Weber State University Athletics
Friday, November 5
Greeley, CO
2 P.M.
Weber State University
11-8-0, 6-3-0
3
vs
2
Northern Colorado
10-8-2, 8-1-0
1
2
F
Weber St.
0
3
3
Northern Colo.
0
2
2
Wildcats Down UNC 3-2 in Semifinals
11/5/2021 5:12:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Stop reading if you've heard this before, but the Weber State Wildcats and Montana Grizzlies will meet on Sunday in the Big Sky championship game for a shot at clinching a title, bragging rights, and a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The two foes meeting with high stakes on the line is a tale as old as time regardless of sport and Sunday's match will become the latest addition to the rivalry after the Wildcats raced past the Northern Colorado Bears 3-2 on Friday afternoon.
Coming into the match, the Bears not only were the top-seeded team in the tournament, but they also held home-field advantage and had just downed WSU in a 4-3 in the final weekend of the regular season. The loss was a heartbreaker for the 'Cats who had just suffered a loss to the Grizzlies that essentially took them out of the race for the regular-season crown before losing a shot at a top-two seed with the loss against the Bears.
Fast forward to the present day and the Wildcats have made significant progress towards avenging those losses by eliminating UNC from the post-season.
"It wasn't our most fluid game but we played hard, matched them, and took our chances hard which ended up being the difference in this game," said Head Coach Craig Sanders.
Early in the match, the 'Cats looked comfortable and were playing at a very comfortable pace which was matched by the Bears and when there were moments when Northern Colorado looked as if they'd make a run towards Kaytlin Bradley in the box, Olivia Tucker seemingly was always there to shoo them away. It was a high-intensity first half but remained scoreless which was much different than their first meeting where the match was tied 2-2 after the opening 45 minutes of action.
A half that ended with a score of 0-0 saw its first goal 16 seconds after the second half kicked off and it came from Yira Yoggerst whose goals seemingly always have a trail of smoke behind them with the velocity that she hits the ball with.
"We knew there were goals to be had if we came back out and played hard, I didn't expect it to come in 16 seconds... that really raised the spirits," said Sanders
That score put the 'Cats up 1-0 and after a defensive showdown in the opening half, it felt as if it could be a pivotal one but the Bears responded with a goal 10 minutes later which officially marked the start of the offensive fireworks.
After finding the equalizer, UNC then knocked in a goal-ahead goal just four minutes later which almost felt as if it'd put WSU in danger-zone but the 'Cats turned a 2-1 deficit into a 2-2 tie after 2 minutes passed; Taylor Slack knocked in the goal off an assist from Rachel Twede.
Those offensive fireworks mentioned earlier saw its grand finale five minutes after the Slack goal when Big Sky newcomer of the year Morgan Furmaniak collected a perfectly placed pass from Lauren McConnell and fired a shot past the keeper to put WSU up 3-2 in the 65th minute of the match.
When discussing the handful of goals that came within 20 minutes, Sanders said, "We had it, then they had it, then we had it before it became even and a matter of who could get that last goal. It could've gone either way, they're a good team and I'm grateful we were able to get that final goal"
From that point, the Wildcat defense neared perfection and with the exception of a couple of scares, didn't allow the Bears an opportunity to get comfortable and set up a potential game-tying goal which helped them slam the door on the Bears and advance to the conference championship game where arch-rival Montana awaits.
"If we had to play someone, I'm grateful we get to play Montana in the championship game. I think that Northern Colorado, Montana, and us - not in order-, were the three teams that had the best regular seasons'", Sanders continued, " We want to play well, represent the school well and it's going to be a tough game - no question about it, they are a good team and we don't take them lightly but we believe that we are going to be very competitive in this game and there's no reason why we can't beat them in this championship game".
The Wildcats and Grizzlies will meet for the Big Sky championship on Sunday at noon in Greeley, CO.
The two foes meeting with high stakes on the line is a tale as old as time regardless of sport and Sunday's match will become the latest addition to the rivalry after the Wildcats raced past the Northern Colorado Bears 3-2 on Friday afternoon.
Coming into the match, the Bears not only were the top-seeded team in the tournament, but they also held home-field advantage and had just downed WSU in a 4-3 in the final weekend of the regular season. The loss was a heartbreaker for the 'Cats who had just suffered a loss to the Grizzlies that essentially took them out of the race for the regular-season crown before losing a shot at a top-two seed with the loss against the Bears.
Fast forward to the present day and the Wildcats have made significant progress towards avenging those losses by eliminating UNC from the post-season.
"It wasn't our most fluid game but we played hard, matched them, and took our chances hard which ended up being the difference in this game," said Head Coach Craig Sanders.
Early in the match, the 'Cats looked comfortable and were playing at a very comfortable pace which was matched by the Bears and when there were moments when Northern Colorado looked as if they'd make a run towards Kaytlin Bradley in the box, Olivia Tucker seemingly was always there to shoo them away. It was a high-intensity first half but remained scoreless which was much different than their first meeting where the match was tied 2-2 after the opening 45 minutes of action.
A half that ended with a score of 0-0 saw its first goal 16 seconds after the second half kicked off and it came from Yira Yoggerst whose goals seemingly always have a trail of smoke behind them with the velocity that she hits the ball with.
"We knew there were goals to be had if we came back out and played hard, I didn't expect it to come in 16 seconds... that really raised the spirits," said Sanders
That score put the 'Cats up 1-0 and after a defensive showdown in the opening half, it felt as if it could be a pivotal one but the Bears responded with a goal 10 minutes later which officially marked the start of the offensive fireworks.
After finding the equalizer, UNC then knocked in a goal-ahead goal just four minutes later which almost felt as if it'd put WSU in danger-zone but the 'Cats turned a 2-1 deficit into a 2-2 tie after 2 minutes passed; Taylor Slack knocked in the goal off an assist from Rachel Twede.
Those offensive fireworks mentioned earlier saw its grand finale five minutes after the Slack goal when Big Sky newcomer of the year Morgan Furmaniak collected a perfectly placed pass from Lauren McConnell and fired a shot past the keeper to put WSU up 3-2 in the 65th minute of the match.
When discussing the handful of goals that came within 20 minutes, Sanders said, "We had it, then they had it, then we had it before it became even and a matter of who could get that last goal. It could've gone either way, they're a good team and I'm grateful we were able to get that final goal"
From that point, the Wildcat defense neared perfection and with the exception of a couple of scares, didn't allow the Bears an opportunity to get comfortable and set up a potential game-tying goal which helped them slam the door on the Bears and advance to the conference championship game where arch-rival Montana awaits.
"If we had to play someone, I'm grateful we get to play Montana in the championship game. I think that Northern Colorado, Montana, and us - not in order-, were the three teams that had the best regular seasons'", Sanders continued, " We want to play well, represent the school well and it's going to be a tough game - no question about it, they are a good team and we don't take them lightly but we believe that we are going to be very competitive in this game and there's no reason why we can't beat them in this championship game".
The Wildcats and Grizzlies will meet for the Big Sky championship on Sunday at noon in Greeley, CO.
Team Stats
WSU
UNC
Goals
3
2
Shots
13
16
Shots on Goal
6
6
Saves
3
2
Corners
3
8
Fouls
11
5
Scoring Plays
Yira Yoggerst (2)
GOAL by WSU Yoggerst, Yira.
45:17
Taylor Bray (9)
Assisted By: Olivia Seddon
GOAL by UNC Bray, Taylor Assist by Seddon, Olivia.
54:20
Taylor Bray (9)
Assisted By: Melina Faris
GOAL by UNC Bray, Taylor Assist by Faris, Melina.
58:12
Taylor Slack (6)
Assisted By: Andelin Baldwin
GOAL by WSU Slack, Taylor Assist by Baldwin, Andelin.
60:00
Morgan Furmaniak (7)
Assisted By: Lauren McConnell
GOAL by WSU Furmaniak, Morgan Assist by McConnell, Lauren.
65:45
Game Leaders
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
mid
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
D/MF
/ Women's SoccerMF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerMF
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