Cougars Eager For Rematch WSU Hopes To Duplicate Win Over Montana In Ncaa Opener
The scoreboard looked like fuzzy math.
“I remember looking up and seeing the score was 4-2,” said Washington State University goalkeeper Lindsey Jorgensen, shifting back to Sept. 29, the first time this season the WSU women’s soccer team faced Montana.
“I kind of remembered thinking, `Are we winning? I’ve got to pay attention.’ Everything was a little delayed.”
The Cougars, now 21st in the coaches poll, won that match, in a close one that was tied 2-2 at 54:45 and wasn’t sealed until Deka DeWitt scored an insurance goal with 4 minutes left.
Although Jorgensen stayed in the match after colliding with a Grizzlies player with about 20 minutes left, she admits she clearly wasn’t herself.
She sat out the next two matches with a concussion injury.
“That’s what they said it was.
But I don’t know how you can know for sure,” Jorgensen said.
But the three-year starter from North Bend, Wash., is dead sure about one thing: She and the Cougars are looking for a season sweep when they face Montana today in the first round of the NCAA College Cup, the 48-team tournament that will decide the national champion.
Jorgensen has been back since Pac-10 competition began on Oct. 6 - and she’s been nearly perfect. Her 0.88 goals-against average and 93 saves (.853 save percentage) in 17 matches, earned her second-team All-Pacific-10 Conference honors which were announced Tuesday. Senior forward DeWitt, who led the team with 12 goals and 26 points, also was named to the second team.
Montana (15-4-1), riding an eight-match winning streak, enters today’s match as the two-time Big Sky Conference champs. The Grizzlies made their way into the main draw by beating Southland Conference champion Northwestern (La.) State 6-0 in a play-in.
The Cougars (13-6), winners of three straight, have not played in the tournament since 1994.
“I’m excited to play Montana again,” said Jorgensen. “It’s always a great game. I’m excited to show them up a little bit better this time. We kind of went back and forth last time.”
Apparently Montana is just as excited about facing a familiar opponent and one it holds a 4-2-1 series record against.
“`I was just hoping Washington State would make the national tournament, because I thought we might get a shot at playing them again,” UM coach Betsy Duerksen told the Missoulian newspaper. “It’s the draw we dream of.”
Common opponents
The Cougars and the Grizzlies had six common opponents this year and their records were identical at 4-2. Both teams beat Gonzaga, Utah, Portland State and Oregon. Both lost to tournament-bound No. 8 Brigham Young (18-3-1) and Cal Poly (10-6-1).
The Cougars played the two teams closer, losing to BYU 3-2 in double OT and 1-0 to Cal Poly in overtime. Montana lost to BYU 4-2 and was shut out by Cal Poly’s Big West Conference champions 3-0.
Pac-10’s lucky seven
The Pacific-10 Conference has seven teams in the tournament, the most in conference history and the most of any conference in this year’s draw.
Conference champ Washington earned the No. 2 seed in the bracket and will play host to the WSU/Montana winner this weekend.
UCLA is seeded seventh and Cal is eighth. The top seed is Notre Dame (20-0-1). The top 16 teams received first-round byes.
Pac-10 schools that play first-rounders are Washington State, Stanford, Southern Cal and Arizona State.
“Seven is a big number, and now we have to demonstrate that we were deserving to have those bids into the tournament,” WSU coach Dan Tobias said.
Idaho’s Montana connection
Three starters on Montana’s rosters, Glenna Ryan, Casey Joyner and Elisa Scherb, played high school soccer in North Idaho.
Midfielder Ryan, a senior from Lake City High, had an assist in UM’s first match against WSU. Joyner is a freshman who graduated from Coeur d’Alene High, and junior Elisa Scherb is a Sandpoint High graduate. Scherb sprained her ankle against Idaho State in mid-October and has played sparingly since. However, she could start today.