MISSOULA, Montana – Idaho State women's soccer delivered one of its most complete performances of the season Sunday afternoon in Missoula, but a second-half goal was the difference as the Bengals fell 0-1 to Big Sky Conference leader Montana.
Despite the result, Head Coach Dustin Downey called the first half "the best complete half of soccer I've seen since taking over this program four years ago," praising his team's control and execution. Idaho State (5-6-3, 2-2-1 BSC) outshot the Grizzlies 12-3 in the opening 45 minutes and held a 4-1 advantage in corners while dictating tempo throughout.
"We completely controlled the first half against Big Sky favorites and reigning champs," Downey said. "We had very little to change at halftime tactically."
Montana (9-3-3, 3-1-2 BSC) flipped the script after the break, applying pressure until the breakthrough came in the 59th minute. Maycen Slater collected a deflected shot that bounced off the post and converted what would become the game-winner.
"Unfortunately, we had one lapse in organization, and with a little luck—they capitalized," Downey noted.
Idaho State continued to push forward, registering 15 total shots on the afternoon, but the finishing touch remained elusive. A Saydree Cooke shot rattled off the crossbar in the opening minute, and strong attempts from Sofia Wolf and Talia Coury in the second half were saved by Montana keeper Ashlyn Dvorak.
"We looked really scary in our attack," Downey said. "Just need to place a few more shots on frame to give ourselves a better chance to come out victorious."
Winton and Mary Za led the Bengals with three shots each, while goalkeeper Hannah Wieler made one save and anchored a back line that has allowed just one goal over the last three matches.
Downey expressed pride in the performance, emphasizing that the Bengals are "peaking at the right time of the year" and still firmly in the postseason hunt.
"Conference play has been crazy this year, but we're going to work hard to win out our remaining matches and hope to finish Top 3 in conference heading into the Big Sky Conference tournament," Downey added.
With the result, Idaho State drops into a 3-way tie for 4th place with Portland State and Sacramento State in the Big Sky standings with three games remaining. Idaho State owns the H2H tiebreaker against both PSU and Sac State with wins over both programs in the last 2 weeks.
2025 Women's Soccer Standings
| School |
Pts |
Conf |
Ovr |
Ovr Pct |
PF-PA |
Home |
Away |
Neutral |
Streak |
| Montana |
11 |
3-1-2 |
9-3-3 |
.700 |
27-9 |
8-1-1 |
1-2-2 |
0-0 |
W2 |
| Weber State |
9 |
3-2 |
9-6 |
.600 |
28-22 |
5-2 |
4-4 |
0-0 |
W1 |
| Idaho |
8 |
2-1-2 |
5-4-6 |
.533 |
15-13 |
3-1-3 |
2-3-3 |
0-0 |
W1 |
| Idaho State |
7 |
2-2-1 |
5-6-3 |
.464 |
15-14 |
4-3-2 |
1-3-1 |
0-0 |
L1 |
| Sacramento State |
7 |
2-3-1 |
6-9-1 |
.406 |
16-31 |
2-5-1 |
3-3 |
1-1 |
L2 |
| Portland State |
7 |
2-1-1 |
3-6-3 |
.375 |
11-18 |
2-2-1 |
1-4-3 |
0-0 |
T1 |
| Eastern Washington |
4 |
1-3-1 |
5-6-4 |
.467 |
22-25 |
4-1-3 |
1-5-1 |
0-0 |
L2 |
| Northern Arizona |
4 |
1-2-1 |
4-4-5 |
.500 |
16-13 |
2-3 |
2-1-4 |
0-0-1 |
L2 |
| Northern Colorado |
4 |
1-2-1 |
2-8-5 |
.300 |
14-24 |
0-3-3 |
1-5-2 |
1-0 |
T1 |
Bengal Bites
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The 15 shots by Idaho State marked their second-highest total in a Big Sky match this season, 5th most in any match this season.
-
Hannah Wieler recorded her 14th consecutive start in goal for the Bengals.
-
ISU's four corner kicks marked their fifth straight match with 4+ corners.
-
This was the Bengals' first one-goal loss since Sept. 14th vs. North Dakota.
-
Despite the loss, Idaho State has now held opponents to one goal or fewer in 11 of 14 matches this season.
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Idaho State's 5 wins this season is the most under head coach, Dustin Downey, in a single season since taking over, and the most wins for the program in a single season since 2016 (7-13 overall & 4-6 in BSC).
Up Next
Idaho State continues their final push of the season with two key Big Sky matches: Friday, Oct. 17th at Northern Colorado and Sunday, Oct. 19th at Northern Arizona. With just one more match remaining following these two, at home vs. the red-hot Weber State Wildcats on Sunday, Oct. 26th for Fan Appreciation Day.
