Seelhoff named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week

Montana senior Chloe Seelhoff, who spent last Thursday evening terrorizing Southern Utah's defense, has been named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday.

Seelhoff scored the Grizzlies' second and third goals in their 3-0 shutout of the Thunderbirds in Montana's season opener, the second two-goal performance of her two-year Griz career.

It's the second career Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week award for Seelhoff, who also on Tuesday made the honorable mention list on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week.

It's what could have been that made her performance even more tantalizing than what it was, at least in the final box score. She twice hit the crossbar with shots and missed out on converting a second-half penalty kick.

One of those would have given her Montana's first hat trick since 2021, only the Grizzlies' second since 2011, the program's 18th ever.

Yet it was still a 74-minute tour de force, with Seelhoff taking a career-high seven shots and matching a career high by putting four of those on goal. She scored twice, was saved by Jazmyn Brass twice and put two off the crossbar.

She became the eighth player in program history to score multiple goals in multiple matches in their Griz career. She also scored twice in Montana's 2-0 home win over Boise State last season.

"It's the usual story that you see, right? It takes a player time to warm up, then all of a sudden she starts firing on all cylinders," said coach Chris Citowicki. "It just takes a little bit of time to get adjusted to new teammates and a new setting."

After playing two seasons at Washington, Seelhoff transferred to Montana prior to the 2024 season. After finding her footing, she scored four goals on 10 shots over a three-match stretch in September and took off from there, ending the season with six goals and one assist.

She finished second on the team in scoring behind Jen Estes and ranked third in the Big Sky in goals on her way to second-team all-league honors.

"Chloe was lucky enough to be led by someone like Jen Estes, who allows you to be the best version of yourself," said Citowicki.

"She's taken everything she learned from Jen, plus the motivation of the winter and spring, of the way she played this summer with her club team and just brought all of it into this season. It's a powerhouse start for her."

Montana will host the third Rumble in the Rockies – this year's event sponsored by Community Medical Center – this week at South Campus Stadium.

The Grizzlies will face Seattle at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Baylor at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

University of Montana Athletics

Seelhoff named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week

Players Mentioned

Jen Estes

Chloe Seelhoff

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