Thursday, September 5
Colorado Springs, Colo.
6 PM
Montana
at
Air Force
Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana
Griz with season’s first two-match road trip
9/4/2024 9:54:00 AM | Soccer
The Montana soccer team will have its first two-game road trip of the season this week when it plays matches at Air Force and Wyoming.
The Grizzlies (4-2-0) will play the Falcons (3-1-0) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Cadet Soccer Stadium in Colorado Springs, the Cowgirls (0-2-1) at noon on Sunday at the Madrid Sports Complex in Laramie.
Thursday's game at Air Force will be another match-up between ranked opponents. Montana is No. 9 in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll. Air Force is No. 5 in the Pacific Region.
It will be the second consecutive week that Montana has faced a ranked opponent. The Grizzlies lost 2-1 at Fresno State last Thursday. The Bulldogs are No. 7 in this week's Pacific Region poll.
While the Cougars were not ranked at the time, Washington State, which defeated Montana 3-0 in Pullman, is No. 5 in this week's West Region poll.
The Grizzlies will host Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 19. The Broncos are unbeaten and No. 3 in this week's Pacific Region poll.
Montana will have only one other two-match road trip this fall, ending the regular season at Idaho State and Weber State.
Coverage: Both matches this week will stream through the Mountain West Network. Links can be found on the soccer schedule page at GoGriz.com.
At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies went 1-1 last week, dropping a tight 2-1 decision at Fresno State on Thursday before bouncing back with a one-sided 1-0 home victory over IU Indianapolis on Sunday.
On Thursday in Fresno, a scoreless match at the half turned into a 2-1 victory for the Bulldogs. After the teams traded goals in the 51st and 67th minutes, Fresno State scored the game-winner in the 81st.
Montana's goal came from Jen Estes, a first-year transfer from Princeton. It was her first goal as a Grizzly. She was assisted by freshman Ashlyn Sandow, who collected her first collegiate point.
The loss in the physical match led to a pair of significant injuries. Starting outside back Mia Parkhurst was lost for the season, all-region goalkeeper Ashlyn Dvorak is out indefinitely.
On Sunday, at home against the team picked to finish second in the Horizon League, the Grizzlies overwhelmed the Jaguars, out-shooting IU Indianapolis 31-2.
Montana's lone goal came in the 16th minute, when Estes scored off a pass from Maddie Ditta.
The Grizzlies missed a first-half penalty kick and twice hit the post and twice sent shots off the crossbar.
Sophomore goalkeeper Bayliss Flynn, not only getting her first collegiate start but first minutes in goal as a Grizzly, picked up the win. Neither of IU Indy's shots was on goal.
Estes's goal, her second in two matches, led to Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.
Estes leads the team in scoring with six points and has had an assist or a goal in four of Montana's last five matches.
The assist for Ditta was her first of the season, the fourth of her career.
At a glance (Air Force): The Falcons will go into Thursday's match with a 3-1-0 record after falling 2-0 to Grand Canyon on Sunday in Hawaii.
Air Force opened the season with three straight shutout wins, over Northern Colorado (4-0), California Baptist (1-0) and Hawaii (3-0), beginning a season 3-0-0 for the first time since 2003.
Sunday's match against Grand Canyon was heading that way as well before the Lopes scored the game-winner in the 81st minute, then added another in the 90th minute.
Junior Eleanor Musgrove and freshman Mai Mateaki have combined to score five of Air Force's eight goals this season. Junior goalkeeper Kylie McElroy has a 0.50 goals-against average.
Musgrove scored the team's first three goals of the season, collecting a hat trick in Air Force's 4-0 win at Northern Colorado, scoring in the ninth, 37th and 57th minutes.
Coach Laura Busby is in her third season and is only the third coach in program history for a team that began playing in 1992.
Air Force went 6-9-3 a year ago and tied for seventh in the Mountain West with a 3-5-3 league record. The Falcons were picked ninth out of 12 teams in this season's Mountain West poll.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series against Air Force 5-1-1 and has gone 3-1-0 against the Falcons in Colorado Springs.
The Grizzlies have allowed only three goals against Air Force in the teams' seven meetings, four times winning by shutout, never allowing more than one goal in a match.
The teams' most recent matchup was a 2-0 victory for Montana in Missoula in 2017, the Grizzlies getting goals from Kennedy Yost in the 67th minute and Raye Burton in the 85th.
The teams' most recent meeting in Colorado Springs was a 1-0 Montana victory in 2014, the win coming off the foot of Jamie Simon, who scored in the 74th minute.
At a glance (Wyoming): The Cowgirls are still seeking their first win of the season and will be favored to get it on Thursday when they play at winless Northern Colorado, which has been outscored 16-2 this fall.
Wyoming collected an impressive 1-0 win at BYU in an exhibition match last month, then opened the regular season with a 0-0 draw at Washington
The Cowgirls then lost back-to-back matches by a combined score of 8-1, falling 5-1 at Colorado and 3-0 at home to South Dakota State.
The team's lone goal this season was scored by forward Alyssa Bedard in the 83rd minute at Colorado. Sophomore goalkeeper Haley Bartel has a 2.67 goals-against average.
Coach Josh Purdum, an assistant coach at Colorado State the last two seasons, is in his first year at Wyoming.
He twice faced Montana as an assistant coach, a 1-1 draw in Fargo in 2019 when he was at North Dakota State and CSU's 1-0 win last year at Montana, one of only three losses for the Grizzlies last season.
Wyoming went 6-8-5 last season and finished 10th in the Mountain West with a 2-7-2 league record. The Cowgirls were picked 11th out of 12 teams in the preseason Mountain West coaches' poll.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series 5-3-6 and has gone 3-2-2 in matches in Laramie.
The teams' last five matches and six of the last seven have ended in draws. Over those seven matches, only nine goals have been scored.
The teams' most recent match-up was a 2-2 draw in Missoula in 2022. After the Cowgirls built a 2-0 lead, the Grizzlies scored in the 68th and 81st minutes to fight back for a draw.
The teams' last match in Laramie was a 0-0 draw in 2018 in Montana coach Chris Citowicki's first year and sixth match leading the Grizzlies.
Quoting coach Chris Citowicki:
"This road trip goes along with the tests we'll have once we get to conference play, so you want these kinds of games against teams who historically do well.
"If you look at Wyoming, it's been a little inconsistent lately but they had a strong start. Josh is coaching them well and doing a great job with them.
"And then Air Force is on fire right now. They look very good too. Two very tough games. I feel like every game this year has been a tough one, a tough one, a tough one. This just continues that streak."
Montana notes:
* With a 60-35-22 record at Montana, coach Chris Citowicki is six wins from becoming the second-winningest coach in program history.
* Montana leads the Big Sky Conference in shots with 121 through six matches, an average of more than 20 per game. That average was helped by 30-plus shots against MSU Billings (37) and IU Indy (31).
* The Grizzlies have the Big Sky's best goals-against average (0.83), with four shutouts through six matches.
* Montana shut out IU Indy on Sunday without having to make a save on the Jaguars' two shots. The last time that happened was a 3-0 victory over CSU Bakersfield in 2022.
* Jen Estes (1.33/g), Ava Samuelson (1.17/g) and Skyleigh Thompson (1.17/g) lead the Big Sky in shots on goal.
* Estes is tied for first in the Big Sky with six points.
* Montana has allowed three second-half goals this season, one to Washington State, two to Fresno State. The Grizzlies allowed only two second-half goal all of last season.
Upcoming: Montana will play a single match next week, hosting North Dakota (2-2-2) at South Campus Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 12.
The Grizzlies (4-2-0) will play the Falcons (3-1-0) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Cadet Soccer Stadium in Colorado Springs, the Cowgirls (0-2-1) at noon on Sunday at the Madrid Sports Complex in Laramie.
Thursday's game at Air Force will be another match-up between ranked opponents. Montana is No. 9 in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region poll. Air Force is No. 5 in the Pacific Region.
It will be the second consecutive week that Montana has faced a ranked opponent. The Grizzlies lost 2-1 at Fresno State last Thursday. The Bulldogs are No. 7 in this week's Pacific Region poll.
While the Cougars were not ranked at the time, Washington State, which defeated Montana 3-0 in Pullman, is No. 5 in this week's West Region poll.
The Grizzlies will host Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 19. The Broncos are unbeaten and No. 3 in this week's Pacific Region poll.
Montana will have only one other two-match road trip this fall, ending the regular season at Idaho State and Weber State.
Coverage: Both matches this week will stream through the Mountain West Network. Links can be found on the soccer schedule page at GoGriz.com.
At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies went 1-1 last week, dropping a tight 2-1 decision at Fresno State on Thursday before bouncing back with a one-sided 1-0 home victory over IU Indianapolis on Sunday.
On Thursday in Fresno, a scoreless match at the half turned into a 2-1 victory for the Bulldogs. After the teams traded goals in the 51st and 67th minutes, Fresno State scored the game-winner in the 81st.
Montana's goal came from Jen Estes, a first-year transfer from Princeton. It was her first goal as a Grizzly. She was assisted by freshman Ashlyn Sandow, who collected her first collegiate point.
The loss in the physical match led to a pair of significant injuries. Starting outside back Mia Parkhurst was lost for the season, all-region goalkeeper Ashlyn Dvorak is out indefinitely.
On Sunday, at home against the team picked to finish second in the Horizon League, the Grizzlies overwhelmed the Jaguars, out-shooting IU Indianapolis 31-2.
Montana's lone goal came in the 16th minute, when Estes scored off a pass from Maddie Ditta.
The Grizzlies missed a first-half penalty kick and twice hit the post and twice sent shots off the crossbar.
Sophomore goalkeeper Bayliss Flynn, not only getting her first collegiate start but first minutes in goal as a Grizzly, picked up the win. Neither of IU Indy's shots was on goal.
Estes's goal, her second in two matches, led to Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.
Estes leads the team in scoring with six points and has had an assist or a goal in four of Montana's last five matches.
The assist for Ditta was her first of the season, the fourth of her career.
At a glance (Air Force): The Falcons will go into Thursday's match with a 3-1-0 record after falling 2-0 to Grand Canyon on Sunday in Hawaii.
Air Force opened the season with three straight shutout wins, over Northern Colorado (4-0), California Baptist (1-0) and Hawaii (3-0), beginning a season 3-0-0 for the first time since 2003.
Sunday's match against Grand Canyon was heading that way as well before the Lopes scored the game-winner in the 81st minute, then added another in the 90th minute.
Junior Eleanor Musgrove and freshman Mai Mateaki have combined to score five of Air Force's eight goals this season. Junior goalkeeper Kylie McElroy has a 0.50 goals-against average.
Musgrove scored the team's first three goals of the season, collecting a hat trick in Air Force's 4-0 win at Northern Colorado, scoring in the ninth, 37th and 57th minutes.
Coach Laura Busby is in her third season and is only the third coach in program history for a team that began playing in 1992.
Air Force went 6-9-3 a year ago and tied for seventh in the Mountain West with a 3-5-3 league record. The Falcons were picked ninth out of 12 teams in this season's Mountain West poll.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series against Air Force 5-1-1 and has gone 3-1-0 against the Falcons in Colorado Springs.
The Grizzlies have allowed only three goals against Air Force in the teams' seven meetings, four times winning by shutout, never allowing more than one goal in a match.
The teams' most recent matchup was a 2-0 victory for Montana in Missoula in 2017, the Grizzlies getting goals from Kennedy Yost in the 67th minute and Raye Burton in the 85th.
The teams' most recent meeting in Colorado Springs was a 1-0 Montana victory in 2014, the win coming off the foot of Jamie Simon, who scored in the 74th minute.
At a glance (Wyoming): The Cowgirls are still seeking their first win of the season and will be favored to get it on Thursday when they play at winless Northern Colorado, which has been outscored 16-2 this fall.
Wyoming collected an impressive 1-0 win at BYU in an exhibition match last month, then opened the regular season with a 0-0 draw at Washington
The Cowgirls then lost back-to-back matches by a combined score of 8-1, falling 5-1 at Colorado and 3-0 at home to South Dakota State.
The team's lone goal this season was scored by forward Alyssa Bedard in the 83rd minute at Colorado. Sophomore goalkeeper Haley Bartel has a 2.67 goals-against average.
Coach Josh Purdum, an assistant coach at Colorado State the last two seasons, is in his first year at Wyoming.
He twice faced Montana as an assistant coach, a 1-1 draw in Fargo in 2019 when he was at North Dakota State and CSU's 1-0 win last year at Montana, one of only three losses for the Grizzlies last season.
Wyoming went 6-8-5 last season and finished 10th in the Mountain West with a 2-7-2 league record. The Cowgirls were picked 11th out of 12 teams in the preseason Mountain West coaches' poll.
Series history: Montana leads the all-time series 5-3-6 and has gone 3-2-2 in matches in Laramie.
The teams' last five matches and six of the last seven have ended in draws. Over those seven matches, only nine goals have been scored.
The teams' most recent match-up was a 2-2 draw in Missoula in 2022. After the Cowgirls built a 2-0 lead, the Grizzlies scored in the 68th and 81st minutes to fight back for a draw.
The teams' last match in Laramie was a 0-0 draw in 2018 in Montana coach Chris Citowicki's first year and sixth match leading the Grizzlies.
Quoting coach Chris Citowicki:
"This road trip goes along with the tests we'll have once we get to conference play, so you want these kinds of games against teams who historically do well.
"If you look at Wyoming, it's been a little inconsistent lately but they had a strong start. Josh is coaching them well and doing a great job with them.
"And then Air Force is on fire right now. They look very good too. Two very tough games. I feel like every game this year has been a tough one, a tough one, a tough one. This just continues that streak."
Montana notes:
* With a 60-35-22 record at Montana, coach Chris Citowicki is six wins from becoming the second-winningest coach in program history.
* Montana leads the Big Sky Conference in shots with 121 through six matches, an average of more than 20 per game. That average was helped by 30-plus shots against MSU Billings (37) and IU Indy (31).
* The Grizzlies have the Big Sky's best goals-against average (0.83), with four shutouts through six matches.
* Montana shut out IU Indy on Sunday without having to make a save on the Jaguars' two shots. The last time that happened was a 3-0 victory over CSU Bakersfield in 2022.
* Jen Estes (1.33/g), Ava Samuelson (1.17/g) and Skyleigh Thompson (1.17/g) lead the Big Sky in shots on goal.
* Estes is tied for first in the Big Sky with six points.
* Montana has allowed three second-half goals this season, one to Washington State, two to Fresno State. The Grizzlies allowed only two second-half goal all of last season.
Upcoming: Montana will play a single match next week, hosting North Dakota (2-2-2) at South Campus Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 12.
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