Montana moves one step closer

Friday, October 25

Pocatello, Idaho

4 PM

Montana

11-2-4, 5-0-2BSC

Idaho State

2-9-5, 1-5-1BSC

Montana

Idaho State

Photo by: çBill Jarvis

10/25/2024 7:52:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

And to think Montana coach Chris Citowicki spent most of his Friday coming up with just the right thing to say to his team before its crucial match-up at Idaho State, a game his team needed to win to put itself in a position to claim another Big Sky Conference championship on Sunday.

He could have put all that mental energy into something else. His team didn't need his words of wisdom.

Relying on their veteran voices, from those who have been here before, and the team's championship ethos, the Grizzlies controlled play from kickoff to final whistle, winning 2-0 to move atop the league standings and within a victory at Weber State on Sunday of the program's 10th Big Sky title.

"I spent all day thinking, what am I going to say to motivate them? Then I walked into the locker room before the game. I had this awesome speech planned and they didn't need to hear any of it," he said. "All I had to say was, okay, let's go out and get it done. They were spectacular."

Were they ever. Chloe Seelhoff put a shot off the crossbar before the match was two minutes old to announce that Montana was coming and Maddie Ditta scored a few minutes later, what would be the game-winner at the 7:43 mark, to make it clear they weren't going anywhere.

It was Ditta's second goal in two matches, her fourth of the season, the eighth of her career. All eight have now been game-winners.

Her initial shot from 25 yards in front of goal was blocked, but she bodied the rebound past two Idaho State defenders and pounded a shot inside the left post from 15 yards out.

Seelhoff made it 2-0 in the 77th minute and Bayliss Flynn finished with nine saves, her most in a match since Sept. 8, to improve to 8-0-4 since becoming Montana's starting goalkeeper. Nine of those dozen starts have resulted in shutouts.

She had one of her more active shutouts on Friday, facing 22 shots and three corner kicks, her biggest save coming in the final minute of the first half to keep Montana up 1-0.

Alyson Starbuck's shot from 15 yards out was beelining on a path that was going to put it just inside the right post, and Flynn didn't see it coming, her view momentarily shielded by Griz center back Charley Boone. Once she locked in on it, Flynn reacted just in time to pin it against the post and out of the goal.

"My second biggest shout-out of the day is to Bayliss Flynn. That save right before halftime, unbelievable," said Citowicki, whose team hasn't lost a regular-season Big Sky match since 2022, going 12-0-3 over its last 15.

His biggest shout-out? That went to assistant coach Ashley Herndon, whose job it is to find ways for Montana to score. Citowicki oversees the defense, associate head coach J. Landham the team's goalkeepers. But Citowicki will take input from anyone, coach or player, and give it some thought.

"The end of the first half, we were kind of struggling with our defensive shape," said Citowicki. "Ashley claims to be an offensive-minded coach, yet she drew up this pressing plan of, let's sit there and wait until they give us the ball. When they do, we're going to counter and score.

"That's exactly what happened."

With Montana in control on the field but ahead only 1-0 on the scoreboard in the second half, the Grizzlies put Herndon's plan into action, clearing a ball out of a dangerous spot, playing it up the right side and scoring the insurance goal on a jailbreak of a counter-attack.

Bella O'Brien, who was at home and at her best with the way Friday's match was played, sent the ball up the right side to a streaking Seelhoff, who ran onto it, made three touches and scored her sixth goal of the season.

"Every day presents its own unique problems," said Citowicki. "Today was a day for Bella to be in there, just unlocking so many things for us. Her assist to Chloe, just beautiful."

Montana now travels down the road to Weber State, where a Sunday-afternoon match against the Wildcats awaits.

The Grizzlies are back in first place in the Big Sky, one point up on Idaho, which closes out its season at Northern Colorado on Sunday afternoon. Both matches start at 1 p.m.

The math is simple. Win and Montana claims an outright Big Sky title, what would be its second in a row and its fourth in seven seasons under Citowicki. Get a result that isn't a win and the Grizzlies open the door for the Vandals.

Citowicki better start working on that pregame speech right now. Or not.

"If you were in the post-match huddle, you'd know there isn't much that needs to be said," Citowicki concluded. "Everybody knows what's on the line, everybody knows what we're playing for. There is enough experience in this group that they know what they are playing for and know what they want."