Championship week arrives in Missoula

Championship week has arrived in Missoula. The Big Sky Conference soccer tournament will open on Wednesday and go through Sunday at South Campus Stadium, with six teams vying for a title.

The tournament will have two quarterfinal matches on Wednesday, a pair of semifinals on Friday and the championship match on Sunday, with the winner advancing to the NCAA tournament.

The NCAA Women's Soccer Championship bracket will be announced on Monday, Nov. 10, with 32 first-round matches being played Friday through Sunday, Nov. 14-16.

Schedule:

Wednesday, 11 a.m. – (6) Northern Arizona vs. (3) Eastern Washington
Wednesday, 2 p.m. – (5) Idaho vs. (4) Portland State
Friday, 11 a.m. – (2) Weber State vs. (6) NAU or (3) EWU
Friday, 2 p.m. – (1) Montana vs. (5) UI or (4) PSU
Sunday, 1 p.m. – Championship match

Coverage: All five matches will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein and Andrew Houghton calling the quarterfinals. Scot Gladstone and Houghton will call the semifinals and Sunday's championship match.

At a glance (Montana – 11-3-3, 5-1-2 BSC): The Grizzlies earned the No. 1 seed by winning the outright regular-season championship for the third consecutive season. After losing its first league match at Northern Arizona, Montana closed 5-0-2, allowing a single goal over its final seven regular-season matches, winning those games by a combined score of 10-1.

At a glance (Weber State – 11-6-1, 5-2-1 BSC): Picked sixth in the preseason poll after going 3-22-10 the previous two seasons, the Wildcats were on it from the start under first-year coach Kyle Christensen, finishing a point behind Montana and going 11-6-1 overall. Weber State lost to Portland State and Montana in back-to-back matches before closing 3-0-1, outscoring those opponents 11-1.

At a glance (Eastern Washington – 8-6-4, 4-3-1 BSC): The Eagles, picked second in the preseason poll behind Montana, roll into the postseason on a three-match winning streak. Eastern Washington, on the postseason bubble after opening league 1-3-1, shut out Portland State, Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado by a combined score of 7-0 to wrap up the regular season.

At a glance (Portland State – 4-8-4, 3-3-2 BSC): The Vikings had just three wins during the regular season against Division I opponents, but all three came in league, against Weber State, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State. Portland State allowed only five goals in eight Big Sky matches and hasn't allowed more than a single goal in a match since September.

At a glance (Idaho – 5-5-8, 2-2-4 BSC): Picked third in the preseason poll, the Vandals finished mid-pack after playing four of their eight league matches to draws. Idaho's lone Big Sky wins came against Sacramento State, which failed to make the tournament field, and Eastern Washington. The Vandals have played in the Big Sky championship match each of the last three seasons.

At a glance (Northern Arizona – 5-5-7, 2-3-3 BSC): The Lumberjacks, who tied for fourth in the preseason poll, claimed the No. 6 seed on the final day of the regular season with a 3-0 win at Idaho. Northern Arizona opened league with a home win over Montana, closed with a win at Idaho and did not win a match in between, going 0-3-3.

Quarterfinal No. 1 (NAU vs. EWU): When the Lumberjacks and Eagles met in Cheney on Oct. 24, Eastern Washington roughed up Northern Arizona 4-0. The Eagles scored twice in the first half, two more times in the second half and earned the shutout despite holding a slim 18-15 shots advantage.

Quarterfinal No. 2 (UI vs. PSU): The Vandals and Vikings played in Hillsboro on Oct. 19 to a 1-1 draw. Idaho went up 1-0 in the third minute, Portland State scored the equalizer in the 62nd. The Vandals out-shot the Vikings 10-5 and limited PSU to a pair of shots on goal.

Semifinal No. 1 (WSU vs. NAU/EWU): The Wildcats opened league with a 2-1 home win over the Eagles and later played to a 1-1 draw with the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff.

Semifinal No. 2 (UM vs. UI/PSU): The Grizzlies played to a 0-0 draw with the Vandals in Moscow and won 1-0 at Portland State on a second-half penalty kick by Maddie Ditta.

Tournament bona fides (Montana): The Grizzlies are playing in their record 24th Big Sky tournament, for the ninth time as the No. 1 seed. Montana has missed only five of the now 29 league tournaments, its last absence in 2013. The Grizzlies have an all-time tournament record of 18-13-5 and have played in the championship match 11 times, winning it seven times, the last coming in 2021 in Ogden, Utah.

Tournament bona fides (Weber State): The Wildcats are playing in their first tournament since 2022, their 18th overall. Weber State, which has a tournament record of 12-10-6, has played in nine championship matches, winning four times, the Wildcats' last title coming in 2013 in Hillsboro, Ore.

Tournament bona fides (Eastern Washington): The Eagles are making their 13th tournament appearance. They have a postseason record of 6-9-2, four of those six wins coming in 2016 and '17, when they won back-to-back championships in Cheney.

Tournament bona fides (Portland State): The Vikings have 11 top-three regular-season finishes in their history, but no program has had less success in the postseason. In 16 previous tournament appearances, PSU went 4-13-4 and is the only Big Sky program without a tournament championship. The Vikings lost in the title match in 2002 and '13.

Tournament bona fides (Idaho): The Vandals have played in the last three championship matches, winning in 2023 in Flagstaff and falling in penalty kicks to Northern Arizona in Greeley in 2022 and to Sacramento State last November in Missoula. Idaho also was runner-up in 2015. The Vandals are 5-5-2 in their eight previous tournament appearances.

Tournament bona fides (Northern Arizona): Only Montana has played in more Big Sky tournaments than the Lumberjacks, who are making their 20th appearance. NAU has won four titles, including in 2014 in Missoula and has a record seven runner-up finishes. The Lumberjacks have a tournament record of 15-12-5.

Montana notes:

* Since 2008, the host team has won the championship only four times in 17 tournaments: Idaho State in 2012, Eastern Washington in 2016 and '17, and Northern Colorado in 2019.

* Montana is hosting for the sixth time and seeking its first home tournament win since 2000. The Grizzlies hosted and won the 1997, '99 and 2000 tournaments, going 6-0-0 while outscoring their opponents 17-2.

Montana hosted in 2014 and lost 2-1 to Idaho State in the semifinals. Last year, the Grizzlies played to a 0-0 draw with Sacramento State in the semifinals and lost 4-3 in a shootout.

* Montana's last Big Sky tournament win was a 3-0 victory over Portland State in the quarterfinals in Greeley in 2022. The Grizzlies are winless in three matches since then. Montana has gone more than 353 minutes without a postseason goal.

* Montana is 7-3-1 in Big Sky Conference tournament matches under coach Chris Citowicki.

* Tournament field RPIs: Montana (100), Weber State (104), Eastern Washington (212), Idaho (234), Northern Arizona (259), Portland State (278).

* Montana went 11-3-3 during the regular season. The Grizzlies finished 13-3-3 in 2023 and 12-2-5 in 2024, giving the program double-digit wins in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1998-2000.

* When Montana closed the regular season with a 1-0 victory at Portland State on Thursday, Oct. 23, the Grizzlies became the first program in Big Sky history to win three consecutive outright regular-season championships. Montana went 18-1-5 in regular-season league matches the last three seasons.

* Montana is 23-1-3 in its last 27 matches at South Campus Stadium, the lone loss coming earlier this season against Baylor, which is 12-3-3 and holds a top-15 national RPI.

* Montana enters the postseason on a seven-match (5-0-2) unbeaten streak. The Grizzlies have had unbeaten streaks of at least seven matches in each of the last seven seasons under eighth-year coach Chris Citowicki.

* Montana's regular-season title this season gives the Grizzlies eight championships in eight years under Citowicki, regular season in 2019, '20, '23, '24 and '25, tournament in 2018, '20 and '21.

* Montana enters the postseason with five straight shutouts. The Grizzlies have not allowed a goal since Eastern Washington's goal in the eighth minute in the teams' 1-1 draw in Cheney on Oct. 2. Montana's shutout streak is at 532 minutes.

* The Grizzlies finished the regular season with a goal differential of 29-9. In the Big Sky, only Weber State (33) scored more. The next fewest goals allowed were Idaho's 19.

* After allowing goals in four of its first five matches to open the season, Montana has allowed three over its last 12 games with 10 shutouts.

* The Grizzlies have 11 shutouts this season after posting 11 in 2023 and a program-record 14 in 2024. It's the first time in program history with three consecutive seasons with 10 or more shutouts.

* Montana has 80 shutouts in 147 matches under Citowicki, a .544 shutout percentage.

* Two of the Grizzlies' regular-season losses came at the hands of Baylor and Boise State. The Bears open Big 12 tournament action on Monday. The Broncos are 10-3-6 and went 8-0-2 to run away with the Mountain West regular-season title. Boise State opens postseason play on Wednesday.

* Montana went 16-0-4 in the month of October the last three seasons.

* The Grizzlies have eight players sidelined with injuries. Those players have made a combined 134 starts in their Montana careers.

* Montana ranks in the top 15 nationally in shutout percentage (.647, t-seventh), goals-against average (0.53, t-ninth) and save percentage (.857, 15th).

* Redshirt junior goalkeeper Ashlyn Dvorak ranks eighth nationally in goals-against average (0.48), 10th in save percentage (.865) and is tied for 29th in shutouts (8).

* Dvorak's 1-0 win at Portland State in the regular-season finale gave her 22 career shutouts. She ranks third in program history behind Claire Howard (32) and Kailey Norman (24).

* Maddie Ditta has played in all 75 of Montana's matches the last four seasons. She has made 53 starts. Her penalty kick at Portland State gave her 14 career goals, 10 of which have been game-winners, fourth-most in program history.

* Montana has four players with four or more goals: Seelhoff (7), Ditta (6), Brisendine (4) and Slater (4). It's only the second time since 2000 that the Grizzlies have had four four-goal scorers.

* Montana finished the regular season holding a No. 5 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches West Region.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maddie Ditta

Ashlyn Dvorak

University of Montana Athletics