NAU Women’s Soccer Earns No. 1 Seed in Southeast Division; Championship Begins Thursday

Northern Arizona vs. Idaho

MATCH 1	#1 Northern Arizona vs. #2 Idaho (Thursday, April 15 \| 11 a.m. MST)
MATCH 2	#1 Montana vs. #2 Northern Colorado (Thursday, April 15 \| 2 p.m. MST)
CHAMPIONSHIP	Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner (Saturday, April 17 \| 2:30 p.m. MST)
LOCATION	Ogden, Utah
WATCH	Pluto TV Channel 1050 \| WatchBigSky.com
FOLLOW US	NAU Soccer on Facebook \| NAU Soccer on Twitter \| NAU Soccer on Instagram

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 14, 2021) – As the No. 1 Seed in the Southeast Division in the Big Sky Soccer standings, Northern Arizona will head to their fifth straight conference championship series this week in Ogden, Utah.

The semifinals will begin this Thursday with NAU in the first match of the championship at 11 a.m. MST.

Northern Arizona will open up the series to the No. 2 seed of the Northwest Division, Idaho.

The Vandals post a 5-3 conference record, securing four straight wins over their division opponents, Portland State and Sacramento State. Idaho split a weekend series with Eastern Washington and lost in both its matches against the No. 1 Seed of the Northwest, Montana.

In comparison, Northern Arizona has recorded a 5-1-1 Big Sky spring season, taking its only tie and loss to Northern Colorado in its last weekend conference series April 3 and 5.

Team to team, NAU and UI post very similar results and statistics both offensively and defensively. This season, Idaho is third in the conference with 115 shots, while NAU is behind with just one less at 114. The Vandals and the Lumberjacks are even tied with 16 goals in the spring.

With Idaho and Northern Arizona having similar attacking strategies, the two programs split offensive MVP awards from the Big Sky.

Both Idaho and NAU were honored with the Offensive MVP award by the conference yesterday. Idaho's Myah Merino and Northern Arizona's Madison Montgomery shared the vote, being honored as Co-Offensive MVP of the Year.

However, Montgomery led the Big Sky in points with 17, earning her first Golden Boot award, and also tallied the most goals in the conference with eight.

On the defensive end of the field, the Lumberjack's senior goalkeeper, Taryn Benham, has a slightly higher save percentage (0.725) than Idaho's Avrie Fox (0.711). Benham has two more saves (29) than Fox (27), and the two keepers have each allowed 11 goals during the spring.

The Lumberjacks and the Vandals will be the first match of the championship series, with kickoff at 11 a.m. MST. Also taking the field this Thursday, Montana will host the Southeast's No. 2 seed, Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. MST.

The Big Sky Championship will conclude on Saturday, April 17 when the winners from both matches will face each other at 2:30 p.m. MST. The champion from the final match will receive the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

SEMIFINALS (Thursday, April 15)
Match 1: #1 Northern Arizona vs. #2 Idaho 11 a.m.
Match 2: #1 Montana vs. #2 Northern Colorado 2 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP (Saturday, April 17)
Championship: Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner 2:30 p.m.
*All Times are MST

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Players Mentioned

#6 Madison Montgomery: F; 5' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#6 Madison Montgomery
: 5' 7"; Senior
: F

Players Mentioned

#6 Madison Montgomery

Players Mentioned

#6 Madison Montgomery