Lower seeds advance on quarterfinal Wednesday

Wednesday, November 5

Missoula, Mont.

11 AM

Montana

No. 6 Northern Arizona vs. No. 3 Eastern Washington

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of

11/5/2025 7:12:00 PM | Soccer

By: Montana Sports Information

No. 6 seed Northern Arizona and No. 5 Idaho won their quarterfinal match-ups on Wednesday as the Big Sky Conference Championship opened at South Campus Stadium in Missoula.

The Lumberjacks (6-5-7) defeated No. 3 Eastern Washington 2-1. The Vandals (6-5-8) followed with a 1-0 victory over No. 4 Portland State.

Northern Arizona advances to face No. 2 Weber State (11-6-1) at 11 a.m. on Friday in one semifinal. Idaho moves on to face top-seeded Montana (11-3-3) at 2 p.m. in the other.

Those winners will advance to Sunday's championship match.

The Lumberjacks fell to the Eagles in Cheney 4-0 less than two weeks ago and Wednesday looked like it might be more of the same after Eastern Washington went up 1-0 less than five minutes into the match.

But this time Northern Arizona responded, tying it in the eighth minute and scoring the game-winner in the 20th.

"We learned a lot from that loss at Eastern Washington. I think we came out with the right mindset," said NAU coach Alan Berrios, whose team out-shot the Eagles 19-9.

"We set the plan and were prepared for this game, and the girls executed. Very proud of the girls."

Northern Arizona and Weber State played to a 1-1 draw in Flagstaff on Oct. 17, the Wildcats' only non-win in their final four matches under first-year coach Kyle Christensen, the Big Sky Coach of the Year.

"He's done an amazing job. They are one of the best teams in the conference and have the best front line in my opinion," said Berrios. "They are really fast and really dynamic.

"It's going to be a tough game for us but we're going to give it a good shot. We feel pretty good about where we're at."

Wednesday's second quarterfinal had a pregame first-team-to-score-wins vibe to it, and the match played out that way. Naomi Alvarez's goal in the 78th minute proved to be the difference.

"We knew it was going to be a gritty match," said Idaho coach Jeremy Clevenger, whose team has played in the last three Big Sky title games.

"They don't give up many goals, so we had to battle all game. We talked about playing 90 minutes. We found one late and were able to survive."

Alvarez touched a high bouncing ball to the turf and lofted a well-placed shot over the head of PSU goalkeeper Natalie Cunningham.

"She struck it well, didn't hesitate. She shot it with a lot of confidence. Happy for her," said Clevenger.

Montana and Idaho played to a 0-0 draw in Moscow on Oct. 5.

The Grizzlies are 0-2-0 against the Vandals in the postseason, their last meeting a 1-0 double-overtime win for Idaho in the semifinals in Greeley, Colo., in 2022.

Montana, which won its third straight outright Big Sky regular-season championship this fall, is 23-1-3 in its last 27 matches at South Campus Stadium.

"They are a good team and playing on their home field," said Clevenger. "We're going to have to rest up and recover and be ready to get back after it."