Griz rally to force draw at Weber State
OGDEN, Utah – Montana and Weber State played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon, remaining tied after 90 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods. Montana is 14-12-3 all-time against Weber State, including 3-1-1 over the past four seasons, but earned a result in Ogden for the first time since 2006.
"We came away with points, and that's a good thing," head coach Mark Plakorus said. "I really liked our response. After the last two games and not playing up to our standard, I thought we did a really good job from the start of the game and did what we wanted to do."
In many ways, Montana out-played Weber State, controlling the tempo and out-shooting the Wildcats 18-8. The Grizzlies also had more shots on goal (6 to 4), more corner kicks (6 to 1) and had zero yellow cards compared to WSU's three.
Weber State (2-9-1, 1-2-1 BSC) didn't take its first shot until the 39th minute, but took four shots within a 131-second period, including a header goal to take a 1-0 advantage. The impressive goal for the home team came off of a corner kick. Without ever touching the ground, three different Wildcats headed the ball, with the final one finding the back of the net.
The goal was Lauren Gibson's first of the season and was assisted by Sadie Newsome and Madison Garlock.
The Grizzlies (6-5-2, 1-1-1 BSC) responded early in the second period, though, scoring in the 52ndminute.
On the throw in, Ashlee Pederson passed it in to Allie Lucas, who controlled it and passed it to Dani Morris, who was coming around her from left to right. From just outside the elbow of the box, Morris fired a 25-yard cross-angle shot past a diving goaltender.
"It was a great goal by Dani," Plakorus said. "I couldn't be more proud of that kid. The way she's worked, coming off of a third ACL injury, and to score that goal with what it meant to her and our team was just awesome."
Morris scored for the fifth time of her career, but it was her first goal since 2015.
Both teams had opportunities over the final 38 minutes of regulation, but neither team could capitalize and the game went to overtime. There was just one shot taken in the first overtime period, by WSU, and in the second, the Griz out-shot the Wildcats 5-1 and had two corner kicks, but wasn't able to find the back of the net, even after WSU was down a player for the final 11 minutes due to penalty.
"We had some really good looks in the first half and their keeper made some really good saves," Plakorus said. "Then in the second half and overtime periods, I thought we put a lot of pressure on them. They did a lot of defending, even when we pushed players forward and went up a player."
Ten different Grizzlies took a shot on the day, including three apiece by Raye Burton, Janessa Fowler and Morris. Fowler, who played all 110 minutes, had two shots on goal. Pedersen and goalkeeper Claire Howard also played every minute. Howard had three saves.
"Every team kind of goes through some ups and downs during their journey," Plakorus said. "We had a little hiccup. The girls were really disappointed in themselves after Friday night. They got together on their own, and credit to them, they responded extremely well."
Montana will be back in action next weekend, returning to South Campus Stadium where the Grizzlies are unbeaten this season. Montana will host Sacramento State on Friday (3 p.m. MT) and Northern Arizona on Sunday (1 p.m.).
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