The two best teams in the league took care of business to meet in the conference tournament final: No. 1 Montana, a record three-time regular-season champion and RPI 98, hosting No. 2 Weber State, RPI 90 and trying to cap a massive turnaround season with a trophy.

Montana welcomed a record 2,227 fans to the contest, with the standing-room-only affair spilling people onto the grass behind the goals on each end line.

And, after the closest non-goal you’ll ever see in soccer kept Weber State from victory at the end of extra time, it was Montana emerging victorious in front of its massive, partisan crowd, winning a penalty kick shootout 4-2 to lift the trophy and win the Big Sky’s berth to the NCAA Tournament.

It was WSU’s first title-match appearance since 2021, also a loss to Montana; the Wildcats haven’t won the Big Sky tournament since 2013.

Marley Barboeisel, for the Big Sky Conference

A 0-0 knot played out in numerous dramatic moments through 90 minutes of regulation and 19 minutes, 59 seconds of extra time — a marked improvement for WSU, which took a 4-0 beating by the Griz exactly one month ago on the same field.

A Montana foul with seconds ticking down in the second period of extra time gave Weber a free kick on its own third. Goalkeeper Lauren Butorac punched it well downfield and it played toward Montana’s box.

WSU’s Tenzi Knowles got her foot to it in a crowd, beating Montana stalwart keeper Ashlyn Dvorak right and into the net.

Elation. The Wildcats had pierced the conference’s best defense on its own turf and were going dancing.

But the joy was short-lived.

After a quick replay, the referee ruled the ball did not cross the goal line before time expired. The only view available to anyone but the officials came on the ESPN+ stream. Still review of the sequence shows the ball clearly over the line with 1.0 still displaying on the clock, but it’s unclear if the broadcast graphic was accurately synced to the official clock.

So the Big Sky final went to a penalty kick shootout.

Montana survived its Friday semifinal with Idaho the same way; after allowing a goal with 8 seconds left in regulation, that one played through extra time and into a shootout, which the Griz won. Due to a recent rule change in college soccer that calls for tied matches to end in regulation during the regular season, WSU was facing its first shootout of the season — minus one penalty kick faced, a Butorac save months ago at Boise State.

It seemed after surviving the scare that the shootout was Montana’s from the jump.

Brynlee Meyerhoffer stepped to the spot first for Weber State and Dvorak cleared her attempt right. Then Dvorak took Montana’s first kick and punched one past Butorac for a 1-0 lead.

Weber couldn’t make up that difference.

Simone Packer and Grace Kirby each converted makes for the Wildcats. Montana sent injured senior Chloe Seelhoff to the spot for its second take; with a broken collar bone, Seelhoff put a make past Butorac even with her left arm pinned to her side.

Harlee Thomas got WSU’s fourth kick, went left and Dvorak blocked it, meaning Weber had to be perfect the rest of the way.

That wasn’t to be. UM freshman Maycen Slater had the next attempt and rolled a dribbler left that sneaked under the arms of a diving Butorac to deliver the championship to the Griz.

Montana (12-3-4) learns its NCAA Tournament destination Monday. Weber State (12-7-1) just missed joining Utah State and BYU as automatic qualifiers from the state of Utah.

The heartbreak ends a historic turnaround for Big Sky coach of the year Kyle Christensen. The Layton native took over Weber State for his first head-coaching gig after 10 years as an assistant at Utah Valley and, with 12 wins, eclipsed the program’s nine wins over its last three combined seasons with an attacking style that put goals into nets all season.

WSU won just two conference games in the last two seasons, missing the conference tournament both times, but rattled off a 5-2-1 record in league play this year to finish in second place and earn a bye in the tournament.

Weber State scored 35 goals in 20 matches this season, tied for the fourth-most goals scored in the program’s 29 seasons.

The Wildcats are tentatively set to return a score of players next season but notably say goodbye to senior forwards Kirby, Sayler Schlosser and Sammie Sofonia, along with midfielder mainstay Brynlee Meyerhoffer and impact transfer Knowles in her one season from Utah State.