Friday, August 16
Missoula, Mont.
10 AM
Montana
vs
Colorado College
Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Mo
Let’s get ready to Rumble
8/13/2024 4:04:00 PM | Soccer
The Montana soccer team, the Big Sky Conference preseason favorite, will open its season this week when it hosts the four-team Rumble in the Rockies at South Campus Stadium in Missoula.
The Grizzlies will be joined by Iowa of the Big Ten, Oregon State of the West Coast Conference and Colorado College of the Mountain West Conference.
Games will take place Thursday and Sunday.
The schedule:
Thursday, 3 p.m. – Iowa vs. Oregon State
Thursday, 6 p.m. – Colorado College vs. Montana
Sunday, 11 a.m. – Iowa vs. Colorado College
Sunday, 2 p.m. – Oregon State vs. Montana
Coverage: All four matches will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein calling the action.
At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies are coming off a record-breaking season when they went 13-3-3, won the Big Sky title with a 7-0-1 league mark and finished the year with an RPI of 96, the best for the program in a fall season since 2000.
Montana allowed only nine goals in 2023 to establish a new Big Sky record while scoring 33, the most for the Grizzlies since 2000. Montana led the nation in save percentage (.903), ranked third in goals-against average (.474) and 13th in shutout percentage (.579).
Montana's season came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Northern Arizona in the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament in Flagstaff in early November, the Grizzlies' first loss since Sept. 10.
Montana returns eight starters from that team, including the four players who earned All-West Region honors by the United Soccer Coaches and the five who were voted first-team All-Big Sky.
The Grizzlies were picked first in the Big Sky preseason poll that was announced on Monday. It was the first time since 2001 that Montana was picked first in the poll for a fall season, the seventh time being picked first overall.
At a glance (Colorado College): The Tigers were one of the nation's powerhouse programs in the early years of the NCAA tournament, finishing runner-up to national champion North Carolina in 1986 and '89, and three other times advancing to the national semifinals between 1985 and '91.
Colorado College has made the NCAA tournament three times since 1991, advancing out of Conference USA in 2006, '12 and '13. The Tigers have been playing women's soccer in the Mountain West since 2014 and have made the conference tournament twice since 2016.
Colorado College went 3-13-2 a year ago under then second-year coach Keri Sanchez and tied for ninth out of 12 teams in the Mountain West at 3-7-1, picking up wins over New Mexico, Nevada and San Jose State.
The Tigers were outscored 49-15 last season, their 2.72 goals-against average ranking 323rd nationally out of 336 teams.
Colorado College was picked for a last-place finish in this season's Mountain West poll. Senior midfielder Kaelin Enga, senior midfielder/defender Alexis Wessler and junior midfielder/defender Makenna Kolson made the Mountain West's preseason Players to Watch list.
At a glance (Iowa): The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten tournament last season as the No. 8 seed and played their way to the second round of the NCAA tournament, their third trip to the NCAAs since 2019 after advancing just once prior to '19.
That resurgence has come from the leadership of 11th-year head coach Dave Dilanni, who made a name for himself at Division II Grand Valley (Mich.) State before getting grabbed by Iowa prior to the 2014 season.
Grand Valley State went 221-18-18 in 11 seasons under Dilanni, winning NCAA titles in 2008, '09 and '13, and finishing runner-up in 2006, '10 and '11. Over his last seven seasons at the school, the Lakes lost just six matches.
Iowa made the NCAA tournament in 2019 and again in the 2021 spring season.
Last season, after going 3-4-3 in league, the Hawkeyes won the Big Ten tournament as the No. 8 seed, knocking off No. 1 Michigan State 2-1, a team it lost to 3-0 just seven days earlier, No. 4 Penn State 1-0 in double overtime and No. 3 Wisconsin 1-0.
Iowa won its first-round game of the NCAA tournament 2-0 in overtime at home over Bucknell, scoring goals in the 95th and 109th minutes. Iowa fell 3-2 to Georgia in the second round, never holding a lead in the match.
The Hawkeyes finished the season with a record of 13-5-4, their fourth time winning 12 or more matches under Dilanni.
Iowa returns nine starters and 19 letter-winners from that team, including Kelli McGroarty, who led the team in scoring last season with seven goals and four assists. Four of her goals came in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
To that experience, Iowa added four transfers, including high-scoring forward Maya Hansen, who scored 44 career goals at South Dakota State.
Iowa was picked eighth out of now 18 teams in the Big Ten preseason poll. Sophomore midfielder Sofia Bush, graduate student goalkeeper Macy Enneking and sophomore defender Millie Greer all made the preseason Players to Watch list.
At a glance (Oregon State): The Beavers are in a year of transition. They go from the Pac-12, the league they had been a part of since 1964, to the West Coast Conference and are under interim head coach Caroline Kelly, an assistant in the program the last three years.
Oregon State has four NCAA tournament trips on its resume, making it in 1994, then three straight seasons from 2009-11. The Beavers didn't finish higher than eighth in the Pac-12 in their final 11 seasons in the league.
Last year's team finished 4-8-7 and placed 11th in the Pac-12 at 1-6-4. That lone league win was a satisfying 2-0 victory over Oregon in the season finale, OSU's first win since Sept. 7.
Back this season is senior forward McKenna Martinez, who led Oregon State with 15 points a year ago, scoring six goals and adding three assists. She scored six of OSU's 16 goals last fall and took a team-high 91 shots, 72 more than any other Beaver.
Oregon State tied for eighth in the WCC preseason poll and did not have anyone on the 12-player preseason team.
Series history (Montana vs. Colorado College): The teams played nine times between the Grizzlies' inaugural season of 1994 and 2005 but haven't played since the Tigers' 3-0 victory in Colorado Springs in August 2005.
Montana leads the all-time series 5-4-0 and has gone 3-1-0 against Colorado College in Missoula. The teams' last meeting at South Campus Stadium was a 2-1 Colorado College victory in September 2004.
Series history (Montana vs. Oregon State): The Beavers own a 3-2-2 advantage over the Grizzlies in a series that dates back to 1994.
The teams played five times between 1994 and '98, including Montana's 10-0 home victory in 1997, the most goals ever scored in a match by the Grizzlies. The teams played in 2007, a 4-0 OSU victory in Corvallis, and again in Corvallis last season, a 0-0 draw.
McKenna Martinez took 11 shots in that match for Oregon State though only two of those were on goal as Ashlyn Dvorak picked up the four-save shutout.
Montana's 10-0 victory over Oregon State in 1997 was the only other matchup in Missoula between the two programs.
Montana notes:
* This is the second edition of the Rumble in the Rockies. In 2022, the rest of the field was made up of Pittsburgh, Gonzaga and Creighton.
* Montana is 25-10-13 (.656) at home under seventh-year coach Chris Citowicki, 136-67-31 (.647) all-time.
* Citowicki, who is 56-33-22 during his time at Montana, is 10 wins from becoming the second-winningest coach in program history behind Betsy Duerksen (117-69-7).
* Citowicki (103-90-26) collected his 100th win as a collegiate head coach last season.
* Montana returns eight starters and 13 letter-winners in 2024, all four of its United Soccer Coaches All-West Region selections and all five players voted first-team All-Big Sky Conference.
* Montana was picked first in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll for the first time in a fall season since 2001, the seventh time overall.
* Skyleigh Thompson was named one of 19 Players to Watch from among the nation's top forwards on Tuesday by the United Soccer Coaches.
* Thompson was named first-team All-West Region last season by the United Soccer Coaches, Ashlyn Dvorak, Ava Samuelson and Delaney Lou Schorr third team.
* Last year's Big Sky award winners: Chris Citowicki (Coach of the Year), Skyleigh Thompson (Offensive MVP), Abby Gearhart (Newcomer of the Year), Ashlyn Dvorak (Freshman of the Year) and Delaney Lou Schorr (Golden Boot).
* All five of Montana's first-team All-Big Sky selections from a year ago are back: Charley Boone, Ashlyn Dvorak, Ava Samuelson, Delaney Lou Schorr and Skyleigh Thompson. Maddie Ditta was named second team.
* Montana had five players score four or more goals last season. It was the fifth time in program history that happened, the first since 2000.
* Montana set a new Big Sky record by allowing only nine goals last fall in 19 matches. The previous record was 12, set by Weber State in 1998 and matched by Northern Arizona in 2018.
* The Grizzlies' 33 goals last season were the most for the program since the 2000 team scored 56.
* Ashlyn Dvorak ranked second nationally last season in save percentage (.900) and tied for fifth in goals-against average (0.47) and eighth in shutouts (11). She allowed multiple goals in a match just one time, in a 2-2 draw against Ohio State.
* Four of Delaney Lou Schorr's five goals last season were game-winners. … Schorr enters her senior season with 13 career goals. She needs six to break into the top 10 in program history.
* Montana went 4 for 4 on penalty kicks last year and is 10 for 13 under Citowicki.
* Montana outscored its opponents 33-9 last year, 14-3 in eight Big Sky matches. The Grizzlies outscored their opponents 17-2 in the second half.
* Montana had an average attendance of 784 last year to rank 57th nationally. … The Grizzlies went unbeaten between Sept. 11 and Nov. 2 last year.
* End-of-year RPIs for 2023: Iowa (30), Montana (96), Oregon State (119), Colorado College (271).
Upcoming: Montana will play at Washington State next Thursday, the team picked second in the West Coast Conference, then host MSU Billings on Sunday, Aug. 25.
The Grizzlies will be joined by Iowa of the Big Ten, Oregon State of the West Coast Conference and Colorado College of the Mountain West Conference.
Games will take place Thursday and Sunday.
The schedule:
Thursday, 3 p.m. – Iowa vs. Oregon State
Thursday, 6 p.m. – Colorado College vs. Montana
Sunday, 11 a.m. – Iowa vs. Colorado College
Sunday, 2 p.m. – Oregon State vs. Montana
Coverage: All four matches will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein calling the action.
At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies are coming off a record-breaking season when they went 13-3-3, won the Big Sky title with a 7-0-1 league mark and finished the year with an RPI of 96, the best for the program in a fall season since 2000.
Montana allowed only nine goals in 2023 to establish a new Big Sky record while scoring 33, the most for the Grizzlies since 2000. Montana led the nation in save percentage (.903), ranked third in goals-against average (.474) and 13th in shutout percentage (.579).
Montana's season came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Northern Arizona in the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament in Flagstaff in early November, the Grizzlies' first loss since Sept. 10.
Montana returns eight starters from that team, including the four players who earned All-West Region honors by the United Soccer Coaches and the five who were voted first-team All-Big Sky.
The Grizzlies were picked first in the Big Sky preseason poll that was announced on Monday. It was the first time since 2001 that Montana was picked first in the poll for a fall season, the seventh time being picked first overall.
At a glance (Colorado College): The Tigers were one of the nation's powerhouse programs in the early years of the NCAA tournament, finishing runner-up to national champion North Carolina in 1986 and '89, and three other times advancing to the national semifinals between 1985 and '91.
Colorado College has made the NCAA tournament three times since 1991, advancing out of Conference USA in 2006, '12 and '13. The Tigers have been playing women's soccer in the Mountain West since 2014 and have made the conference tournament twice since 2016.
Colorado College went 3-13-2 a year ago under then second-year coach Keri Sanchez and tied for ninth out of 12 teams in the Mountain West at 3-7-1, picking up wins over New Mexico, Nevada and San Jose State.
The Tigers were outscored 49-15 last season, their 2.72 goals-against average ranking 323rd nationally out of 336 teams.
Colorado College was picked for a last-place finish in this season's Mountain West poll. Senior midfielder Kaelin Enga, senior midfielder/defender Alexis Wessler and junior midfielder/defender Makenna Kolson made the Mountain West's preseason Players to Watch list.
At a glance (Iowa): The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten tournament last season as the No. 8 seed and played their way to the second round of the NCAA tournament, their third trip to the NCAAs since 2019 after advancing just once prior to '19.
That resurgence has come from the leadership of 11th-year head coach Dave Dilanni, who made a name for himself at Division II Grand Valley (Mich.) State before getting grabbed by Iowa prior to the 2014 season.
Grand Valley State went 221-18-18 in 11 seasons under Dilanni, winning NCAA titles in 2008, '09 and '13, and finishing runner-up in 2006, '10 and '11. Over his last seven seasons at the school, the Lakes lost just six matches.
Iowa made the NCAA tournament in 2019 and again in the 2021 spring season.
Last season, after going 3-4-3 in league, the Hawkeyes won the Big Ten tournament as the No. 8 seed, knocking off No. 1 Michigan State 2-1, a team it lost to 3-0 just seven days earlier, No. 4 Penn State 1-0 in double overtime and No. 3 Wisconsin 1-0.
Iowa won its first-round game of the NCAA tournament 2-0 in overtime at home over Bucknell, scoring goals in the 95th and 109th minutes. Iowa fell 3-2 to Georgia in the second round, never holding a lead in the match.
The Hawkeyes finished the season with a record of 13-5-4, their fourth time winning 12 or more matches under Dilanni.
Iowa returns nine starters and 19 letter-winners from that team, including Kelli McGroarty, who led the team in scoring last season with seven goals and four assists. Four of her goals came in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
To that experience, Iowa added four transfers, including high-scoring forward Maya Hansen, who scored 44 career goals at South Dakota State.
Iowa was picked eighth out of now 18 teams in the Big Ten preseason poll. Sophomore midfielder Sofia Bush, graduate student goalkeeper Macy Enneking and sophomore defender Millie Greer all made the preseason Players to Watch list.
At a glance (Oregon State): The Beavers are in a year of transition. They go from the Pac-12, the league they had been a part of since 1964, to the West Coast Conference and are under interim head coach Caroline Kelly, an assistant in the program the last three years.
Oregon State has four NCAA tournament trips on its resume, making it in 1994, then three straight seasons from 2009-11. The Beavers didn't finish higher than eighth in the Pac-12 in their final 11 seasons in the league.
Last year's team finished 4-8-7 and placed 11th in the Pac-12 at 1-6-4. That lone league win was a satisfying 2-0 victory over Oregon in the season finale, OSU's first win since Sept. 7.
Back this season is senior forward McKenna Martinez, who led Oregon State with 15 points a year ago, scoring six goals and adding three assists. She scored six of OSU's 16 goals last fall and took a team-high 91 shots, 72 more than any other Beaver.
Oregon State tied for eighth in the WCC preseason poll and did not have anyone on the 12-player preseason team.
Series history (Montana vs. Colorado College): The teams played nine times between the Grizzlies' inaugural season of 1994 and 2005 but haven't played since the Tigers' 3-0 victory in Colorado Springs in August 2005.
Montana leads the all-time series 5-4-0 and has gone 3-1-0 against Colorado College in Missoula. The teams' last meeting at South Campus Stadium was a 2-1 Colorado College victory in September 2004.
Series history (Montana vs. Oregon State): The Beavers own a 3-2-2 advantage over the Grizzlies in a series that dates back to 1994.
The teams played five times between 1994 and '98, including Montana's 10-0 home victory in 1997, the most goals ever scored in a match by the Grizzlies. The teams played in 2007, a 4-0 OSU victory in Corvallis, and again in Corvallis last season, a 0-0 draw.
McKenna Martinez took 11 shots in that match for Oregon State though only two of those were on goal as Ashlyn Dvorak picked up the four-save shutout.
Montana's 10-0 victory over Oregon State in 1997 was the only other matchup in Missoula between the two programs.
Montana notes:
* This is the second edition of the Rumble in the Rockies. In 2022, the rest of the field was made up of Pittsburgh, Gonzaga and Creighton.
* Montana is 25-10-13 (.656) at home under seventh-year coach Chris Citowicki, 136-67-31 (.647) all-time.
* Citowicki, who is 56-33-22 during his time at Montana, is 10 wins from becoming the second-winningest coach in program history behind Betsy Duerksen (117-69-7).
* Citowicki (103-90-26) collected his 100th win as a collegiate head coach last season.
* Montana returns eight starters and 13 letter-winners in 2024, all four of its United Soccer Coaches All-West Region selections and all five players voted first-team All-Big Sky Conference.
* Montana was picked first in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll for the first time in a fall season since 2001, the seventh time overall.
* Skyleigh Thompson was named one of 19 Players to Watch from among the nation's top forwards on Tuesday by the United Soccer Coaches.
* Thompson was named first-team All-West Region last season by the United Soccer Coaches, Ashlyn Dvorak, Ava Samuelson and Delaney Lou Schorr third team.
* Last year's Big Sky award winners: Chris Citowicki (Coach of the Year), Skyleigh Thompson (Offensive MVP), Abby Gearhart (Newcomer of the Year), Ashlyn Dvorak (Freshman of the Year) and Delaney Lou Schorr (Golden Boot).
* All five of Montana's first-team All-Big Sky selections from a year ago are back: Charley Boone, Ashlyn Dvorak, Ava Samuelson, Delaney Lou Schorr and Skyleigh Thompson. Maddie Ditta was named second team.
* Montana had five players score four or more goals last season. It was the fifth time in program history that happened, the first since 2000.
* Montana set a new Big Sky record by allowing only nine goals last fall in 19 matches. The previous record was 12, set by Weber State in 1998 and matched by Northern Arizona in 2018.
* The Grizzlies' 33 goals last season were the most for the program since the 2000 team scored 56.
* Ashlyn Dvorak ranked second nationally last season in save percentage (.900) and tied for fifth in goals-against average (0.47) and eighth in shutouts (11). She allowed multiple goals in a match just one time, in a 2-2 draw against Ohio State.
* Four of Delaney Lou Schorr's five goals last season were game-winners. … Schorr enters her senior season with 13 career goals. She needs six to break into the top 10 in program history.
* Montana went 4 for 4 on penalty kicks last year and is 10 for 13 under Citowicki.
* Montana outscored its opponents 33-9 last year, 14-3 in eight Big Sky matches. The Grizzlies outscored their opponents 17-2 in the second half.
* Montana had an average attendance of 784 last year to rank 57th nationally. … The Grizzlies went unbeaten between Sept. 11 and Nov. 2 last year.
* End-of-year RPIs for 2023: Iowa (30), Montana (96), Oregon State (119), Colorado College (271).
Upcoming: Montana will play at Washington State next Thursday, the team picked second in the West Coast Conference, then host MSU Billings on Sunday, Aug. 25.
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