After freshman midfielder Anna Pingree put Montana ahead with a goal early in the second half, sophomore forward Kaitlyn Heinsohn added an insurance tally with 47 seconds left in regulation, capping Montana's perfect weekend.
The win moved the Grizzlies' record to 3-7-1 and came on the heels of Friday's 4-1 defeat of North Dakota, giving UM its first back-to-back victories since Oct. 1 and Oct. 6, 2006. More importantly, the two wins gave the Grizzlies a confidence boost with their Big Sky Conference opener looming on the horizon.
Heinsohn, who leads Montana with four goals on the campaign, believes the Grizzlies have made great strides after struggling at times through a difficult preconference schedule.
“I think this was huge for us and I know that it's the first time in the two years I've been here that we've won two games in a row,” she said. “I'm sure this is going to give us a lot of confidence and at just the right time.”
Though Montana controlled possession and kept it in the Vandals' half through much of the first half, the Grizzlies failed to create a strong scoring opportunity before Pingree's first collegiate goal in the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza. After Idaho (1-10-1) was whistled for a foul above the left corner of its own 18-yard box, UM junior defender Abby Grafft took the free kick and sent it toward the right post of the Idaho goal. Pingree corralled it and directed it past Vandals keeper Liz Boyden at the 47:46 mark.
The Grizzlies continued to dominate the run of play before a desperate Idaho squad began applying pressure in the final 10 minutes. But the UM defense held true and junior keeper Grace Harris posted the shutout, making just two saves.
Heinsohn iced it when she took a pass off the head of Montana senior midfielder Meghan Chambers, knifed through the Vandal defense before beating Boyden to the lower right in the final minute.
Now the Grizzlies' focus turns to league play and while they took two big steps forward, Heinsohn knows things could always be better.
“I think we can always improve,” she said. “But I think we've gotten so much better in these last two games. I think we proved to ourselves and our fans that we're getting better, but there's always room for improvement.”
Notes: The last time UM scored six goals in two games came in wins on Sept. 3 and Sept. 8, 2006... Grafft's assist was the first point of her college career... Heinsohn surpassed her total of three goals last season, which led the team... Harris' shutout was her second of the season and 12th of her career. She moved one shutout away from tying Sarah Braseth (2001-05) for second on the Montana career list. Railene Thorson collected 19 shutouts for the Grizzlies between 1994-97.
Idaho 0 0 - 0
Montana 0 2 - 2
UM - Anna Pingree (Abby Grafft), 47:46
UM - Kaitlyn Heinsohn, 89:13
Shots - Idaho 6, Montana 13. Saves - Idaho 4 (Liz Boyden), Montana 2 (Grace Harris). Corner kicks - Idaho 2, Montana 4. Total fouls - Idaho 18, Montana 10. Yellow cards - Idaho 1. Red cards - none.
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Mark Pingree wrote on Oct 6, 2008 4:19 PM:
Would you have this picture on hand? My wife and I live in Boise and would really love to have an original picture like this. Well, Thanks "