Griz Soccer Wins Title, NCAA Tourney Bound!

The Montana soccer team qualified for its first NCAA tournament since 2000 with a shootout victory over Weber State Sunday in the title match of the 2011 Big Sky Conference Championship at Greeley, Colo.

The teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw, then the Grizzlies won the shootout, 4-3. Montana, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, also won its semifinal match against top seed Northern Colorado Friday in a shootout.

But like both semifinal matches the championship would be decided on penalty kicks.

The Grizzlies went with junior Ashley Tombelaine, junior Erin Craig, Watne, freshman Tyler Adair and junior Lauren Costa, in that order, for the shootout.

Shooting second, Montana got the early advantage when Kristen Hoon stopped Weber State’s first attempt. Tombelaine scored to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead through one round.

Both teams’ second and third shooters – Craig and Watne for Montana – converted, and when Kristen Hoon made her second save of the shootout on the Wildcats’ fourth shooter, the Grizzlies needed just one goal in its final two attempts.

After WSU evened the score 3-3, the match, for the second time at the tournament, came down to the right foot of Costa.

The co-captain converted inside the right post, and the Grizzlies – picked sixth in the preseason – were quickly in a pile at midfield celebrating a victory few outside the program expected in early August.

“I was confident before the shootout, because we did a great job this week training for that scenario,” U-M head coach Mark Plakorus said.

“I told Kristen that if she could stop one, that would do it for us. That she stopped two really put things in our favor.

Hoon (5-9-3) went the distance in goal, making six saves. She limited Northern Colorado and Weber State to just a pair of goals in 220 minutes.

Montana will learn its first-round opponent this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. when the NCAA selection show is aired live on NCAA.com. First-round matches will be played next weekend at host sites.