Griz remain atop Big Sky with Senior Day win

Sunday, October 19

Missoula, Mont.

Noon

Montana

10-3-3, 4-1-2BSC

Sacramento State

6-10-1, 2-4-1BSC

Sacramento State

Montana

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

10/19/2025 5:07:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Fresh names and faces, same results for the Montana soccer team, which moved one step closer to a Big Sky Conference championship with a 1-0 victory over Sacramento State on a soggy Sunday afternoon at South Campus Stadium in Missoula.

Caylee Kerr, off a beautiful setup by Lydia Robertson, scored the game-winner against the Hornets, the first goal of her career, in the 62nd minute to extend the Grizzlies' unbeaten streak to six games.

"We were knocking the whole game. We knew it would come," said Kerr, a redshirt freshman who collected her first career assist last week against Weber State. "Lydia's ball to me was so good. I couldn't have asked for a better ball. Here you go, go score."

Attacking up the center of the field, Robertson touched a wonderfully weighted ball forward that split a pair of defenders, allowing a streaking Kerr to catch up and one-touch it inside the right post.

Montana's last six goals have been scored by underclassmen, this after the senior class got the season rolling by scoring 12 of the Grizzlies' first 15 to open the fall.

"Younger players have to step up in this time, unfortunately, with all the injuries. I think we've taken that on really well," said Kerr. "We didn't even bat an eye. We just stepped on the field and got it done."

The win gave Montana (10-3-3, 4-1-2 BSC) 10 or more wins for the third consecutive season, a first for the program since 1998-2000, and kept the Grizzlies atop the Big Sky Conference standings by a slim, one-point margin over second-place Weber State with one match to go for both teams.

If Montana wins at Portland State on Thursday afternoon, the Grizzlies will lock up their third consecutive outright Big Sky regular-season championship, a feat that would be a first in league history on the soccer field.

"That's the spot we want to be in," said eighth-year coach Chris Citowicki, who has already led the Grizzlies to seven regular-season or tournament titles in his tenure.

"We've had so much happen to us this year that it's built a team culture and dynamic within the locker room that they'll do whatever it takes and everybody is ready to step up and get it done."

It was Senior Day on Sunday for 11 players, more than one-third of the roster, their tears adding to the already-wet surface, the emotions of it all allowing Sacramento State to land the first punches, but they were just body blows, not knockouts.

One week after losing games at Idaho State and Weber State by scores of 3-0 and 6-0, the Hornets on Sunday looked more like the team that won last year's Big Sky tournament on the same South Campus Stadium field.

"That was a much-improved Sacramento from their last game, which was the concern," said Citowicki. "With a good coaching staff, I'm sure they sat down and said, this is never happening again. Their performance today was really, really good.

"They jumped on us early because of the emotions of Senior Day and created so many good looks. Their set pieces are some of the best in the conference."

The Hornets had plenty of chances to show those set pieces off, taking five of their six corner kicks for the match in the first half, keeping Montana defending more than the Grizzlies were attacking.

As much as the game changed on Kerr's second-half goal, it could have changed just as much when Ellie Farber got free for a quick-developing breakaway early in the first half that put Ashlyn Dvorak to the test. The redshirt junior made a kick save with her left foot.

It was the start of a six-save day for Dvorak, which matched a season high. Her eventual shutout was the 21st of her career. Montana has allowed just a single goal during its six-match unbeaten streak.

"We're in a good spot with a really good team with people stepping into areas and doing great things," said Citowicki. "And we have Ashlyn Dvorak," who announced to the team earlier in the week that she'll be returning to the Grizzlies next season.

"If she doesn't make that save in the first half, we have ourselves a very different picture and we're chasing the game and we're stressed out. We're blessed to have her."

Sacramento State (6-10-1, 2-4-1 BSC) out-shot Montana in the first half, with most of the Grizzlies' dangerous looks coming on front-of-goal crosses that just missed the feet of attackers crashing the net.

"Keep up the effort, the effort is there," said Kerr of the talk in the locker room at halftime. "We have to keep creating more chances, then finish.

"The final third was completely open and we weren't sending balls over the top, so we talked about getting in behind and finishing in the box. We knew it would come. We just had to keep on going."

Kerr scored the game-winner at 61:01, giving her three points in Montana's last three games. She assisted on Maycen Slater's game-winner in the Grizzlies' 4-0 home win over Weber State last week.

Kerr didn't play in three of Montana's first five matches this season, then played 33 minutes against Washington State, 38 against Northern Colorado, 42 last Sunday against Idaho State, her opportunities rising with the coaching staff's confidence in having her on the field as a key contributor off the bench.

"Caylee has been building up slowly," said Citowicki. "Week upon week she is getting better and more dangerous. Her ability to make runs through the back line is really dangerous. I'm glad she got rewarded today. What a cool, calm, collected finish by her."

Holding a 1-0 lead, Montana allowed Sacramento State just two shots over the final 28 minutes to improve to 23-1-3 over its last 27 matches at South Campus Stadium, where the Grizzlies will host next month's Big Sky Conference Championship.

Montana extended its unbeaten streak against Sacramento State to 15 matches with Sunday's win.

Montana and Portland State (3-7-4, 2-2-2 BSC), with the Vikings fighting for a spot in the Big Sky tournament, will kick off on Thursday at 2 p.m. (MT) in Hillsboro.