Montana at Northern Colorado on Sunday

Sunday, October 27

Greeley, Colo.

1 PM

Montana

Northern Colorado

Photo by: © Derek Johnson 2019

10/24/2019 12:20:00 PM | Soccer

PDF Game Notes

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana soccer team, on a seven-match unbeaten streak and without a loss against a Big Sky Conference opponent in more than a year, will have a one-match weekend as the end of the regular season draws near.

Montana, sitting atop the Big Sky standings at 5-0-2 in league and with 17 points, will play at third-place and preseason favorite Northern Colorado (4-2-2 BSC, 14 points) on Sunday. The teams will square off at 1 p.m. at UNC's Jackson Stadium.

The match pairs the two teams that met in last year's Big Sky tournament championship game. Montana won that matchup 1-0 to avenge a 2-1 double-overtime victory by the Bears in the teams' regular-season meeting in Missoula.

The match is the only one of the week for the Bears and their final match before they host the Big Sky Conference tournament from Nov. 6-10.

Montana's regular season will conclude on Wednesday with a make-up match at Eastern Washington at 2 p.m. (MT) in Cheney. The teams' originally scheduled match, on Sunday, Sept. 29, was snowed out.

The Eagles, who play at Portland State and Sacramento State this week, are right on the heels of the Grizzlies in the Big Sky standings. With three matches remaining to Montana's two, EWU has 16 points and a 5-0-1 league record.

What's at stake: Montana and Northern Colorado are two of the four teams, along with Eastern Washington and fourth-place Sacramento State, to have already made the field for the six-team Big Sky tournament in Greeley next month.

Those teams are now playing for tournament seeding and a shot at the regular-season championship. The top two teams in the final standings will earn a bye to the semifinals at the tournament in Greeley, with the other four qualifiers opening play in the quarterfinals.

The Bears are in the least advantageous position as far as winning the regular-season title, simply because they have the fewest opportunities left to collect points. They have just one match remaining, while Montana and Sacramento State have two, Eastern Washington three.

Northern Arizona (3-3-1 BSC), Portland State (3-4-0 BSC), Weber State (1-3-3 BSC), Idaho State (1-4-2 BSC) and Idaho (1-4-2 BSC) are all still alive to make the postseason.

At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies opened league 4-0-0 before playing to consecutive 0-0 draws, at Southern Utah and at home against Sacramento State.

Montana's offense came alive on Sunday with a 4-0 victory over Portland State. It was the largest margin of victory in the teams' series since 2000 and the most goals scored by a Big Sky team this season in league. (It matched Northern Arizona's 4-0 win over Detroit Mercy for most goals scored this season.)

It was the most goals scored by Montana since defeating San Jose State 4-1 in August 2017, the most goals in a shutout victory since a 7-0 victory over North Dakota in October 2014.

The match was tied 0-0 at the half before the Grizzlies erupted for three goals in a span of three minutes, 14 seconds early in the second half. It was the fastest three-goal span in program history.

At a glance (Northern Colorado): The Bears, picked first in the preseason coaches' poll, got off to an unbeaten 3-0-2 start to league but have dropped two of their last three to fall off the pace of the Big Sky leaders.

UNC lost 2-0 at Northern Arizona two weekends ago, then dropped a 1-0 decision at home to Sacramento State on Sunday.

To earn a bye to the semifinals at the tournament it will be hosting in two weeks, Northern Colorado has to win on Sunday, then hope for some outside help.

Montana notes:

* Montana has gone 14 consecutive matches against Big Sky opponents without a loss (10-0-4). That's a Big Sky record, surpassing Idaho's streak of 13 that spanned the 2015 and '16 seasons.

* The previous best in program history: 11. Montana won its final Big Sky match in 2013, then opened the 2014 season going 8-0-2 against league opponents.

* The Grizzlies have allowed one goal through their first seven league matches. Junior goalkeeper Claire Howard has a 0.13 goals-against average in league, a .958 save percentage.

* Rita Lang scored twice on Sunday against Portland State to double her career goals total from two to four.

* It was the first time a Grizzly scored twice in a match since McKenzie Warren scored two goals in Montana's 2-0 road win at Southern Utah in 2016.

* Lang's first goal, her second career game-winner, came off a hustle play by freshman Jaden Griggs, who picked up the assist and her first collegiate point.

* Taylor Stoeger made it 2-0 with her first goal as a Grizzly. She scored 31 times in two years at Laramie County Community College before transferring.

* Avery Adams set Stoeger up with a lead pass up the right side. It was her second assist of the season, also the second of her career.

* Lang's second goal came off a fortuitous deflection off a long free kick by Caitlin Rogers. It was Rogers' second assist of the season, the fourth of her career.

* Montana's final score against the Vikings came from Sami Siems, who scored her first collegiate goal when she knocked in a rebound off an Alexa Coyle shot that couldn't be controlled by PSU's goalkeeper.

* Claire Howard's two shutouts over the weekend gave her 25 for her career to break the previous Montana record of 24, held by Kailey Norman (2013-16).

* The Big Sky Conference record for career shutouts is 29, held by Savannah Abercrombie (2008-11).

* Montana outshot Sacramento State and Portland State 38-16 and put 18 shots on goals to its opponents' five.

* Alexa Coyle the last five matches: 29 shots, 15 of them on goal. She leads the Big Sky at 3.25 shots per game. ... Molly Massman entering the weekend: no shots on the season. After the weekend: five shots taken.

Northern Colorado notes:

* The Bears last weekend qualified for their seventh consecutive Big Sky tournament, the longest active streak in the league.

* Northern Colorado won 10 or more matches each of the previous five seasons.

* UNC topped the preseason coaches' poll in August after making it to the Big Sky championship match last season as the No. 3 seed and falling 1-0 to No. 5 Montana.

* Northern Colorado is a top-three team in the Big Sky in goals scored (21) but also a bottom-three team in goals allowed (35).

* The Bears have just two shutouts this season, 3-0 over Austin Peay and 1-0 over Weber State, both on their home field.

* Northern Colorado has six players who have scored multiple goals this season, including junior Taylor Bray, who has four goals, two assists and a team-high 10 points.

* Northern Colorado coach Tim Barrera has been coaching the Bears since 1999, when they were a Division II program.

* First-year Montana assistant coach J. Landham was on Barrera's staff in 2016 and '17.

Montana-Northern Colorado history:

* The Bears lead the series 7-5-4. They are the only Big Sky team against which the Grizzlies do not have a winning record.

* Montana is just 1-4-2 against Northern Colorado in Greeley. The Grizzlies' lone win at Jackson Stadium came back in 2009, under coach Neil Sedgwick.

Quote of the Week: Alexa Coyle on the play of Montana's defense this season, which has allowed just 13 goals in 16 matches, seven in 15 if the Washington State match is removed. None of those 15 non-Washington State opponents scored more than one goal against the Grizzlies.

"The No. 1 thing that instills confidence in an offense is knowing your defense shows up day in and day out and is going to do everything they can to prevent goals, which they clearly do very often. It gives the offense confidence. We want to put balls in the net for them."

Friday in the Big Sky: ISU at SUU, WSU at NAU, EWU at PSU, UI at SAC

Sunday in the Big Sky: UM at UNC, WSU at SUU, ISU at NAU, UI at PSU, EWU at SAC

Wednesday in the Big Sky: UM at EWU

Upcoming: At Eastern Washington on Wednesday, then on the road the following week, back to Greeley for the Big Sky tournament, which opens on Wednesday, Nov. 6, with two quarterfinals.

Semifinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 8, the championship on Sunday, Nov. 10.

Start times are noon and 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, noon for the championship match.