Griz blitz Yellowjackets, win 5-0

Sunday, September 7

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

3-2-1

MSU Billings

0-2-0

MSU Billings

Montana

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of

9/7/2025 5:31:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

It was the right match at the right time for the Montana soccer team.

Coming off a challenging five-game start to the season and with difficult matches ahead – at UC Davis, home for Gonzaga and Washington State, on the road to open league at Northern Arizona – the Grizzlies hosted MSU Billings at South Campus Stadium on Sunday afternoon and got what they needed.

Montana dominated the visitors from the opening kick, going up 1-0 less than five minutes in, building a 3-0 halftime lead and cruising to a 5-0 shutout win, the Grizzlies' most lopsided victory since 2022.

"Overall, just really pleased with it," said coach Chris Citowicki, whose team won its second straight match, its third of the season. "I thought it was very dominant and the chances kept coming, which was the biggest thing.

"Historically, when we've gone up on teams, we never finish the job. This was about whether or not we could keep playing our game and play to a standard instead of playing to an opponent or a score."

Citowicki went 25 players deep on Sunday, with three players getting their first minutes of the season and three picking up their first collegiate points.

Makena Smith opened the scoring in the fifth minute and Maddie Ditta made it 3-0 at the break with goals in the 25th and 36th minutes.

Chloe Seelhoff converted a penalty kick early in the second half and freshman Maycen Slater added the final goal in the 88th minute.

"It was a steady performance across the board. That's the best way to describe it. It was a very good performance from the youngsters, from everybody," said Citowicki.

"It's nice to showcase that depth. We've been holding back because of some of the injuries we've had. Now, as people are getting healthy and coming back and we get games like this, we can put everybody on the field."

Montana's first two goals came off set pieces, with Smith and Ditta scoring on headers off corner kicks.

Smith, a junior and first-year Grizzly, scored her first collegiate goal at 4:52 when Reagan Brisendine took a short corner and lofted one that Smith, from six yards out, headed to the ground, a one-bouncer that MSUB goalkeeper Natalie Weinmaster couldn't stop.

In the 25th minute, Seelhoff took a corner and sent it long, eight yards out from the far post. Ditta worked her way inside her defender and headed it in for her third goal of the season.

Just more than 11 minutes later, Ditta made it 3-0 when Slater laid it off for the senior, who scored with her left foot from the top of the 18-yard box. It was career goal No. 12 for Ditta.

Montana out-shot MSU Billings 12-2 over the opening 45 minutes and would finish with a 27-4 advantage for the game, with 17 players taking at least one shot, nine putting a shot on goal.

Ashlyn Dvorak played the opening half in goal for the Grizzlies, Bayliss Flynn the second 45 minutes. Neither needed to make a save for Montana to post its first shutout since the opening match of the season.

MSU Billings was whistled for a handball in the box in the 50th minute, and Seelhoff stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty kick into the bottom left corner to make it 4-0, her fifth goal of the season.

One final goal felt imminent as the match neared its endpoint and a pair of freshmen delivered. Kendel Johnson pushed the ball up the right side, then crossed it in toward Slater, who snuck around an unsuspecting defender and one-timed it out of the air and inside the right post.

It was the first collegiate point for Johnson, who was playing her first minutes of the season, and first collegiate goal for Slater, who also put a ball of the crossbar in the first half.

Senior Emma Pascoe played her first minutes of the season on Sunday, as did freshman Addison Stendera.

Montana (3-2-1) will play at UC Davis (1-3-2) next Sunday at 1 p.m. (MT). The Aggies will play at Loyola Marymount on Thursday.