Northern Colorado, Montana Advance to #BigSkySoccer Semifinals
Big Sky Soccer Quarterfinals
Northern Colorado vs. Eastern Washington -
Box Score |
Photo Gallery
Northern Arizona vs. Montana -
Box Score |
Photo Gallery
OGDEN, Utah (October 31, 2018) – Northern Colorado and Montana will each make a second-straight showing in the Big Sky Soccer Semifinals after collecting Wednesday wins to conclude the first day of action in the Big Sky Championship at Wildcat Soccer Field.
In a rematch of the 2017 championship game, No. 3 seed Northern Colorado evened the score with two-time defending champion and sixth seed Eastern Washington by scoring three unanswered goals to top the Eagles, 3-1.
Eastern Washington (8-8-3) lit up the scoreboard first as Jenny Chavez connected on a header off a free kick just 8:37 into the match.
Cara Quinn delivered her first goal of the season in the 28th minute to tie the match up for Northern Colorado (11-7-1) for a 1-1 score at the break.
Big Sky Offensive MVP Mariel Gutierrez propelled the Bears into the semifinals with two goals in the second period, providing the game winner exactly one minute into the half off a penalty kick. She added an insurance goal for UNC in the 76th minute for the 3-1 final.
With the victory, the Bears move on to face No. 2 Idaho on Friday at 12:05 p.m. MT. UNC handed the Vandals their only loss in Big Sky play with a 3-0 shutout on Sept. 28 in Greeley, Colo.
Montana (5-8-6) delivered the first upset in the Big Sky Championship with a 1-0 victory over No. 4 seed Northern Arizona (9-5-4). The fifth-seeded Grizzlies needed just one score to advance to the Big Sky Semifinals with senior Janessa Fowler coming through for Montana in the 55th minute.
Just four minutes after missing a penalty kick, the Grizzlies went in front as Taylor Hansen delivered a ball into the middle of the box for Fowler to send past the Big Sky Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Taryn Benham into the lower right corner of the net for the 1-0 final.
Montana moves on to face top seed Weber State on Friday at 3:05 p.m. MT. Weber State defeated Montana 2-1 back on Oct. 7 in Ogden.
Both semifinal matches will air on Eleven Sports and will also be available on Pluto TV channel 231 and WatchBigSky.com.