Bears Blank Northern Arizona, Reach Big Sky Championship - University of Northern Colorado Athletics

Friday, November 13

Missoula, Mont.

10:30 a.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

10-6-4, 6-1-2

Northern Arizona

8-7-6, 4-2-3

Team	1	2	Final F
Northern Arizona	0	0	0
Northern Colorado	1	1	2

Box Score (PDF)

11/13/2026 1:06:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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By: Aiden Tank, Director of Strategic Communications

MISSOULA, Mont. – Northern Colorado is back in the Big Sky Conference championship match for the first time since 2019 after a 2-0 win over Northern Arizona in Friday's semifinal at South Campus Stadium.

The Bears (10-6-4) got both goals from Lexi Tuite, her second career multi-goal game and first since a hat trick in the final match of her freshman season. It was Northern Colorado's first Big Sky Tournament victory since 2019, and the first win by more than one goal by any team in a Big Sky Tournament match since 2023.

Championship Bound 🏆 https://t.co/awXZzlj9bz
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) November 13, 2026

"Total team effort," head coach Tim Barrera said. "We used quite a few players, and having that bye really helped us. We got great efforts from a ton of people, and got that early goal in the second half, which really kind of set the tone for the second half. Then we kind of managed the game from there."

Tuite opened the scoring in the first half off assists from Esja Moore and Anneliese Wong, then added her second after the break, converting a free kick with Paige Hill credited with the assist. It was her third and fourth goals of the season.

The Bears Strike Again 💥 @UNC_BearsSoccer up 2-0 in Montana https://t.co/liuuioyyz2
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) November 13, 2026

The shutout was Northern Colorado's ninth of the year and the 10th win of the season for Thordis Melsted in goal, who finished with five saves. The Bears outshot the Lumberjacks 19-9, putting nine on target, and took eight corner kicks.

Northern Colorado has been in this position before, holding a two-goal lead against a conference opponent with time left to manage, and it has learned how to close those matches out. That composure showed in the second half against the Lumberjacks as the Bears kept the game in front of them and protected the clean sheet.

"We've been in that position through the year. We've had some two-zero leads, and I like 2-0 better than 2-1," Barrera said. "It was really just managing what they were going to bring and using numbers. The clock seems to go a lot slower when you're winning in the second half, but the kids did a great job and really put the game away."

Northern Colorado advances to Sunday's championship match at 1 p.m. MT, where it will face either Weber State or Idaho.

We caught up with Northern Colorado's Tim Barrera after the match 🎙️ https://t.co/bccqpWyyOO
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) November 13, 2026

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