Thursday, October 10
Missoula, Mont.
3 PM
Montana
vs
Idaho
Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana
Montana’s monster Missoula matchups
10/9/2024 5:17:00 PM | Soccer
It doesn't get much better than this for October soccer.
Montana, the defending regular-season Big Sky Conference champion, will host Idaho, last November's Big Sky tournament champion, at South Campus Stadium in Missoula on Thursday afternoon.
The teams sitting first and second in the league standings will kick off at 3 p.m. in a match with plenty of storylines and larger implications that extend beyond Thursday.
The Vandals (8-3-2, 2-0-1 BSC) are atop the league standings, having played one more match than the second-place Grizzlies (8-2-2, 2-0-0 BSC), the teams combining to have lost only once since August.
Montana is on a seven-match unbeaten streak and is unbeaten at home this season, at 7-0-0 without a single goal allowed.
Idaho is on a six-match unbeaten streak, the Vandals' losses this season all coming to teams ranked in this week's United Soccer Coaches Pacific and West Region polls.
The Vandals have lost to Seattle, No. 2 in the Pacific, Boise State, No. 3 in the Pacific, and Washington State, No. 8 in the West.
The Grizzlies' losses have come against Washington State and Fresno State, a team that was ranked in the Pacific Region earlier this season before dropping out.
Montana will turn around and host Eastern Washington (6-4-3, 1-0-2 BSC) at 1 p.m. on Sunday at South Campus Stadium.
The Eagles, who play at Northern Arizona on Thursday night, join the Grizzlies and Vandals as the last remaining Big Sky teams without a league loss this fall.
The teams, not surprisingly, hold down the Big Sky's best RPIs, Montana at 109, Idaho at 149, Eastern Washington at 183. No other Big Sky team is in the top 250.
While Montana has not allowed a goal at home this season and is tied for fifth nationally with nine shutouts, neither Idaho nor Eastern Washington has been shut out even once this season.
Bring on the soccer.
Coverage: Both matches this week will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein getting the privilege of calling the action.
At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies wrapped up an odd scheduling quirk on Sunday with a gritty 1-0 road win at Northern Colorado.
It was the fourth consecutive one-match week for Montana, which will have played only four matches between Sept. 9 and Thursday's match, on Oct. 10.
Montana will face two-match weeks the rest of the regular season, playing Sacramento State and Portland State next week, then Idaho State and Weber State.
Combined with last season's 3-0 win at Northern Colorado, Sunday's 1-0 victory gave the Grizzlies back-to-back wins in Greeley for the first time and their first-ever three-match winning streak over the Bears.
In a match that was scoreless at the half and tense throughout, the Grizzlies broke through with the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute.
Off a well-executed corner kick, Kayla Rendon Bushmaker scored her second goal of the season, the third of her career at 72:06.
Bayliss Flynn, in her seventh start of the season in goal, posted her sixth shutout, facing nine shots and making four saves to improve to 5-0-2.
Flynn ranks third nationally in save percentage (.919), 11th in goals-against average (.429) and is tied for 22nd with her six shutouts.
Montana has outscored its last four opponents 9-0 and hasn't allowed a goal since the first half at Wyoming on Sept. 8, a scoreless streak that is now at 426 minutes.
In addition to being tied for fifth nationally in shutouts, the Grizzlies rank 26th in save percentage (.855) and are tied for 31st in goals-against average (.667).
At a glance (Idaho): Picked third in the preseason poll and with two first-place votes, the Vandals have looked the part as one of the Big Sky's two heavyweights, along with Montana.
Since opening the season with three losses in seven matches, all against ranked opponents, two on the road, Idaho has gone 4-0-2, the four wins all by shutout.
The Vandals wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 1-0 home win over UNLV, then overwhelmed Sacramento State, 2-0, and Portland State, 3-0, to open league.
On Sunday, Idaho fell into a 2-0 hole early in the second half at Eastern Washington but scored two goals less than a minute apart, in the 68th and 69th minutes, to earn a 2-2 draw.
Idaho is led in scoring by long-time Montana nemesis Margo Schoesler, who has five goals this season.
In 2022, Schoesler converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute that gave Idaho a 1-0 win at South Campus Stadium.
Later that season, in a Big Sky tournament semifinal in Greeley, Schoesler scored in the final minute of the first overtime as Idaho ended Montana's season with a 1-0 win.
In Montana's 2-0 win in Moscow last season, the Grizzlies held Schoesler scoreless on a team-high five shots.
Alyssa Peters, last year's co-Defensive MVP, leads the Big Sky with six assists.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Paula Flores has played every minute in goal. She has a 1.15 goals-against average and five shutouts in 13 matches.
Coach Jeremy Clevenger is in his seventh season leading the Vandals. He led Idaho to a Big Sky tournament runner-up finish in 2022, the tournament title last year.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series with Idaho 13-9-1 and has gone 4-2-1 against the Vandals in Missoula.
The Grizzlies have not defeated the Vandals at South Campus Stadium since 2014. Idaho won 4-1 in 2016, the teams played to a 1-1 draw in 2018, and the Vandals won 1-0 in 2022.
At a glance (Eastern Washington): The Eagles were picked eighth out of nine teams in the preseason poll but have been exceeding expectations ever since.
After losing at Troy to open the season, EWU's only losses have come to teams currently regionally ranked or formally ranked: UC Davis, San Diego State and Boise State.
In league matches, Eastern Washington has a 3-0 home win over Sacramento State, and home draws against Portland State, 1-1, and Idaho, 2-2.
Eastern Washington is the Big Sky's highest-scoring team, with 25 goals in 13 matches (1.92/g).
Junior forward Chloe Pattison, who had three goals her first two seasons as an Eagle, leads the Big Sky with nine this year, four more than any other player in the league.
She also has three assists, her 21 points 10 more than anyone else in the Big Sky.
Pattison scored seven of those goals over a five-match stretch in August and September. She scored EWU's lone goal in its 2-1 home loss to Boise State and once on Sunday against Idaho.
Sophomore Kendall Moore has four goals and three assists. Two of her goals and one of her assists have come in three league matches.
Coach Missy Strasburg is in her fourth season at Eastern Washington. She has led the Eagles to a big turnaround after last year's team went 2-14-1 with only one Division I win.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series with Eastern Washington 17-8-4 and has gone 6-3-3 at home against the Eagles.
Montana has gone 10-3-3 against Eastern Washington since 2010.
The teams' last two match-ups were played to draws, 0-0 in Missoula in 2022, 1-1 in Cheney in 2023. That match ended in a draw despite Montana out-shooting Eastern Washington 24-7.
Match notes:
* Montana is ranked third in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll, behind Santa Clara, ranked No. 10 nationally, and Pepperdine, ranked No. 15.
* The Grizzlies have been regionally ranked in all eight polls this season.
* Sunday's win was the 64th for coach Chris Citowicki at Montana. He is two victories from becoming the second-winningest coach in program history behind Betsy Duerksen.
* Idaho will play at Northern Arizona on Sunday.
* After hosting Idaho and Eastern Washington this week, Montana will play three of its final four Big Sky matches on the road.
* Montana has allowed eight goals this season, three to Washington State and Wyoming, two to Fresno State. That total is six fewer than any other Big Sky team.
* After getting outscored 5-0 by Idaho and Eastern Washington to open league, Sacramento State defeated Idaho State and Weber State at home last week by a combined score of 7-1.
* The Hornets are tied with Montana for second place in the Big Sky with six points but have played two more matches than the Grizzlies.
* Montana has not lost since Aug. 29, 2-1 at Fresno State. … The Grizzlies are 21-5-5 over the last two seasons.
* Montana is 7-0-0 at home this season, 31-7-8 at South Campus since the start of the 2019 season.
* The last time the Grizzlies won seven or more matches at home in a season was 2000 when Montana went 10-2-0.
* Montana is 35-8-10 in league matches against the Big Sky under Citowicki. … Citowicki is 5-2-1 against Clevenger, 1-0-2 against Strasburg.
* Thursday in the Big Sky: UI at UM, EWU at NAU, UNC at PSU
* Sunday in the Big Sky: EWU at UM, ISU at WSU, UI at NAU, UNC at SAC
Upcoming: Montana will play next week at Sacramento State on Friday afternoon, then return home to host Portland State on Sunday for Senior Day.
The Grizzlies, who will host the six-team Big Sky tournament in November, will wrap up the regular season with matches at Idaho State and Weber State on Oct. 25 and 27.
Montana, the defending regular-season Big Sky Conference champion, will host Idaho, last November's Big Sky tournament champion, at South Campus Stadium in Missoula on Thursday afternoon.
The teams sitting first and second in the league standings will kick off at 3 p.m. in a match with plenty of storylines and larger implications that extend beyond Thursday.
The Vandals (8-3-2, 2-0-1 BSC) are atop the league standings, having played one more match than the second-place Grizzlies (8-2-2, 2-0-0 BSC), the teams combining to have lost only once since August.
Montana is on a seven-match unbeaten streak and is unbeaten at home this season, at 7-0-0 without a single goal allowed.
Idaho is on a six-match unbeaten streak, the Vandals' losses this season all coming to teams ranked in this week's United Soccer Coaches Pacific and West Region polls.
The Vandals have lost to Seattle, No. 2 in the Pacific, Boise State, No. 3 in the Pacific, and Washington State, No. 8 in the West.
The Grizzlies' losses have come against Washington State and Fresno State, a team that was ranked in the Pacific Region earlier this season before dropping out.
Montana will turn around and host Eastern Washington (6-4-3, 1-0-2 BSC) at 1 p.m. on Sunday at South Campus Stadium.
The Eagles, who play at Northern Arizona on Thursday night, join the Grizzlies and Vandals as the last remaining Big Sky teams without a league loss this fall.
The teams, not surprisingly, hold down the Big Sky's best RPIs, Montana at 109, Idaho at 149, Eastern Washington at 183. No other Big Sky team is in the top 250.
While Montana has not allowed a goal at home this season and is tied for fifth nationally with nine shutouts, neither Idaho nor Eastern Washington has been shut out even once this season.
Bring on the soccer.
Coverage: Both matches this week will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein getting the privilege of calling the action.
At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies wrapped up an odd scheduling quirk on Sunday with a gritty 1-0 road win at Northern Colorado.
It was the fourth consecutive one-match week for Montana, which will have played only four matches between Sept. 9 and Thursday's match, on Oct. 10.
Montana will face two-match weeks the rest of the regular season, playing Sacramento State and Portland State next week, then Idaho State and Weber State.
Combined with last season's 3-0 win at Northern Colorado, Sunday's 1-0 victory gave the Grizzlies back-to-back wins in Greeley for the first time and their first-ever three-match winning streak over the Bears.
In a match that was scoreless at the half and tense throughout, the Grizzlies broke through with the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute.
Off a well-executed corner kick, Kayla Rendon Bushmaker scored her second goal of the season, the third of her career at 72:06.
Bayliss Flynn, in her seventh start of the season in goal, posted her sixth shutout, facing nine shots and making four saves to improve to 5-0-2.
Flynn ranks third nationally in save percentage (.919), 11th in goals-against average (.429) and is tied for 22nd with her six shutouts.
Montana has outscored its last four opponents 9-0 and hasn't allowed a goal since the first half at Wyoming on Sept. 8, a scoreless streak that is now at 426 minutes.
In addition to being tied for fifth nationally in shutouts, the Grizzlies rank 26th in save percentage (.855) and are tied for 31st in goals-against average (.667).
At a glance (Idaho): Picked third in the preseason poll and with two first-place votes, the Vandals have looked the part as one of the Big Sky's two heavyweights, along with Montana.
Since opening the season with three losses in seven matches, all against ranked opponents, two on the road, Idaho has gone 4-0-2, the four wins all by shutout.
The Vandals wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 1-0 home win over UNLV, then overwhelmed Sacramento State, 2-0, and Portland State, 3-0, to open league.
On Sunday, Idaho fell into a 2-0 hole early in the second half at Eastern Washington but scored two goals less than a minute apart, in the 68th and 69th minutes, to earn a 2-2 draw.
Idaho is led in scoring by long-time Montana nemesis Margo Schoesler, who has five goals this season.
In 2022, Schoesler converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute that gave Idaho a 1-0 win at South Campus Stadium.
Later that season, in a Big Sky tournament semifinal in Greeley, Schoesler scored in the final minute of the first overtime as Idaho ended Montana's season with a 1-0 win.
In Montana's 2-0 win in Moscow last season, the Grizzlies held Schoesler scoreless on a team-high five shots.
Alyssa Peters, last year's co-Defensive MVP, leads the Big Sky with six assists.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Paula Flores has played every minute in goal. She has a 1.15 goals-against average and five shutouts in 13 matches.
Coach Jeremy Clevenger is in his seventh season leading the Vandals. He led Idaho to a Big Sky tournament runner-up finish in 2022, the tournament title last year.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series with Idaho 13-9-1 and has gone 4-2-1 against the Vandals in Missoula.
The Grizzlies have not defeated the Vandals at South Campus Stadium since 2014. Idaho won 4-1 in 2016, the teams played to a 1-1 draw in 2018, and the Vandals won 1-0 in 2022.
At a glance (Eastern Washington): The Eagles were picked eighth out of nine teams in the preseason poll but have been exceeding expectations ever since.
After losing at Troy to open the season, EWU's only losses have come to teams currently regionally ranked or formally ranked: UC Davis, San Diego State and Boise State.
In league matches, Eastern Washington has a 3-0 home win over Sacramento State, and home draws against Portland State, 1-1, and Idaho, 2-2.
Eastern Washington is the Big Sky's highest-scoring team, with 25 goals in 13 matches (1.92/g).
Junior forward Chloe Pattison, who had three goals her first two seasons as an Eagle, leads the Big Sky with nine this year, four more than any other player in the league.
She also has three assists, her 21 points 10 more than anyone else in the Big Sky.
Pattison scored seven of those goals over a five-match stretch in August and September. She scored EWU's lone goal in its 2-1 home loss to Boise State and once on Sunday against Idaho.
Sophomore Kendall Moore has four goals and three assists. Two of her goals and one of her assists have come in three league matches.
Coach Missy Strasburg is in her fourth season at Eastern Washington. She has led the Eagles to a big turnaround after last year's team went 2-14-1 with only one Division I win.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series with Eastern Washington 17-8-4 and has gone 6-3-3 at home against the Eagles.
Montana has gone 10-3-3 against Eastern Washington since 2010.
The teams' last two match-ups were played to draws, 0-0 in Missoula in 2022, 1-1 in Cheney in 2023. That match ended in a draw despite Montana out-shooting Eastern Washington 24-7.
Match notes:
* Montana is ranked third in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll, behind Santa Clara, ranked No. 10 nationally, and Pepperdine, ranked No. 15.
* The Grizzlies have been regionally ranked in all eight polls this season.
* Sunday's win was the 64th for coach Chris Citowicki at Montana. He is two victories from becoming the second-winningest coach in program history behind Betsy Duerksen.
* Idaho will play at Northern Arizona on Sunday.
* After hosting Idaho and Eastern Washington this week, Montana will play three of its final four Big Sky matches on the road.
* Montana has allowed eight goals this season, three to Washington State and Wyoming, two to Fresno State. That total is six fewer than any other Big Sky team.
* After getting outscored 5-0 by Idaho and Eastern Washington to open league, Sacramento State defeated Idaho State and Weber State at home last week by a combined score of 7-1.
* The Hornets are tied with Montana for second place in the Big Sky with six points but have played two more matches than the Grizzlies.
* Montana has not lost since Aug. 29, 2-1 at Fresno State. … The Grizzlies are 21-5-5 over the last two seasons.
* Montana is 7-0-0 at home this season, 31-7-8 at South Campus since the start of the 2019 season.
* The last time the Grizzlies won seven or more matches at home in a season was 2000 when Montana went 10-2-0.
* Montana is 35-8-10 in league matches against the Big Sky under Citowicki. … Citowicki is 5-2-1 against Clevenger, 1-0-2 against Strasburg.
* Thursday in the Big Sky: UI at UM, EWU at NAU, UNC at PSU
* Sunday in the Big Sky: EWU at UM, ISU at WSU, UI at NAU, UNC at SAC
Upcoming: Montana will play next week at Sacramento State on Friday afternoon, then return home to host Portland State on Sunday for Senior Day.
The Grizzlies, who will host the six-team Big Sky tournament in November, will wrap up the regular season with matches at Idaho State and Weber State on Oct. 25 and 27.
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