Montana rallies, earns draw at Wyoming

Sunday, September 8

Laramie, Wyo.

Noon

Montana

4-2-2

Wyoming

1-2-2

Montana

Wyoming

Photo by: John Sieber via UM Athletics

9/8/2024 3:47:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana soccer team rallied back from a 3-1 first-half deficit to pick up a 3-3 draw against Wyoming on Sunday afternoon at the Madrid Sports Complex in Laramie.

The Grizzlies (4-2-2), who played to a 0-0 deadlock at Air Force on Thursday night, earned a pair of draws on their road trip.

It was the sixth consecutive match between Montana and Wyoming that has resulted in a draw.

Jen Estes scored twice in the first half for Montana, upping her team-leading total to four. Ava Samuelson had a goal and an assist, her first points of the season.

The Grizzlies scored first, in the seventh minute, but then uncharacteristically allowed the Cowgirls (1-2-2) to score three times on four shots in a span of less than nine minutes midway through the first half.

Wyoming had only scored three goals through its first four matches to open the season.

It was the first time since 2019 that Montana allowed three goals in the first half and only the second time under seventh-year coach Chris Citowicki.

"Sloppy first half. We weren't at our best," said Citowicki. "We started the game really well but then all of a sudden it turned into pure anxiety mode for some reason.

"We couldn't connect the passes we needed to connect and didn't defend the way we're supposed to defend. Wyoming is very dangerous going forward, so they committed numbers and took advantage of it."

Estes made it 1-0 in the seventh minute when a ball played into the box was touched into space by Delaney Lou Schorr. Estes took possession and scored easily with no one between her and the Wyoming goalkeeper.

The Cowgirls answered Estes's first goal with their flurry of three goals.

With Montana trailing 3-1 less than 24 minutes into the match, Samuelson advanced up the left side and crossed a ball between the Wyoming goalkeeper and two Cowgirl defenders that only Estes could reach.

Estes touched it in to make it 3-2. That would be the score at halftime.

"We're climbing up a mountain and trying to get back into it. That's why you have a player like Jen," said Citowicki, who welcomed the graduate transfer from Princeton into his program over the summer.

Montana allowed 12 shots in the first half with Wyoming putting 11 of them on goal. Bayliss Flynn, making her third consecutive start, had eight saves in the first half, 11 for the match.

It was the most saves for a Griz goalkeeper in a 90-minute match since 2010.

"Halftime was a good conversation about what's acceptable and what's not acceptable at this level and how we have to mature as a squad, especially our younger players," said Citowicki, whose team didn't allow a goal over the match's final 66 minutes. "I feel like they grew up a little bit."

Samuelson scored the equalizer in the 64th minute.

Charley Boone started the sequence with a free kick from near midfield that made its way to Samuelson 25 yards in front of goal.

The left-footer attacked to her left, got half a step of daylight from her defender and lasered a shot to the far upper corner like it was nothing. But that's the brilliance of Samuelson, who makes the ridiculous look routine.

Both teams exchanged attacks the rest of the way as Citowicki went 10 players into his bench, with Riley Carolan playing a career-high 66 minutes.

"The piece I liked best and will take out of it is that we had certain people fighting to the death to keep that game at 3-3 or trying to win it, people like Riley, people like Reeve (Borseth), who's sick. Her body is completely falling apart yet she's continuing to push," said Citowicki.

"There were some tremendous performances backing up the very poor first half we had."

Montana will host North Dakota (3-2-2) at 4 p.m. on Thursday at South Campus Stadium in the Grizzlies' only match of the week.