MISSOULA, Mont. - The IU Indianapolis women's soccer team was under siege from the opening kick against Big Sky preseason favorite Montana on Sunday (Sept. 1) in falling to the Griz, 1-0 at South Campus Stadium. Senior goalkeeper
Ashton Kudlo was brilliant in the defeat, recording a career-high 10 saves, including stopping a first half penalty kick.
"We knew going into the game that Montana would be a tough opponent. Just like Idaho, they ended up in the top of their conference last season," Kudlo said. "I think defensively we did a good job handling their pressure, but need to continue to grow offensively. I think this was a good trip to take to play some quality teams and to learn as much as we can from the games."
Montana (4-2) outshot the Jaguars by a 31-2 margin and rookie netminder Bayliss Flynn went untested in the clean sheet. The Griz scored the game's lone goal in the 16th minute when Jen Estes angled a breakaway past Kudlo after Maddie Ditta has created a turnover near midfield and led her teammate into open space.
That would be the lone blemish on Kudlo's page for the day as she devoured Ditta's penalty kick try in the 35th minute and pounced on the rebound before another Montana attacker could get an attempt.
Offensive, the Jaguars (0-4-1) were sparse on attempts as each of their two corner kicks results in shot attempts. In the 22nd minute,
Emma Frey's corner kick to the middle of the pitch resulted in
Makenna Collins' shot being harmlessly blocked away. In the 86th minute, freshman
Bernadette Wismann got foot to ball inside the Montana box, but had the shot sail well wide of target.
Collins and
Kailyn Smith, making her second appearance of the season, played all 90 minutes along the back line, despite temperatures in the high 80s and air quality concerns due to nearby wildfires. Sophomore
Katie Hoog was credited with 87 minutes at center back.
In addition to the shot statistics, nearly three-quarters of Montana's possession came in their attacking half of the field, resulting in seven corner kicks and 11 attempts on frame. Ally Henrikson and Ava Samuelson finished with a game-high five shots each.
The Jaguars will return home to host Eastern Illinois on Thursday night (Sept. 5) at 7:00 p.m. at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.
