The Rumble in the Rockies has arrived

The Montana soccer team will open its season this week when the Grizzlies host the Rumble in the Rockies at South Campus Stadium in Missoula. The tournament is presented by Granite Peak Wealth Advisors.

Traveling to Missoula will be Creighton, Pittsburgh and Gonzaga.

The schedule:

Thursday, 1 p.m. – Pittsburgh vs. Gonzaga
Thursday, 4 p.m. – Creighton at Montana
Sunday, 1 p.m. – Creighton vs. Gonzaga
Sunday, 4 p.m. – Pittsburgh at Montana

Thursday notes: Pittsburgh and Gonzaga had the field's top season-ending RPIs last fall. The Bulldogs ended at 51, the Panthers at 63. … Montana and Creighton opened their seasons playing each other last year as well. The Bluejays won 2-1 in double overtime on a Thursday night in Omaha, Neb. … Montana ended last season with an RPI of 136, Creighton at 172.

Sunday notes: Creighton and Gonzaga will be playing for the first time in their histories. The same holds true for Montana and Pittsburgh. … Sunday's match will be Montana's first time hosting a Power 5 opponent since playing to a 0-0 draw with Washington State at South Campus Stadium in 2017.

Coverage: All four matches will be available on ESPN+ with Jackson Wagner calling the action.

What they did last season:

Montana: The Grizzlies made it to their third NCAA tournament in four seasons under coach Chris Citowicki, whose teams have gone 29-5-8 against Big Sky Conference opponents. Montana went 13-6-1 overall, its most wins in a season since 2000.

Montana went 7-1-1 in league to finish second to Northern Colorado, then won the Big Sky tournament in Greeley, Colo., with 1-0 wins over Sacramento State and Weber State, the team that knocked Northern Colorado out of the tournament in the semifinals.

Creighton: The Bluejays got off to a hot start in 2021, opening 6-1-1, including a double-overtime victory over Montana to open the season. But after playing to a 1-1 draw with No. 25 Georgetown on Sept. 23, Creighton closed the season going 1-8-0, all in Big East matches, to finish the season 7-10-2.

The Bluejays finished 1-8-1 in the Big East to finish ninth out of 11 teams and miss the six-team league tournament.

Pittsburgh: The Panthers went 11-7-0 in 2021. Five of their losses came against ranked opponents, four of which were ranked in the top six at the time -- TCU, Florida State, North Carolina and Duke -- the other two against teams receiving votes in the national poll.

Pittsburgh tied for ninth in the ACC with a 4-6-0 league record and did not make the six-team conference tournament.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs went 15-5-0 in 2021 to set a program record for wins in a season. That record included a 3-0 shutout of Montana in Spokane, one of a program-record 12 shutouts for Gonzaga.

Gonzaga went 5-4-0 in the WCC to finish fourth behind the heavyweight lineup of BYU, Santa Clara and Pepperdine. BYU lost in the national championship match to Florida State in a shootout. Santa Clara lost to BYU in the national semifinals in a shootout. Pepperdine lost to Florida State in the round of 16.

Where they were picked:

Montana: The Grizzlies, who collected two first-place votes, were picked to finish second in the Big Sky Conference behind Northern Colorado. With a top-six finish, Montana would play in November in its ninth consecutive Big Sky tournament.

Creighton: The Bluejays were picked for a seventh-place finish in the Big East. Georgetown, with eight of 11 first-place votes, Xavier and Butler topped the poll.

Pittsburgh: The Panthers were picked 10th out of 14 teams in the ACC preseason poll. Duke, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida State split the 14 first-place votes. Florida State (1), Duke (2), Virginia (4) and North Carolina (10) all begin the season ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs were picked in a familiar spot, fourth in the WCC preseason poll behind BYU, Santa Clara and Pepperdine. BYU (3) and Santa Clara (5) open the season in the top five in the national poll, while Pepperdine ranks 17th.

What they've done:

Montana: The Grizzlies played their lone exhibition match on Monday afternoon at South Campus Stadium and came away with a 1-1 draw against Trinity Western. Skyleigh Thompson put Montana up 1-0 in the 22nd minute. The lead held until the Spartans evened the score in the 90th minute.

Creighton: The Bluejays won their lone exhibition match, claiming a 1-0 victory at South Dakota on Saturday behind a first-half goal. Creighton limited the Coyotes to just two shots, none in the first half.

Pittsburgh: The Panthers played a pair of exhibition matches. After falling at West Virginia 3-1, they had a 2-1 victory over Penn State, which is ranked No. 14 in the preseason national poll.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs opened their exhibition schedule with a match at Washington State that was canceled in the second half because of weather. Gonzaga then roughed up Trinity Western on Saturday, winning 5-0.

The coaches:

Montana: Chris Citowicki is starting his fifth season with the Grizzlies. He led Montana to the NCAA tournament three times in his first four seasons and the Grizzlies to five Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles. He has a four-year record of 36-23-13. He's gone 29-5-8 against Big Sky opponents.

Creighton: Ross Paule is entering his eighth season with the Bluejays. The Creighton grad has a record of 48-60-11. He was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy as a player in 1996, named to the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012 and played nine seasons in the MLS.

Pittsburgh: Randy Waldrum, who is one of the most accomplished coaches in NCAA history, begins his fifth year with the Panthers. He previously led Notre Dame to national championships in 2010 and '14, and to 292 wins over 15 seasons.

His Notre Dame teams never failed to make the NCAA tournament and eight times advanced to the College Cup, the soccer equivalent of the Final Four. He coached the Houston Dash of the NWSL for three seasons before returning to the college ranks at Pittsburgh.

Gonzaga: Chris Watkins is beginning his sixth season with the Bulldogs. He has a record of 54-26-7. He was a member of the BYU coaching staff from 1996 to 2016 and was part of 17 trips to the NCAA tournament. He coached the BYU men's club team from 1995 to 2015 and to seven national titles.

Who to watch:

Montana: Of the Grizzlies' four first-team All-Big Sky selections last season, Camellia Xu is the lone returner. She was six times named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week and was voted both the Big Sky Goalkeeper of the Year and the Big Sky Tournament MVP. He set a program record with 11 shutouts.

Creighton: Senior midfielder Aida Kardovic was one of three players unanimously voted to the 11-player Preseason All-Big East Team. She was voted first-team All-Big East last season after ranking second on the team with three goals and two assists.

Pittsburgh: Senior forward Amanda West, a three-time All-ACC selection, has totaled 33 goals, 19 assists and 85 points in her career. She has had 10 or more goals in each of her first three seasons. She scored 10 goals last season despite only playing in 11 of the team's 18 matches.

Gonzaga: Senior forward Erin Healy was one of 11 players voted to the WCC Preseason Team. She was voted second-team All-West Region and first-team All-WCC as a junior. She ranked eighth in the WCC with eight goals last season, 10th in points with 17.

Series histories:

Pittsburgh vs. Gonzaga: The teams will be playing for the first time.

Creighton vs. Montana: The teams have met three times previously, with the Bluejays winning all three matches. Creighton posted overtime wins over Montana in Omaha, Neb., in 2013 and '21. The Bluejays won 1-0 in Missoula in 2015 on a goal in the 53rd minute.

Creighton vs. Gonzaga: The teams will be playing for the first time.

Pittsburgh vs. Montana: The teams will be playing for the first time.

Summary:

While Montana will open its season with a splash this week with the Rumble in the Rockies kicking off on Thursday afternoon, the Grizzlies got their competitive season going on Monday with an exhibition match against Trinity Western of Langley, B.C.

Skyleigh Thompson scored in the 22nd minute to give Montana a 1-0 lead. That score held until the Spartans evened the score in the 90th minute to force a 1-1 draw.

Montana used 24 of its 26 players, with all 24 getting at least 30 minutes of game action in a match that had three 30-minute periods.

"The benefit of an exhibition game is you get to play everybody. Players have one or two opportunities in the preseason to go out there and show you they have what it takes," said Griz coach Chris Citowicki.

"People fall into roles immediately after that because you get to pick out, okay, who's a starter, who's someone who can come off the bench and potentially change the game for us and who needs a little more work to close the gap? That's what we get out of those games."

The match came 14 days after the team's opening practice, on Tuesday, Aug. 2, and three days before the season opener against Creighton.

"Nothing is going to teach you more about your team than watching them play in that setting against a good team," said Citowicki. "We got tested, and that's what we needed.

"There were players who jumped off the page for me, others I saw I need to develop a little bit more."

With exhibition matches out of the way, the NCAA soccer schedule opens on Thursday, and plenty of eyes will be on Missoula, where Montana, Creighton, Pittsburgh and Gonzaga are gathering for the high-level Rumble in the Rockies.

"Big time," is how Citowicki describes it. In this case, just two words are all that are needed.

First up will be Creighton, a team Montana knows well from last season, and not much should be different. The Bluejays return all 11 starters from that team.

"They like to play the ball out of the back and move the ball through the midfield and break you down with highly talented players," said Citowicki. "It was nice playing them last year because you have an idea of what you're getting. You must be very disciplined in every defensive aspect."

While Pittsburgh will be a first-time opponent, Montana will have the benefit of seeing them play first against Gonzaga on Thursday in the Rumble's opening match.

The Panthers have a highly successful coach and play in one of the top conferences for women's soccer in the nation.

"This (tournament) is the real deal with Pitt coming to town. To play a team like that is going to be a lot of fun, especially at home," said Citowicki. "That's what you want to test yourself against, right? Here we go."

Montana notes:

* The Grizzlies have gone 14-2-3 at home the last three seasons, one of which – the spring season of 2021 – was played at Big Sky High School. Montana is 126-62-26 all-time at home, 119-59-26 at South Campus Stadium, which opened in 1995.

* Montana is 13-11-4 all-time in season openers, 14-11-3 in home openers.

* The Grizzlies return eight starters from last year's team that won 13 matches, the most for the program since 2000.

* Among the returners who earned Big Sky recognition last season: Goalkeeper Camellia Xu was the Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team All-Big Sky, Sydney Haustein was second-team All-Big Sky, Allie Larsen was honorable mention All-Big Sky.

* Jaden Griggs was a one-time Offensive Player of the Week, after notching a hat trick in Montana's home victory over MSU Billings.

* Xu, a six-time Defensive Player of the Week, was voted the Big Sky Tournament MVP. Larsen and Charley Boone were named to the Big Sky All-Tournament Team.

* Xu set a single-season program record with 11 shutouts last fall. She led the Big Sky in shutouts, goals-against average (0.72) and save percentage (.859). She tied for fifth nationally in shutouts and ranked 11th in save percentage, 25th in goals-against average.

* Xu was the first freshman to start in goal for Montana in an NCAA tournament match when the Grizzlies faced Washington State in November.

* Haustein erupted for five goals and an assist as a junior in 2021. She didn't have a point through her freshman and sophomore seasons.

* Montana added a pair of Division I transfers in the offseason. Redshirt junior midfielder Maysa Walters played three seasons at New Mexico and made two NCAA tournaments. Redshirt junior Kathleen Aitchison played three seasons at Nebraska.

* Defender McKenzie Kilpatrick is playing her fifth season this fall, an option brought on by COVID. She has already played in 69 career matches.

* Charley and Georgia Boone, of Seattle, become the fifth set of sisters to play for the Grizzlies, joining Stacy and Shannon Forslund (Tacoma, Wash.), Heidi and Megan Gaskill (Missoula, Mont.), Liz and Katie Roberts (Helena, Mont.) and Allie and Jamie Simon (Cary, Ill.).

* The Grizzlies have allowed one goal or posted a shutout in 57 of the 72 matches they've played under Citowicki, who was hired prior to the 2018 season.

* Citowicki's staff underwent a change in the summer. Gone is J. Landham, off to Villanova, in is Damian Macias, formerly the head coach at Division II Missouri Western. Prior to that, he was on the staff with Citowicki at North Dakota.

Upcoming: Montana will play five of its first six matches at home this season. The Grizzlies will host Wyoming next Thursday, play at Portland on Sunday, Aug. 28, then host MSU Billings and CSU Bakersfield Labor Day weekend.

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Players Mentioned

Kathleen Aitchison

Charley Boone

Georgia Boone

Jaden Griggs

Sydney Haustein

McKenzie Kilpatrick

Allie Larsen

Skyleigh Thompson

Maysa Walters

Camellia Xu

University of Montana Athletics