming on penalty kicks, and Ellie Otteson has one, coming back on Aug. 23 at Arizona State. Hallie Widner has the team's other goal, but she is done for the year with an injury.

* Montana went 4 for 4 in penalty kicks this season, with Fowler connecting three times, Yost once. That's a good sign if the Grizzlies find themselves in a shootout this week in Ogden.

* Claire Howard had been in goal for Montana for 1,864 consecutive minutes, dating back to last season, before giving way to freshman Brooke Johnston late in the first half at Cal Baptist. Johnston made one save and didn't allow a goal in her 51-minute collegiate debut.

* Fellow freshmen McKenzie Kilpatrick (74), Alexa Bentley (58) and Katie Hansen (45) all played season-high minutes against the Lancers as well.

* Montana ranked third in the Big Sky in the regular season in both shots (13.7/g) and corner kicks (4.3/g) but last in goals (0.72/g).

* But it's trending up: Montana scored a season-high three goals at Sacramento State and has scored in seven of its last eight matches. The Grizzlies scored just four goals through their first 10 matches.

Montana insider with coach Chris Citowicki:

* Pull two of the six teams out of a hat and very few people would be surprised at the potential Sunday matchup in the championship. Northern Colorado-Northern Arizona? Sure. Idaho-Weber State? Sure. Montana-Eastern Washington? Sure.

Mix and match within the framework of the bracket and nothing would be a surprise.

"It's the most open conference in the whole country right now," said Citowicki. "You have no idea who's going to win. None whatsoever. I've never seen anything like it.

"It's completely random, and it's annoying in that respect. You'd like to be the dominant team, but that's what makes it fun. And gives me a lot of stress."

* Montana played Northern Arizona, which had won its previous four matches by 2-0 result, to a 0-0 deadlock in Missoula just over two weeks ago, on Oct. 14.

It was the Grizzlies' sixth tie of the season, but it had Citowicki positively upbeat afterwards, after his team spent 110 minutes creating better scoring chances than the Lumberjacks.

"That was our first really good performance of the year," said Citowicki. "Janessa (Fowler) said to the group afterwards that it was the first time we've played at that level. We didn't dominate possession, but I felt we had the better opportunities to win.

"You saw it come again in Portland and in the first 22 minutes at Sac State. We just put them on their heels right away. Second half at (California) Baptist as well. It was hard to see because we rotated so much (in that match), but it's there. We're finally playing with the confidence we need."

* Montana leads the all-time series against Northern Arizona 14-6-5, but in recent years it's been a matchup with tight margins. Over the last eight seasons, all eight meetings have finished as draws or one-goal differentials, with the Grizzlies going 3-1-4 against the Lumberjacks in that span.

"It's going to be a close game. It's going to be a physical game. We're healthy, we're confident and we're ready, but there is pressure on everybody going into (the tournament)," said Citowicki. "It's playoff time. This is what it's all about."

* Because of the tight nature of the league -- just four points separated first-place Weber State (22) and fourth-place Northern Arizona (18), with the bottom two seeds, Montana and Eastern Washington, combining to win their last five league matches -- the top two seeds have a decided advantage.

Both of Wednesday's quarterfinals could go to double overtime, with a shootout to decide things. And they'll be physical matchups. And for as much edge-of-your-seat drama as that creates for us, the fans, it puts added wear and tear on the winners.

Meanwhile, Idaho and Weber State will sit on the sideline, relaxing and awaiting the two winners. Or survivors.

"I think it definitely benefits those teams to not play on Wednesday," said Citowicki. "You know it's going to be a slugfest with Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington. I could see that going overtime. The same thing with our game. The winner of both is going to be worn out.

"You only win a tournament like this with 18 players. You can't do it with 12, not from our position. To play 12 players on Wednesday, 12 on Friday and 12 on Sunday, you're going to lose at some point. We need 18 across the board. That's the challenge to the group. Everybody has to step up."

* It was a strange sight to see back in early August, when Montana was taking time during preseason practices to work on its penalty kicks. And then it happened the next day and the next.

All of it was done with an eye on this week (though it didn't hurt to go 4 for 4 on penalty kicks during the season). Remember: Montana has played to six ties this season, four coming in league. Maybe Citowicki could sense it. Or maybe it will always be like that.

"It's one of our standards. We're ready for it, but that doesn't mean you're going to win the game," he said. "But if it goes to a shootout, there won't be a panic moment."

* Speaking of moments, keep an eye on them as Wednesday's match goes along. For as tight as the match should be, you never know what the decisive play will be or when it will occur.

Perhaps a perfectly struck corner kick that finds a head for a goal. Or another set piece, perhaps on a free kick. Or a big save on a penalty kick.

In a tight match, those moments -- here and gone in a matter of seconds but huge in importance -- will likely make all the difference.

"Soccer is a game of moments," said Citowicki. "You have to get the moments in the games that matter the most, and this is it.

"These are the games that come down to one corner kick and getting it done, or one penalty kick and making the save you're supposed to or score the one you're supposed do. Are we prepped and on edge to take those moments?"

Only time will tell. Let the fun begin.

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Players Mentioned

Alexa Bentley

Alexa Coyle

Janessa Fowler

Katie Hansen

Claire Howard

Brooke Johnston

McKenzie Kilpatrick

Ellie Otteson

Hallie Widner

Kennedy Yost

University of Montana Athletics