Griz hold off Bears, win 2-1

Sunday, October 9

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

5-4-6, 2-2-1BSC

Northern Colorado

4-8-3, 0-4-1BSC

Northern Colorado

Montana

Photo by: Derek Johnson

10/9/2022 5:58:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

In a match that had a little bit of everything, Montana had the only thing that really mattered when the clock finally reached 00:00 on Sunday at South Campus Stadium: a critical win over Big Sky Conference preseason favorite Northern Colorado.

The Grizzlies (5-4-6, 2-2-1 BSC) scored late in the first half and again in the opening minute of the second half to take a 2-0 lead, then held on while down a player for the match's final 22 minutes.

The Bears (4-8-3, 0-4-1 BSC) pulled within a goal in the 76th minute, but Montana held strong to snap a three-match streak without a goal or a win.

"A really well-put-together team performance," said coach Chris Citowicki. "It couldn't have come at a better time."

The storylines changed throughout the game, from a pair of freshmen -- Reeve Borseth to Eliza Bentler -- connecting for the match's first goal, to Maysa Walters finding Delaney Lou Schorr 47 seconds into the second half, the Big Sky's leader in assists finding the league's leading goal scorer.

It was a comfortable lead against a team that had scored just one goal over its previous six matches, but things got tense in a hurry when Walters was given a red card at 67:57 and had to leave the match, forcing the Grizzlies to play 10 on 11.

Already tagged with a yellow card in the first half for some overly aggressive play, Walters' second-half sin was disrupting Northern Colorado's goalkeeper when she was attempting to throw the ball up the field.

Walters, running by the goalkeeper, defended the throw like she was on the basketball court. She stuck her hand up and tried to block it. The referee was not impressed and issued a second yellow, which turned into a red card and a walk off the field with no substitution to cover her absence.

Montana was up 2-0 and needed every bit of that cushion.

"I've thought about (that situation) for 10 years now. It's never happened to me," said Citowicki, who went into a 4-2-3 formation. "It seemed to work. That's what happens when you're a player down. You sit back, defend, hold on and take care of business."

Northern Colorado pulled within 2-1 at 75:09 when Morgan King's cross from the right side found McKenna Wilson, who scored her first goal of the season.

When Griz goalkeeper Camellia Xu needed to be tended to a short while later, after colliding with an oncoming UNC player, Montana was able to regroup in front of its bench.

At that point it had nothing to do with formations, just guts.

"Allie Larsen came over and said, we have to win this game. The only thing that matters right now is digging deep and finding a way to win the game. It's not the formation, it's not the system, it's just effort. Don't let the ball go in the goal. Don't let the ball go close to the goal," recalled Citowicki.

Northern Colorado's final shot came in the 80th minute, its final corner in the 81st as Montana played out the final 10 minutes almost perfectly, mostly pinning the Bears on the wrong end of the field.

The Grizzlies began to build their advantage on the scoreboard in the 42nd minute, when Borseth, who had only played 29 minutes this season in two matches, crossed the ball from the left side.

Bentler headed it toward the goal off the bounce, and all UNC goalkeeper Kaya Lindberg could do was jump up and deflect it off the crossbar. It came back into play and Bentler ran through the ball, bodying it into the net for her second goal of the season.

It was a stunning turn of events, after Northern Colorado had outshot Montana 8-0 to that point and owned the possession advantage.

"We must get a win. That was the message going into it," said Citowicki. "That's what led to the first 30 minutes. We were scared to lose the game. Everything changed with that cross."

That Borseth entered the match in the 31st minute was a surprise to everyone but the Grizzlies themselves.

She played 23 minutes in Montana's lopsided win over MSU Billings on Sept. 2, then was on the field for six more in its 3-0 home win over North Dakota State. What was she doing in a critical match like Northern Colorado?

"She put herself in that situation. Her week of training was unbelievable," said Citowicki. "That's why Reeve gets the time, then she puts in the perfect cross."

It was Borseth's first collegiate point.

"If you keep working, even if you're not on the field, it's going to show eventually and you're going to get those minutes," she said. "Even if you don't, you keep working hard every single practice, because it's not just helping you, it's helping the whole team."

Borseth is Montana's next standout center back, but on Sunday she was playing outside back. That's why she was up the field and in position to make the cross that led to the match's opening goal.

"We feel like we've been playing to tie and not to win, so we've been saying we need to take any chance we can," she said. "And that was a chance.

"I just kind of trusted (someone would be there). I saw the cross was open and knew I had to go for it. You never know if someone is going to be there, but it was a chance and you have to take those chances."

Montana made it 2 for 2 – two shots for the match, two goals – the opening minute of the second half.

A Northern Colorado foul gave Montana a free kick 40 yards in front of goal, a spot that has typically been the ownership of Allie Larsen and her strong leg.

But this week at practice, assistant coach Ashley Herndon brought an idea to Citowicki. How about trying Walters from that spot? They tried it. Perfect. They tried it again. Perfect again.

And then the opportunity came up a few days later. Walters lofted a ball toward the right post and Schorr was there to head it to the ground. It bounced, got by Lindberg and scored inside the left post.

"It was drawn up directly from the training ground, Maysa to Delaney and Delaney knew where to go," said Citowicki.

Then it was a matter of being down a player and holding on, as Northern Colorado outshot Montana for the match 15-6, only the third time this season the Grizzlies have been outshot by an opponent.

"It's gone against us so much this season, I'm happy to get it, but I also empathize with (Northern Colorado) and what just happened," said Citowicki.

"But that's the game and luck was on our side today. I feel you earn your luck. We practiced that free kick, we practiced that ball Reeve played in. It's not an accident. Both of those goals came from the training ground."

Xu made five saves, her second-highest total of the season, to collect career win No. 18.

Montana is in a tie for fifth in the Big Sky standings with Sacramento State. The Grizzlies will host third-place Northern Arizona (4-5-4, 3-1-0 BSC) next Sunday at noon in their final home match of the season.

The Lumberjacks shook up the league standings on Sunday with a 1-0 home win over Idaho, the Vandals' first loss in league and first defeat since Aug. 21.

That allowed surprising Portland State (5-5-4, 4-0-1 BSC), which won 3-2 at home on Sunday over Weber State, to move to the top of the standings.