The day started off well with North Dakota playing to a draw against Northern Colorado. Unfortunately, since that game came prior to the mid-table clash between Sacramento State and Northern Arizona, the Hornets and Lumberjacks both knew a draw would put them through in the case of a three-way tie with UND or a four-way cluster that also included Idaho. The Vandals needed one of them to win, however, leaving them alone in a head-to-head tiebreaker with UND, who they beat. Of course, the two sides played to a draw on a day in the Big Sky that saw four of the five matches finish deadlocked and the Vandals the only side to score twice. The draws also allowed Montana to earn the second seed and a bye to the semifinals. Idaho State, though, fell short of their bid to get out of last due to their draw.
Meanwhile, the Vandals' counterparts to the south, Boise State, wrapped up a record campaign in the Mountain West with another win, securing the third seed in the conference tournament.
Round-up from games of Thursday and Friday
BIG SKY ROUND-UP ####
Portland State 1-1 Montana
A free kick from Maddy Emerick (Billings, MT) in the eighth minute was nodded home by defender Taryn Miller (Spokane, WA), but the lead did not last long as the Vikings got on the board in the 26th off a loose ball in the box. The result, combined with Northern Colorado's draw, locked up the second seed and a bye for the Griz in the Big Sky Tournament.
Weber State 1-1 Idaho State
Looking to climb out of last in the cellar showdown, the Bengals found themselves trailing after 10 minutes after a rebound off the crossbar was put away. A penalty in the 87th converted by Jennifer McCaw allowed them some extra time to get the win, but they came up short. The draw ended a six-game losing skid, but they still finished on the bottom. The last-place finish was a big disappointment for a team that registered two wins in their first three conference games against a pair of teams that are now playoff-bound as the second and third seeds.
Eastern Washington 1-2 Idaho
Already eliminated from contention, the Vandals had little to play for other than a little pride and revenge over the local rival that knocked them out of the tournament a year ago. Lone senior Olivia Baggerly opened the scoring in the dome with a shot/cross into the six that the Eastern keeper bobbled and watched roll over the line 11 minutes in. A long ball from Allison Raniere allowed Saige Lyons to tie things up in the 34th minute. Anna Rose Wiencek scored what held as the winner just four minutes after the break with a sliding shot off a ball from Megan Goo.
Northern Colorado 0-0 North Dakota
Northern Arizona 1-1 Sacramento State
Final Big Sky Standings (W-L-T... Pts)
Eastern Washington 8-1-1... 25#
Montana 5-2-3... 18^*
Northern Colorado 5-3-2... 17^
Portland State 5-4-1... 16^
Northern Arizona 4-5-1... 13^
Sacramento State 3-3-4... 13^
Idaho 4-5-1... 13
North Dakota 4-5-1... 13
Southern Utah 4-6-0... 12
Weber State 2-5-3... 9
Idaho State 2-7-1... 7
^Clinched Big Sky Playoff spot / *First Round bye
# Regular Season Champion / Tournament host
Tiebreaker Table (head-to-head results)
Northern Arizona... 7 pts - W v UI, W v UND, D v Sac
Sacramento St... 5 pts - D v UI, W v UND, D v NAU
Idaho... 4 pts - L v NAU, D v Sac, W v UND
North Dakota... 0 pts - L v Sac, L v NAU, L v UI
Big Sky Tournament (Cheney, WA / Times PT)
Wednesday, November 1
6-Sacramento State v 3-Northern Colorado 10:00
5-Northern Arizona v 4-Portland State 1:00
Friday, November 3
3/6 v 2-Montana 10:00
4/5 v 1-Eastern Washington 1:00
Sunday, November 5
Championship 12:00
OTHER DI RESULTS ####
WOMEN - BOISE STATE
Boise State 2-1 Utah State
The Broncos earned their program-best 12th win and conference-best seventh wins win the comeback result on the road against an Aggie side that needed a positive result to reach the conference tournament. A headed ball from McKenna Kynett off a Madi Campbell flick in the 41st minute held as the winner. Boise State initially fell behind in the 15th minute, but less than a minute later Raimee Sherle made a great play to tie things up. It was her 12th in conference play, setting a Mountain West record for both goals and points (28).
San Diego State narrowly one their contest later that night to finished tied with Boise State in points, but take the second seed and tournament bye. The Broncos tied their first round opponent Air Force 1-1 at home earlier this month and fell at home 2-0 against San Diego State, who is waiting in the semifinals. Should they reach the Final, they won against lower seeds Fresno State, 2-1, and New Mexico, 3-0, but lost to top seed San Jose State, 2-1.
Mountain West Standings (playoff teams)
San Jose State 9-1-1... 28 pts
San Diego State 7-2-2... 23
Boise State 7-2-2... 23
New Mexico 7-4-0... 21
Fresno State 5-3-2... 17
Air Force 4-4-3... 15
Mountain West Tournament (Las Vegas, NV / times PT)
Tuesday, October 31
3-Boise State v 6-Air Force 4:00
4-New Mexico v 5-Fresno State 7:00
Thursday, November 2
3/6 v 2-San Diego State 4:00
4/5 v 1-San Jose State 7:00
Saturday, November 4
Championship 7:00
WOMEN - WASHINGTON STATE
10/26 - Washington State 1-0 Arizona State
The Cougars grabbed the road win with a 63rd minute goal from Elyse Bennett, who nodded in a cross from Morgan Weaver. Ella Dederick only needed to make three saves as WSU outshot the Sun Devils 25-9 in the contest.
Remaining Schedule...
10/29 - Washington State @ Arizona
11/3 - Washington State @ Washington
WOMEN - GONZAGA
10/26 - BYU 6-3 Gonzaga
The Zags grabbed the early lead with a goal from Jodi Ulkekul in the fourth minute of the contest. BYU tied things up in the 34th and the match went into the second half even. The Cougars took the lead just before the hour mark with a quick reply from the Bulldogs two minutes later when Callie Best (Spokane, WA) and Savanah Van Citters combined on a corner that was finished by Hope Tsuneyoshi. BYU tallied the next two, but Jordan Thompson converted a penalty to cut the deficit to one in the 70th. The Cougars were just too much on the night, scoring two more to close out the win.
Remaining Schedule...
10/28 - San Diego @ Gonzaga
11/4 - Gonzaga @ Loyola Marymount
MEN - GONZAGA
San Francisco 3-1 Gonzaga
The two sides went well over an hour before the visitors got on the board in the 72nd minute. The Bulldogs pulled even four minutes later when Nick Ulowetz stole the ball and dropped it off to Sam Olson, who ripped a shot from outside the box. The Dons, though, scored twice in the final eight minutes for the victory.
Next...
10/29 - Santa Clara @ Gonzaga
NOTES
The hot streak for Kelsey Turnbow (Spokane, WA) is still going. She tallied both goals for Santa Clara Friday in a 2-0 victory against San Francisco... Havanah Johnson (Coeur d'Alene, ID) is in the Southland Conference tournament with third-seeded McNeese State and the duo of Camyrn Wendlandt (Coeur d'Alene, ID) is in the Big 12 Tournament with Baylor [see schedules below].
Southland Conference Tournament (Corpus Christi, TX / times CT)
Wednesday, November 1
A: 2-Stephen F Austin v 7-Sam Houston State 11:00
B: 3-McNeese State v 6-Abilene Christian 2:00
C: 4-Central Arkansas v 5-Houston Baptist 5:00
D: 1-Lamar v 8-A&M-Corpus Christi 8:00
Friday, November 3
Semifinal 1: Match A v Match B 4:00
Semifinal 2: Match C v Match D 7:00
Sunday, November 5
Championship 1:00
Big 12 Conference Tournament (Kansas City, MO / times CT)
Wednesday, November 1
A: 1-Oklahoma St v 8-Oklahoma 11:30
B: 4-Texas v 5-Baylor
C: 2-West Virginia v 7-Texas Tech
D: 3-Texas Christian v 6-Kansas
Friday, November 3
Semifinal 1: Match A v Match B 4:30
Semifinal 2: Match C v Match D 7:00
Sunday, November 5
Championship 2:30
###
