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Ogden, Utah (November 2, 2009) - The 2009 Big Sky Championship participants have been identified, as Portland State will host, Eastern Washington is the no. 2 seed, Idaho State the no. 3, and Northern Arizona the no. 4. Sacramento State, who ended Friday night as the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, was bumped from Big Sky contention as Idaho State defeated Weber State, 4-0, and advances as the No. 3 seed.
Portland State and Sacramento State fought for 110 minutes on Hornet Soccer Field as the match ended in a 0-0 draw. The Vikings remained atop the conference with 14 points but needed Northern Colorado to defeat Northern Arizona to win the Big Sky Conference title and host the championship.
Sacramento State on the other hand would need a loss from Eastern Washington or an Idaho State loss or tie to clinch a spot in the championship. Their fate would not be sealed until Idaho State and Weber State played on Saturday afternoon.
Northern Colorado took control of the team’s last game of the year in a 4-0 win over visiting Northern Arizona. The win improved the Bears to 2-5 in Big Sky play to wrap up the season. With the Lumberjack loss, Portland State was crowned the regular season champion and will host the Big Sky Tournament.
Had Northern Arizona won the match against the Bears, the Lumberjacks would have hosted the tournament.
Eastern Washington defeated Montana 1-0 on Friday afternoon to qualify for the Big Sky Conference Championship for the first time since 2005. Brittney Doran scored in the ninth minute to earn Eastern the crucial road win.
Combined with Northern Colorado’s 4-0 win over Northern Arizona on Friday evening, the Eagles claimed the second seed in the four-team event.
Idaho State needed a win to clinch a spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament. After senior day was over the Bengals had clinched their spot in the tournament, with a 4-0 win over Weber State. The Bengals improved to 4-3 in league play to earn 12 points to tie for third place in the Big Sky standings. Idaho State held a head-to-head tiebreak over Northern Arizona, so the Bengals will enter the tournament as the no. 3 seed.
Sacramento State had looked to be in great position to make the championship as the weekend action began. After a draw against Portland State, Sacramento State needed Montana to pull off an upset or Weber State to collect a draw or a win against Idaho State. Neither options worked out for the Hornets and they were left out of the tournament.