Big Sky-leading soccer team hits the road

The Montana women's soccer team, sitting atop the Big Sky Conference standings after two of five weekends of league play, will take to the road this week for matches at Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.

The Grizzlies (4-5-3, 3-0-0 BSC) will play the Lumberjacks (5-5-2, 1-1-1 BSC) on Friday at 8 p.m. (MT) in Flagstaff, the Thunderbirds (0-11-0, 0-3-0 BSC) at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Cedar City.

Montana, which opened league with a 1-0 win at Idaho, swept Weber State and Idaho State at South Campus Stadium in Missoula over the weekend.

The Grizzlies defeated the then Big Sky-leading Wildcats 1-0 on Friday before finishing off the sweep with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Idaho State on Sunday.

It was the first time Montana has swept the two schools, either home or away, on the same weekend since 2014, the year the Grizzlies went 8-0-2 through league.

At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies, with one goal allowed through their first three Big Sky matches, are off to their first 3-0-0 start in league since 2014 and for just the fifth time in program history, joining the 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2014 teams.

At a glance (Northern Arizona): Playing for first-year coach Kylie Louw, the Lumberjacks collected four wins during the nonconference, then opened league with a home win over Southern Utah. NAU played to a 1-1 tie at Sacramento State and dropped a 1-0 decision at Portland State last weekend.

At a glance (Southern Utah): After going 0-8-0 through nonconference while getting outscored 23-1, SUU fired its coach two weeks ago, prior to the start of league. Playing under an interim coach, the Thunderbirds scored four goals in its first two Big Sky matches but remain winless.

Montana notes:

* Montana has scored in three straight matches, a season-best streak, and is coming off a two-goal match on Sunday. It was only the third time in 34 matches under second-year coach Chris Citowicki that the Grizzlies have scored multiple goals against an opponent.

* Sunday's match was also the first time the Grizzlies have come from behind to win a match under Citowicki. Montana had been 0-13-2 under Citowicki when facing a deficit.

* Montana defeated Weber State on Friday thanks to Rita Lang's second career goal in the 76th minute. She was assisted by Taylor Hansen. Claire Howard picked up her 21st career shutout.

* Howard moved into a tie for third in Big Sky history with her 21st career shutout against the Wildcats. Sacramento State's Savannah Abercrombie (2008-11) tops the list with 29. Montana's Kailey Norman (2013-16) ranks second with 24.

* Facing a 1-0 deficit at halftime on Sunday against Idaho State, Montana rallied to win behind second-half goals by McKenzie Kilpatrick and Alexa Coyle.

* Kilpatrick's goal was her second of the season and came in the 68th minute off a long feed from Taylor Hansen. Coyle won it less than three minutes later with her 12th career goal. Six of Coyle's 12 career goals have been game-winners.

* Coyle took a career-high eight shots against the Bengals and put four on goal. ... Montana's 18 shots on Sunday was its second-highest output of the season, behind the 22 the Grizzlies put up against North Dakota State. Ten of those 18 shots were put on goal.

* Montana ranks second in the Big Sky with a goals-against average of 1.03.

Northern Arizona notes:

* The Lumberjacks went unbeaten through their first three matches under Louw, tying Army and defeating Iona and Detroit Mercy.

* NAU went 9-5-4 last year. Its season ended against Montana, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament in Ogden.

* Louw, who worked two years as an assistant at NAU before being promoted, replaced Andre Luciano, who won 149 career matches over 18 seasons with the Lumberjacks.

* Northern Arizona was picked sixth in the preseason coaches' poll.

* NAU leads the Big Sky in shots, taking nearly 15 per match, and ranks second to Sacramento State in goals scored, with 17 in 12 matches (1.42/g).

Montana-Northern Arizona history:

* Montana leads the all-time series 15-6-5 and has lost just once to Northern Arizona in the teams' last nine matchups dating back to the 2011 season, going 4-1-4 in that time.

* NAU's last win in the series was a 2-1 victory in Missoula in 2013.

* The Grizzlies are 4-5-2 against the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff and unbeaten in their last three visits, winning in 2012 and playing to draws in 2014 and '16.

* The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Missoula last October. In the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament in Ogden later that month, the Grizzlies got a goal from Janessa Fowler in the 55th minute to win 1-0. NAU was limited to seven shots, only two of which were on goal.

Southern Utah notes:

* The Thunderbirds went 2-15-1 last season and were picked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll, ahead of only Idaho State.

* Fred Thompson, who was in his third season, coached SUU to a record 7-36-1 when he was released in late September. He was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Jonas Tanzer.

* SUU is 2-26-1 since the start of the 2018 season. One of those results came last season, a 1-1 draw in Missoula.

* Only one team in Big Sky history has gone winless for an entire season: Portland State (0-18-0) in 2000.

* Southern Utah allowed 18 goals this season before the Thunderbirds scored their first, in a 2-1 home loss to Cal State Bakersfield.

* SUU opened league with 3-2 losses at Northern Arizona and Portland State. The Thunderbirds lost 3-0 at Sacramento State on Sunday.

* Southern Utah has held a lead this season for less than four minutes. It scored first on Friday at Portland State but that advantage didn't last long, as the Vikings answered with three straight goals.

* Senior forward Makenzie Lawrence has scored four of her team's five goals this season.

* Southern Utah has been outscored this year 32-5 and outshot 223-54. SUU has put just 21 shots on goal through 11 matches.

Montana-Southern Utah history:

* The Grizzlies have never lost to the Thunderbirds, going 5-0-3 ... Montana has gone 2-0-2 against Southern Utah in Cedar City.

Week 8 breakdown:

Through two weeks of league play, Montana is in an ideal spot: without loss or draw, sitting atop the Big Sky standings at 3-0-0.

The only thing that would take it from ideal to perfect would have been the match at Eastern Washington not getting snowed out and the Grizzlies winning on the Eagles' home field and be sitting 4-0-0 right now.

But if nonconference is a way to prepare for the Big Sky, and league matches are an opportunity to qualify for the Big Sky tournament, Montana is right where coach Chris Citowicki wants it.

"It's nice to be where we are, but making playoffs is the first goal. If we can finish high, in first, second or third, great, but the most important thing is the third season, which is playoffs," he said.

With regular-season championships no longer leading to tournament hosting rights (soccer is currently using a predetermined-site system), the second trophy that's awarded by league officials each year is much superior to the first, which goes to the regular-season champion.

One comes with polite golf-clapping. The second? With yelling and dancing and screaming and furiously making travel plans for a season that just got extended by at least one more match.

"I'm sure Weber was very excited to win the regular-season title last year. They got their trophy, but they did not get to go to the NCAA tournament. That's the most important thing in the end," said Citowicki.

"So the primary goal is to make playoffs. You've got to make playoffs to have a shot."

First up this week is Northern Arizona, a team that had a mostly successful season a year ago and was probably undervalued in the preseason poll due to the loss of Luciano.

NAU had one of the better nonconference showings, picking up wins over Iona, Detroit Mercy, New Mexico State and Houston.

Through a dozen matches under a new coach, the Lumberjacks, who have been shut out just three times this fall, have a .500 record. They are 3-0-0 at home, outscoring their opponents 10-2.

"I've known (coach Kylie Louw) for a bit, and if you know her fiery personality, you'd expect her team to be very physical and press well and be organized, and that's exactly what they are," said Citowicki. "They are very aggressive.

"When they are at home they are very dangerous, so it's a huge game for us."

After Friday's night's match in Flagstaff, Montana travels on Saturday for a Sunday match at Southern Utah, which hosts Northern Colorado on Friday.

"Their former coach was let go before conference play, so you don't know what you're getting," said Citowicki. "And they're playing at home.

"Every game matters, everybody fights. Everybody plays well against us because everybody wants to beat us, so it's going to be another scrap. It's going to be a tough weekend."

Montana hits the road just as its offense is finding a rhythm. After going seven matches without an offensive player scoring a goal -- outside backs McKenzie Kilpatrick and Kendall Furrow scored against Cal Poly and Wyoming -- attacking players have scored in all three of Montana's league matches.

It was Quinn Peacock at Idaho, Rita Lang against Weber State and Alexa Coyle with the game-winner on Sunday against Idaho State.

"Every team has a culture and every team has its micro-cultures," said Citowicki. "Our defenders believe they keep shutouts. That's what they do. The midfield has its micro-culture of controlling the game more, controlling tempo and the direction we're playing and how we're attacking.

"Up front we had to lay it out for them. They win us games. They have to. We had to start seeing production from the kids up front, so they're doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing. I'm really happy with them right now."

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Montana is tied atop the league standings, in points, with Portland State (3-1-0 BSC), but the Vikings have played one more match than the Grizzlies.

* Four teams are still without a league loss: Montana (3-0-0), Northern Colorado (2-0-2), Sacramento State (1-0-3) and Eastern Washington (1-0-1).

* Only Southern Utah (0-0-3) is without a point through two weeks of league matches, only Idaho (0-2-1), Idaho State (0-3-1) and SUU are without a win.

Friday's matches: UM at NAU, UNC at SUU, EWU at ISU, UI at WSU

Sunday's matches: UM at SUU, UNC at NAU, UI at ISU, EWU at WSU, SAC at PSU

Non-Montana match to monitor this week: Sacramento State at Portland State, Sunday, 2 p.m. (MT) -- The Hornets (7-1-5 overall) are on a 12-match unbeaten streak since losing their season opener at UC Davis. The Vikings are 4-1 since opening the season 1-8.

Should Sacramento State win or tie, the Hornets would take a 13-match unbeaten streak to Missoula next week for their showdown on Friday, Oct. 18, against Montana. Yes. Please.

Upcoming: Montana will host Sacramento State and Portland State next week at South Campus Stadium in what are already the Grizzlies' final home matches of the season.

The regular season ends with a bang: at Northern Colorado on Sunday, Oct. 27, then the make-up match at Eastern Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

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Players Mentioned

Alexa Coyle

Janessa Fowler

Kendall Furrow

Taylor Hansen

Claire Howard

McKenzie Kilpatrick

Rita Lang

Kailey Norman

Quinn Peacock

University of Montana Athletics