Griz face Vandals, Eagles as league opens

The Montana soccer team will open its Big Sky Conference schedule this weekend when it plays road matches at Idaho and Eastern Washington.

The Grizzlies will face the Vandals at 8 p.m. (MT) on Friday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, the Eagles on Sunday at 2 p.m. (MT) at EWU Soccer Field in Cheney.

Eastern Washington hosts Big Sky preseason favorite Northern Colorado on Friday evening.

The weekend brings together three of the Big Sky's power programs. Idaho won the regular-season title in 2015 and '16 and was the runner-up last fall.

Eastern Washington won back-to-back tournament championships in 2017 and '18. Montana won the tournament title last season.

All three teams were picked in the top five in the preseason coaches' poll, with Montana coming in at No. 3, Idaho at No. 4, Eastern Washington at No. 5.

At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies are 1-5-3 after dropping 1-0 road decisions last weekend at San Francisco and Saint Mary's. Montana, which has been shut out six times, has scored just three goals through its first nine matches. That ranks 321st nationally out of 335 teams in scoring average.

At a glance (Idaho): The Vandals are 3-7-0, with August wins over CSU Bakersfield and Oregon Tech. Idaho defeated North Dakota on Sunday in the Kibbie Dome, 2-1, scoring the winning goal in the 89th minute to snap a six-match losing streak. The Vandals scored just two goals in those six losses.

At a glance (Eastern Washington): The Eagles are 3-5-1, with wins over Nevada, CSU Bakersfield and South Dakota, all coming on the road. Eastern Washington is 0-2-1 at home this season. The Eagles lost their most recent game to North Dakota State, 4-2 in Cheney, allowing Elyse Huber to score four times.

Montana notes:

* The Grizzlies wrapped up their nonconference schedule with a record of 1-5-3, with their home match against UC Santa Barbara declared a no-result after it was called at halftime due to lightning tied 0-0.

* Montana's lone win came at home against Cal Poly, 1-0, on a McKenzie Kilpatrick goal in the 80th minutes.

* The Grizzlies, who would go on to not just make the Big Sky tournament but win it in November, had only one win entering league last season as well.

* Montana's nine nonconference opponents have a record of 49-27-6 (.634) and eight have a winning record. Cal Poly (2-7-1) is the only opponent who has a losing record.

* The Grizzlies have not allowed a goal in the run of play since Sept. 1, against Gonzaga. Of the team's last four goals allowed, two have come on penalty kicks (California, Wyoming), two directly off corner kicks (San Francisco, Saint Mary's).

* Montana enters league without a goal scored in its last 241 minutes played, since Kendall Furrow scored early in the second half against Wyoming.

* The Grizzlies have recorded a league record of .500 or better in seven of the last eight seasons.

* Once this weekend's matches are done, the Grizzlies will have played nine of their first 11 matches on the road.

Idaho notes:

* The Vandals have the Big Sky's second-best RPI of 122. Only Sacramento State's (70) is higher.

* Idaho's leading scorers are both underclassmen: sophomore midfielder Maddie Haas (two goals, two assists) and freshman defender Emmy Moore (two goals).

* Picked to finish seventh in the league poll last fall, Idaho finished a surprising second behind regular-season champion Weber State. Despite a bye to the semifinals, the Vandals fell 3-0 to Northern Colorado.

Montana-Idaho history:

Montana is 8-7-1 against Idaho, 2-5-0 against the Vandals in matches played in Moscow. ... The Grizzlies have won just one of the teams' last five matchups, going 1-3-1. ... In the teams' match at the Kibbie Dome in 2017, Montana won 1-0 on an overtime goal by Allie Lucas. ... The teams played to a 1-1 draw last fall in Missoula. The Vandals opened the scoring in the 47th minute, Kennedy Yost tied it in the 88th with a penalty kick.

Eastern Washington notes:

* The Eagles have gone 23-10-6 in regular-season league matches the last four seasons.

* Eastern Washington has the Big Sky's fourth-best RPI of 178, coming in behind Sacramento State (70), Idaho (122) and Southern Utah (172).

* The Eagles' 11 goals rank second in the Big Sky behind Sacramento State, which has 15 as part of its 6-1-2 start to the season.

* Junior midfielder Sariah Keister, with five goals, ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring.

Montana-Eastern Washington history:

Montana is 14-7-2 against Eastern Washington, 8-5-0 against the Eagles in Cheney. ... The Grizzlies are 0-2-1 against Eastern Washington in the teams' last three matchups, without a goal scored. ... Montana lost 1-0 in the Big Sky tournament in Cheney in 2016, lost 1-0 in Cheney during the 2017 regular season, then tied EWU in Missoula last fall 0-0 thanks to a big-time save by Claire Howard in the 109th minute.

Storylines:

* League play has arrived: After a challenging nonconference slate, Montana opens its Big Sky Conference schedule this weekend on the road.

Following that will be a home weekend (Weber State, Idaho State), a road weekend (Northern Arizona, Southern Utah), a home weekend (Sacramento State, Portland State) and a single-match road trip to face preseason league favorite Northern Colorado.

If everything works out, Montana will return to Greeley a week and a half later for the six-team Big Sky tournament.

"We're all excited. That's the beauty of having nonconference and conference. We've taken a lot of positives from the nonconference," said junior forward Alexa Coyle.

"We're not satisfied yet, and that's a great place to be going into conference. We have a lot to build off of, but we're hungry for more. This weekend is a great opportunity against two great teams."

* Defense keeping Montana in matches: If you'd be willing to forget that Montana lost 6-0 at Washington State on the second weekend of the season, consider this: the Grizzlies have limited their other eight opponents to six goals, no more than one in a match.

North Dakota State and Gonzaga both scored their goals in the regular course of play. The next two goals allowed, against California and Wyoming, came on penalty kicks. Both goals last weekend, against San Francisco and Saint Mary's, came off corner kicks.

"In open play, we're shutting things down," said coach Chris Citowicki. "It's our set-piece management that has to be a little bit better, a bit cleaner."

As for the team's scoring punch, Montana hasn't landed a lot of blows. Alexa Coyle's at North Dakota State, McKenzie Kilpatrick's game-winner against Cal Poly and Kendall Furrow's against Wyoming are the extent of the Grizzlies' goals.

Montana has been outshot 111-75 this season, and opponents have a 51-37 edge in shots on goal.

"We're still one percent away," said Citowicki. "It's a work in progress. When you're playing good teams, you're only going to get maybe six or seven chances. You don't get a lot, but everything is there."

Around the Big Sky:

* Sacramento State, at 6-1-2, is the only league team to come out of nonconference with a record of .500 or better. The Hornets enter league on an eight-match unbeaten streak, with five shutouts, since opening the season with a 3-1 loss at UC Davis.

* Northern Arizona (3-4-1), Eastern Washington (3-5-1) and Idaho (3-7-0) each won three times during the nonconference.

* Portland State picked up win No. 1 of the season on Sunday, winning 1-0 at Pacific. That leaves Southern Utah (0-8-0) as the only winless team. The Thunderbirds have scored just once this season, in their 2-1 home loss to CSU Bakersfield.

Friday's league schedule: UM at UI, UNC at EWU, PSU at ISU, SAC at WSU

Match of curiosity: Sacramento State at Weber State, 7:30 p.m. -- The Hornets are stingy defensively, the Wildcats, with two goals scored this season, are struggling offensively. The result will let the league know if the Hornets are as good as their record says they are.

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

Match of curiosity: Northern Colorado at Idaho, 2 p.m. (MT) -- The Bears, who Montana defeated in last year's tournament championship match, were the preseason favorites this fall but enter league with almost no momentum. They've lost four straight by a combined score of 11-1.

Upcoming: Montana with home matches? Hard to believe but true. The Grizzlies will host Weber State on Friday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m., Idaho State on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m. as part of Homecoming weekend.

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Players Mentioned

Alexa Coyle

Kendall Furrow

Claire Howard

McKenzie Kilpatrick

Allie Lucas

Kennedy Yost

University of Montana Athletics