Lady Jackets Host Thrifty Cup This Weekend (9/1/05)
BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings
women’s soccer team will host the Fourth Annual MSU Billings
Thrifty Cup this weekend. There will be three games played over
the Labor Day Weekend with one each on Saturday, Sunday and
Monday.
Admission to each game is $5 for adults and
$3 for seniors and students. Also playing in the tournament are
St. Mary’s (TX) and Adams State (CO). The Yellowjackets will face
Adams State on Saturday and St. Mary’s on Monday. Adams State and
St. Mary’s will square off in a neutral site game on Sunday. All
games kick off at 1:00 p.m. at the MSU Billings College of
Technology.
The Yellowjackets are coming off a successful
season-opening trip to Colorado during which they went 1-1-1.
They dropped the opener at Colorado State-Pueblo, 2-1, before
tying Fort Lewis, 1-1, and defeating Mesa State, 3-1.
Sophomore midfielder Brittney Sandau (Billings, MT) scored a goal in each of the
three games. The school record for most consecutive games with at
least one goal is five, set by Abby Farmer in 1998. Sandau’s
current streak is the sixth time a Yellowjacket player has scored
a goal in three consecutive games.
After being held scoreless in the first two
games, junior midfielder Ally
Stroup (Ojai, CA) broke through for a pair of goals in the win
against Mesa State. The two goals gave Stroup 17 for her career,
14 short of the school record with almost two full seasons
remaining. She also recorded two assists over the weekend,
extending her school-record total for career assists to 17. With
51 career points, she is 20 points shy of Margot Merrill-Johnson’s
school record 71.
The 1-1-1 record notwithstanding, the
Yellowjackets controlled much of the time in last week’s three
games. They out shot their opponent in each of the three games
and for the week held a 68-41 shot advantage. Forty of the
Jackets’ 68 shots were on goal for an impressive .588 shot on goal
percentage. However, opposing goalkeepers made 35 saves over the
three games.
Of the 17 field players who saw action for
the Yellowjackets last week, 11 of them had at least one shot on
goal. Stroup peppered the opposing keepers with 20 total shots
and a dozen on goal. Nine of Sandau’s 11 shots were on goal,
including the three that found the net. Freshmen Chelsea Libby (Puyallup, WA) and Katie Ginther (Puyallup, WA) combined for eight shots on goal.
On the defensive side of the ball,
MSU Billings relied on a mix of veteran and rookie players.
Senior Lacey Albrent (Ojai, CA) and sophomores Janica Larsen (Salt Lake City) and Vanessa Edwards (Kent, WA) anchored the defense. Freshman Sara
Gress (Boise, ID) played in all three games, starting two of
them.
In goal, junior captain Megan
Plank (Phoenix, AZ) played all but 1:50 over the weekend. She
made 21 saves, posting a 1.25 goals against average. Her 21 saves
pushed her career total to 212, breaking the school record held by
Gretchen Kaus.
The Yellowjackets should receive solid
regional competition from both of this weekend’s opponents. Adams
State, 6-13-1 a year ago, is off to a 1-1-0 start. The Grizzlies
defeated Colorado School of Mines, 1-0 in double overtime, in
their season opener last week. They dropped a 2-0 decision to
Northern State on Sunday. Goalkeeper Heather Boyd was named the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s defensive player of the
week. She made 10 saves and posted a 0.93 goals against average.
Adams State plays at Rocky Mountain College on Thursday.
St. Mary’s is expected to be a potential
contender in the NCAA Midwest Region. The Rattlers finished last
season 10-8-2 overall and ranked ninth in the final regional poll
of 2004. They are off to a 1-0-0 start after defeating Angelo
State 2-1 last Sunday. Toni Tullius and Deann Lopez each scored
goals in the win. The Rattlers also return 2004 Heartland
Conference MVP Kyle Hyslop.
Following this weekend’s games, the
Yellowjackets host a pair of non-region games on September 10 and
11. They will host University of Mary on the 10th and
the new University of Great Falls program on the 11th. |
