Griz fall to Vandals on late penalty kick

Friday, September 30

Missoula, Mont.

3 PM

Montana

4-4-5, 1-2-0BSC

Idaho

8-1-2, 3-0-0BSC

Idaho

Montana

Photo by: Derek Johnson

9/30/2022 6:53:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Big Sky Conference leader Idaho converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute and that was the match's only scoring as the Vandals knocked off Montana 1-0 on Friday afternoon at South Campus Stadium in Missoula.

With the ball going away from the goal and toward the corner, but still inside the 18, an Idaho player was taken down from behind by a Griz defender.

A foul was whistled, and Margo Schoesler scored the penalty kick at 87:43 to keep Idaho (8-1-2, 3-0-0 BSC) unbeaten in league and unscored on since Aug. 21.

"We gave up a sloppy one at the end. It's our own fault. We made a mistake and paid the price. Not much else to say," said coach Chris Citowicki.

Montana (4-4-5, 1-2-0 BSC) held 57 percent of the possession and outshot its opponent for the 11th time in 13 matches this fall, but the end result was still a 1-0 loss for the second consecutive match.

"We can pat ourselves on the back as much as we want and say we did really well and the possession was nice, but at the end of the day, who cares? You've got to score goals," said Citowicki.

"When the game is done, it's all about scoring. It doesn't matter how pretty it looks or how many chances you generated, if you can't score, you lose. It comes down to scoring."

Montana held 60 percent of the possession in the first half and outshot Idaho 9-3 through the first 45 minutes but only one of those shots was on goal against the Vandals' stout, organized defense.

Idaho registered its 10th shutout in 11 matches, a total that leads the nation.

Of the 25 shots taken by the two teams, only six were put on goal, including Schoesler's at 87:43 that decided it.

Montana will host Eastern Washington (5-5-2, 2-0-0 BSC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Eagles play at Northern Colorado on Friday night.