MISSOULA – Montana’s soccer team has reached crunch time. The Grizzlies are fighting for a spot in the postseason. Four out of six teams have been locked into the Big Sky Conference tournament, and the Griz sit in a tie for the sixth and final spot with two conference games left, both on the road.
All season long the defense has been great, but UM has two losses and four draws because it hasn’t found the back of the net enough. In seven matches, the Grizzlies have given up six goals and scored five.
But the ladies feel they gained confidence after back-to-back draws at home versus Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. They can finish strong to reach the tournament.
“We’ve got to get results, so now it comes down to that piece,” said first-year head coach Chris Citowicki. “For me and the rest of the coaching staff it’s, ‘Don’t let them freak out. Don’t let them think we have to do so much. Just be ourselves and things fall into place and we’ll get it done.'”
“Against our upcoming opponents I think we are all in high spirits,” said defender Taylor Hanson. “And we’ve got it done this weekend. We just brought that competitiveness, and we’re playing as ourselves now, so I think it’s very confident.”
The last two games for Montana are at fifth-place Portland State on Friday and eighth-place Sacramento State on Sunday.
