MISSOULA — Eliza Bentler and Ashlyn Dvorak carry a special and unique bond with Montana soccer.
The Billings natives grew up in the game together, and have been side-by-side in a dynastic run with the Grizzlies.
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It all started with a pair of thrill-seeking kids.
"Ash and I kind of bonded through that we both really liked scary rides, like the thriller rides when MontanaFair would come to Billings," Bentler said. "And so a lot of our friends didn't like those rides. So we just made it a thing to go to the fair together every year so we would go on the rides together."
The two began playing soccer together in fifth grade and were teammates on the club circuit, but they went separate ways in high school. Dvorak starred as a goalkeeper at West High, while Bentler competed and shined at Senior High.
"I remember playing against Eliza in high school and she was always our main target of, we need to mark her," Dvorak said. "We cannot let her shoot. We can't let her dribble. It was always friendliness on and off the field when we were rivals. I remember sticking up for her during the game a couple of times just because those matches on the rival days can get a little dirty sometimes, but I always have Eliza's back no matter what."
Dvorak was the first to commit to Montana, and the excitement was palpable when Bentler began garnering the attention of the Griz coaching staff.
"She just said, what are you doing right now? And I knew that she knew from the tone of her voice," Bentler recalled. "And I said, I'm just walking around the Oval (on the UM campus). I'm on my visit, it's going really well. I'm really excited. And she was like, you know, just squealing from the other side of the phone. It was awesome."
"I was just so happy that there was just a chance that we would get to play with each other for years to come," Dvorak added. "And it's crazy now that we're seniors — and don't get me started about it being some of our last games together. It's just been a really special experience to have her here with me."
After graduating from high school in 2022, the two reunited as teammates at Montana, and through the ebbs and flows and high and lows they've been side by side through it all with the program's success, to celebrating each other's accomplishments.
"I'm just so happy to be a part of this team," Bentler said. "And it still kind of blows my mind sometimes, the success that we've had and just how grateful I am to be a part of this team with everyone that connects so well. The way that Ash and I connected from fifth grade, everyone connects that way. And we're just so close. And I think that's what works for us."
There's been two instances of scoring connections between them, and three Big Sky Conference championships. Individually, Bentler has played in 67 games over four seasons, has started all season as a senior, and has 10 career goals and six assists and has played 2,378 total minutes.
Dvorak will be back next season for Montana, a major return for a Griz squad that loses a number of key members. The standout keeper redshirted in 2022, was a first-team All-Big Sky selection in 2023, missed most of last year due to injury, but in 2025 she's well on her way to another all-conference nod. She's played in 41 career games, 22 of which she pitched shutouts.
"Going through my career here as a Griz, there's been hard times, there's been great times," Dvorak said. "And I think what really has helped me through the process is having teammates like Eliza pushing me and supporting me through everything. And just knowing that they have my back and that I will always have the support systems that I do in place here has been such a key component to me coming back from injury.
"And I honestly couldn't do it without them, without the support of my teammates and the support of my coaches."
Now it's about soaking up the final days together on the pitch as two Montana kids living out a dream.
"The most special part is just the friendship that we have," Dvorak said. "She's one of my best friends. We call each other for-lifers because we've known each other for almost all our life, like more than half of our life. So there is like a special connection, a special bond that we've had through the years that we've developed."
"It's always just nice to have someone that I've always known that I can trust because whatever she says, I know it's going to be right and that I can trust her and that she can trust me," Bentler added. "We came in together and we're going to finish this together and we're just always going to be happy for each other."
