GREELEY, Colo. (Nov. 4) – For the first time in Big Sky Conference history, both of the soccer semifinals went into a shootout. Montana came out on top against the No. 1 seed Northern Colorado in the late semifinal Friday evening.
Montana (6-11-3) will face Weber State (6-10-2) in Sunday's championship match at 1 p.m. Mountain. It can be viewed for free on Big Sky TV. Montana is in the title game for the first time since 2004. The Grizzlies will be seeking their fourth title.
The match was tied 1-1 at the end of overtime. UM won the shootout 3-2.
Northern Colorado’s Brittany Dunn was the first on the scoreboard in the 25th minute. Dunn took a line drive shot from the top of the box and snuck it past the hands of Montana keeper Kirsten Hoon.
Montana’s Ashley Robertson found the equalizer in the 70th minute of the match off of a cross from Erin Craig. Robertson placed a header in the upper right corner, just out of NC’s Kirstin Salminen’s reach.
With the match tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, the match headed into overtime. Both teams had their chances to end the match during the overtime periods, but neither team capitalized. After two scoreless overtime periods, the match headed into a shootout.
Montana’s keeper, Kristen Hoon, made two saves against NC’s Tara Rickenbach and Eryn Daniel. Northern Colorado’s keeper, Kirstin Salminen, made two saves against UM’s Erin Craig and Paytyn Wheeler.
Northern Colorado’s Maddie Yoswa and Alexsys Tamayo each made their shots. Montana’s Ashley Tombelaine, India Watne and Lauren Costa made their shots. Lauren Costa made the game winning shot to give Montana the victory over No. 1 seed Northern Colorado.
For the fourth straight year, the No. 1 seed won't win the Big Sky Championship title. This will mark the fourth time Weber State and Montana have played for the title.