FARMINGTON, Utah (Sept. 6, 2023) – The Big Sky Conference soccer seasons has seen three full weeks of competition come and go, with plenty more non-conference action to take place before the start of league play.
Below are updated news and notes from around the Big Sky landscape.
Big Sky Soccer Notebook (Week Four)
Record-Setting Contest
When Eastern Washington played host to Providence-Great Falls last Thursday, two of the league’s biggest single-match records were topped following an offensive explosion from the Eagles.
EWU defeated their competition 16-1, setting new Big Sky Conference record for team goals in a single match. Northern Arizona set the previous record with 11 a season ago.
Individually, Eagle forward Maddie Morgan scored five goals in the contest to set a new single-match record for goals. For her efforts, Morgan was named Offensive Player of the Week by the league office.
The Eagles will look to stay hot offensively this weekend as they travel to Boise State before hosting Saint Mary’s.
Montana Continues Impressive Start
Without a loss on their season through six contests, the Montana Grizzlies sit on top of the current Big Sky standings with a 5-0-1 record.
UM started the year on a road swing where they knocked off North Dakota and North Dakota State to return home 2-0. Once back in Missoula, they topped MSU Billings before playing Ohio State to a draw to become 3-0-1.
This past weekend, the Grizzlies played two neutral site contests in Spokane, where they knocked off Utah Tech 4-0 before topping the Big 12’s Oklahoma 1-0 on Sunday.
After a pair of clean sheets, Montana’s Ashlyn Dvorak was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week.
This weekend they will host both Colorado State and Georgia Southern.
Lumberjacks Top Pac-12 Foe
After back-to-back difficult losses at home, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks picked up a big victory over Oregon out of the Pac-12 Conference last Thursday in Flagstaff.
The match was tied at 2-2 deep into the second half, when NAU’s Avery Ott put a goal away in the 77
th minute to put the ‘Jacks on top and eventually secure the victory.
The Lumberjacks will travel to Utah Tech this Friday for a contest with a regional WAC foe before returning home to host San Diego on Sunday.
Stat Leaders
Following her performance against Providence-Great Falls, EWU’s Morgan now leads the Big Sky Conference in goals (5) and total points (11).
UM’s Ava Samuelson and EWU’s Charity Freeman both lead the league in assists with three on the season so far.
Montana’s Dvorak leads the Big Sky in goals against average with .500. She also leads the league in save percentage at 8.42 and shutouts with four.
2023 Championship Information
The 2023 Big Sky Soccer Championships will be hosted on Nov. 1, 3, and 5 on the campus of the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz. The top six teams in the conference regular season standings advance to the championship.
The winner of the championship receives the Big Sky's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Flagstaff will serve as the host city for the first time since 2010 when the Lumberjacks won the regular season championship. The host institution hasn't won the postseason tournament since 2019 when Northern Colorado won on their home grass.
All matches from Flagstaff will stream live on ESPN+
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