Griz to face Bulldogs, Jaguars

The Montana soccer team will close out August and welcome in September this week with matches against Fresno State and IU Indianapolis.

The Grizzlies (3-1-0) will travel to California and face the unbeaten Bulldogs (2-0-1) on Thursday at 8 p.m. (MT) at Bulldog Soccer Stadium in the fourth-ever meeting between the programs.

It will be a matchup of regionally ranked opponents. Montana is No. 8 in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll, Fresno State is No. 8 in the Pacific Region.

Montana will return home and host the Jaguars (0-2-1) at 1 p.m. on Sunday at South Campus Stadium, where the Grizzlies are 27-7-8 since the start of the 2019 season.

Montana will play matches next week at Air Force and Wyoming before opening a four-match home stand that will extend into the start of the Grizzlies' Big Sky Conference schedule.

Coverage: Thursday's match can be tracked through live stats. Montana will return to ESPN+ for Sunday's home match, with Ace Sauerwein on the call.

At a glance (Montana): After opening the season with two wins at the Rumble in the Rockies, the Grizzlies split their matches last week.

Montana took its first loss of the season on Thursday, falling 3-0 at Washington State, the Cougars going up 2-0 in the first half and scoring the final goal late in the second half.

It was the first time Montana has allowed multiple goals in a match since playing to a 2-2 draw with Ohio State last August and only the second time in its last 24 matches.

The Grizzlies won 2-0 at home on Sunday over MSU Billings, opening the scoring in the 67th minute, then adding another goal in the match's final minute.

Montana took 37 shots in the match, just two off the program record but did not get on the scoreboard until its 28th shot of the match.

MSU Billings freshman Claire Brogdon made 15 saves, the most by an opposing goalkeeper since 1999 and tied for the fourth-most ever against the Grizzlies.

Eliza Bentler opened the scoring off a Mia Parkhurst corner kick, her first goal of the season, the seventh of her career. It was Parkhurst's second assist as a Grizzly.

Riley O'Brien made it 2-0 in the 90th minute with her team-leading second goal of the season, the fifth of her career. Jen Estes assisted on the goal, the second assist of the season for the Princeton transfer.

At a glance (Fresno State): The Bulldogs are off to a 2-0-1 start, with a 1-0 road win at Cal Poly and a 2-1 home win over Weber State, the game-winner coming in the 90th minute.

Fresno State played to a 0-0 draw at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday to remain unbeaten.

The Bulldogs went 5-9-6 a year ago, 4-4-3 in league to finish fifth in the competitive Mountain West Conference. Fresno State was picked in a tie for seventh out of 12 teams in this year's poll.

Junior goalkeeper Shivani Battaglia, a transfer from Central Michigan, has allowed one goal this season through three matches and 270 minutes.

Coach Brian Zwaschka is in his 16th season at Fresno State. Four times his teams have won 10 or more matches.

The Bulldogs have advanced to four NCAA tournaments in program history, the last coming in 2010, in Zwaschka's second season.

Series history: Montana and Fresno State have played three times previously, the Bulldogs holding a 2-0-1 record against the Grizzlies.

Fresno State won 1-0 at home in 2016, 1-0 in Missoula in 2018 in Griz coach Chris Citowicki's first match at Montana.

The teams played to a 1-1 draw in Missoula in 2022. Maysa Walters put the Grizzlies up 1-0 in the 79th minute. The Bulldogs found the equalizer at the 89:07 mark.

At a glance (IU Indianapolis): The Jaguars, who play at Idaho on Thursday night, are 0-2-1 to start the season.

After opening with a 1-1 home draw with Toledo, IU Indy lost 2-0 at Lindenwood and 3-1 at Southern Illinois last week.

The Jaguars are coming off an 11-3-5 season that had them finishing second in the Horizon League behind Milwaukee. IU Indy fell in the Horizon semifinals in a shootout to Northern Kentucky.

IU Indianapolis was picked second in this year's preseason poll, again behind Milwaukee.

Coach Chris Johnson, whose first season was 2003, is only the second coach in Jaguar history for a program that started in 1998.

He's led the Jaguars to six 10-win seasons, including a 17-win campaign in 2009 that ended with a trip to the NCAA tournament. IU Indy also made the NCAA tournament in 2017, winning 14 matches.

Series history: Montana and IU Indy, formerly IUPUI, will be playing for the first time.

Montana notes:

* The Grizzlies have posted three shutouts through their first four matches of the season. That's a program first for a fall season.

* Montana has allowed only three second-half goals over its last 25 matches.

* Freshman Emma Widmor made her collegiate debut on Sunday against MSU Billings. She was in the scrum in front of goal when Eliza Bentler scored the game-winner off a Mia Parkhurst corner kick.

* Freshman Hayley Bass made her first start as a Grizzly against MSU Billings.

* Ashlyn Dvorak has played all 360 minutes in goal this season. Charley Boone, at center back, also has played 360 minutes.

* Reeve Borseth (318), Ava Samuelson (313) and Maddie Ditta (304) also are over the 300-minute mark through four matches.

* Sunday's victory gave Griz coach Chris Citowicki a 59-34-22 (.609) record at Montana. He is seven wins from becoming the second-winningest coach in program history.

* Eliza Bentler's game-winner on Sunday came on her first shot of the season.

* Chloe Seelhoff took seven shots on Sunday against MSU Billings, the most for a Montana player this season.

* Riley O'Brien has scored five goals in her career on 18 shots.

* Skyleigh Thompson's five shots and Ava Samuelson's four on Sunday matched their career highs. Bella O'Brien's three shots were a career high.

* Montana sits atop the Big Sky standings with its 3-1-0 record. Five teams are .500 or better through two weeks of matches.

Upcoming: Montana will play at Air Force on Thursday, Sept. 5, at Wyoming on Sunday, Sept. 8.

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Players Mentioned

Hayley Bass

Eliza Bentler

Charley Boone

Reeve Borseth

Maddie Ditta

Ashlyn Dvorak

Jen Estes

Bella O'Brien

Riley O'Brien

Mia Parkhurst

Ava Samuelson

Chloe Seelhoff

Skyleigh Thompson

Maysa Walters

Emma Widmor

University of Montana Athletics