@UNCBearsSoccer Faces Montana in Big Sky Semifinals Friday

Friday, November 3

Cheney, Wash.

11:05 am

University of Northern Colorado

Montana

11/2/2017 11:31:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Northern Colorado Believes There's Plenty More to Accomplish

By: By: Charlie Snelson

NORTHERN COLORADO VS MONTANA
Friday, Nov. 3rd / 11 am MT / Cheney Wash.
Eleven Sports Network / Video Stream / Pluto TV
Live Stats

CHENEY, Wash. –The Bears advanced to the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament Wednesday, winning 2-0 against No. 6 Sacramento State. On Friday morning, they will play No. 2 Montana for a chance to advance to the Championship Game. The Big Sky tournament is single elimination. With the victory over Sacramento State, the Bears (12-6-2, 5-3-2 Big Sky) have already surpassed last year's playoff run, which ended in a first-round loss to Northern Arizona. Montana (10-6-4, 5-2-3 Big Sky) will be a difficult opponent in the semifinals and the two teams tied 0-0 in regular season competition after two overtime periods in Greeley on October 20th.

Last Time Out: Freshman Taylor Bray was the hero in the Bears first playoff game of 2017, scoring what ended up to be the game-winner just before the end of the first half. It was her first goal of the season. Northern Colorado was heavily outshot in the first half (similar to when the teams met in the regular season) but they were able to even out the scoring opportunities later, grabbing a second goal from Olivia Seddon, who curled a beautiful shot from the top of the box into the upper right corner of the goal, just inside the far post.

Senior goalkeeper Madeline Burdick picked up her 10th shutout of the season and made five saves and Bears leading goal scorer Mariel Gutierrez played a full 90 minutes. She led all players in shot attempts with four (three on goal).

Senior Leadership: Northern Colorado has six seniors on the roster that usually find their way onto Tim Barrera's starting lineup. All of them have made big impacts on the team. The anchor has been Madeline Burdick. Burdick finished the regular season second in the Big Sky in save percentage and goals-against average. She also passed the UNC school record for shutouts in a season. The previous record was seven by Kirstin Salmienand Burdick now has ten.

Senior forwards Brook Braden, Aleah Strength, and Jaqui Pulley all have contributed offensively. Braden has 15 points and added an assist against Sacramento State, setting up Olivia Seddon for the strike in the second half. Strength has one goal and two points and Pulley has a goal and two assists for four points. The defense has been led all season by seniors Erica Estes and Isabella Beal. The pair limited Sacramento State's Kylee Kim-Bustillos (conference leader in goals) to a single shot attempt Wednesday.

Big Sky Honors: Five Bears earned recognition from the Big Sky Conference for their outstanding play during the regular season. Mariel Gutierrez was named first-team All-Big Sky as a midfielder and Madeline Burdick was named second-team All-Big Sky at goalkeeper. UNC's Anika Shelrud, Brooke Braden, and Cara Quinn were all named honorable mentions.

Scouting Montana: Montana earned five points over its final three contests to move into second place and lock up a bye in this week's Big Sky Soccer Championship. Montana and the Bears have allowed six goals each during conference play, tied for first. Montana's Taryn Miller earned the distinction of Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Sky Conference. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Claire Howard is second, behind only Burdick in shutouts with seven.

Despite being known for their defensive prowess, the Grizzlies offense has not been in short supply either. Montana took at least 15 shots in all 10 conference matches and is averaging a league-best 19.30 per game. Alexa Coyle leads the Grizzlies with eight points, coming from three goals and two assists. Allie Lucas ranks second with six points (3 goals) and Taryn Miller and Ellie Otteson each have five points.

Montana went undefeated at home this season (6-0-2), posting victories over Air Force, North Dakota, Northern Arizona, Sacramento State, San Jose State and Southern Utah. It was the second time in school history they remained unbeaten in Missoula for a full regular season. The team had three players named to the All-Conference rosters. Taryn Miller was named to the first team while Ashlee Pederson and Hallie Widner were named second-team All-Big Sky.

Preseason Poll: In the preseason Big Sky soccer poll on Aug. 7, Northern Colorado received 68 total points and one first-place vote and were predicted to finish fifth. Montana received 76 points in the poll voted on by the league's head coaches and were projected to finish third out of eleven teams.

Everyone Else: The other conference semifinal will feature No. 1 Eastern Washington against No. 4 Portland State, who defeated Northern Arizona in the quarterfinal round Wednesday 1-0. Eastern Washington won the right to host the tournament in Cheney, Washington after finishing the regular season on top with an 8-1-1 record.