After a frustrating 2007 season plagued by missed scoring opportunities, the University of Montana soccer team, boasting 13 new members, made its regular season debut Friday night at South Campus Stadium, dropping a 1-0 decision to Washington State.
Though the teams played even through much of the match, the battle was reminiscent of the prior season, when the Grizzlies were outscored 26-10 by their opposition, though rarely outplayed.
Montana spent much of the first half on the attack and had by far the best chance to score in the opening 40 minutes, as a pair of seniors sent WSU goalkeeper Lindsay Parlee scrambling.
After Grizzly midfielder Meghan Chambers launched a shot over Parlee and hit the crossbar, Sara Campbell controlled the rebound and found herself alone, six feet out to the right of the goal. With Parlee out of position Campbell aimed for the lower-left corner, but her shot went wide.
The Cougars struck for the game's lone goal just over four minutes before halftime. Junior forward Kiersten Dallstream drove past the Grizzly defense after taking a perfectly lifted lead pass from Megan Chapin just outside the 18-yard box. Dallstream then dribbled past UM junior keeper Grace Harris and netted her tally.
The Washington State goal seemed to take some life out of a vocal home crowd, as well as the home team through the final minutes of the first half.
The second stanza saw the Cougars apply little pressure on offense, but Washington State limited the Grizzlies to a single serious scoring threat and it came in the 82nd minute. After a scramble for a loose ball just outside and left of the WSU box resulted in a hard foul on Chambers, she sent her free kick to the head of Sara Aspinwall. But the senior from Great Falls saw her attempt sail over the Cougars goal.
Chambers, who took a team-high four of Montana's 10 shots, believes the match was an encouraging start to the season.
“It's our first real game and when we played well, we played really well,” she said. “It's just a matter of making everything consistent and building on this. We didn't play bad soccer, we just need to be more consistent.”
As was the case a year ago, the UM defense was stout, highlighted by a vocal Aspinwall in the middle, an extra-strong effort from junior Danielle McQuinn on the right flank and a steady Abby Grafft on the left side.
Several of the new additions to the Grizzly roster made a strong first impression, including redshirt freshman Teresa Huemann, and true freshmen midfielders Anna Pingree and Dayna Sinicrope.
Montana returns to South Campus Stadium at 5 p.m. Sunday when the Grizzlies take on Minnesota. Sedgwick hopes his team can benefit from having a game under its belt.
“We just need a little growth as a team and we're going to realize it,” he said. “And of course finish our chances.”
Notes: The shot category was virtually even as the Cougars took 11 to Montana's 10. But the whistles were decidedly in favor of Montana as WSU was called for 13 infractions and the Grizzlies just seven. ... Both Harris and Parlee were credited with three saves. ... Midway through the second half, Campbell came up gimpy and appeared to take a knee to the right thigh after challenging for a loose ball. After two minutes of play, she appeared to walk off the injury and remained in the match.
Washington State 1 0 - 1
Montana 0 0 - 0
WSU - Kiersten Dallstream (Megan Chapin) 40:53
Shots - WSU 11, UM 10. Corner kicks - WSU 1, UM 4. Saves - WSU 3 (Lindsay Parlee), UM 3 (Grace Harris). Total fouls - WSU 13, UM 7. Yellow cards - UM 1. Red cards - None.
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