Lady Jacket Soccer Ties St. Edward’s (10/23/05)
Box Score

AUSTIN, TX – The Montana State-Billings women’s soccer team finished its Heartland Conference schedule with a 1-1 draw after two overtimes at St. Edward’s on Sunday.  The Yellowjackets moved to 9-4-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the Heartland Conference.  St. Edward’s is now 5-9-2 overall and 1-0-2 in the conference.

St. Edward’s, the defending Heartland Conference champion, can clinch the No. 2 seed in the Heartland Conference tournament with a win against St. Mary’s next week.  MSU Billings will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament with either a St. Edward’s win or draw.  A St. Mary’s victory would give the No. 2 seed to the Yellowjackets.  Either way, MSU Billings and St. Edward’s will meet in the first round of the conference tournament.  Incarnate Word has clinched the top spot while St. Mary’s will likely receive the No. 4 seed.

A freshman saved the day for the Yellowjackets on Sunday.  MSU Billings gave up another early goal, falling behind 1-0 after Sara Reeves scored for the Hilltoppers at 18:50.  On Friday, Incarnate Word scored just 6:34 into the game to defeat the Jackets 1-0.

Freshman Micah Merrill-Johnson (Salt Lake City, UT) tied the game with an unassisted goal at 72:59 with the biggest goal of her short collegiate career.  It was her third goal of the season; she scored twice in a win over Great Falls on September 11.

The Yellowjackets out-shot the Hilltoppers 21-8 overall and 9-6 in shots on goal.  The Yellowjackets’ top scorers Ally Stroup (Jr., Ojai, CA) and Brittney Sandau (So., Billings, MT) had four and three shots on goal apiece, but they were stopped each time.  Stroup fired a total of 10 shots in the game.  Hilltopper keepers Heather Koudelka and Alexis Adams had four saves apiece.

The Yellowjackets held the Hilltoppers to few opportunities after the opening 45 minutes.  St. Edward’s had five shots in the first half, but managed just one in the second half, one in the first overtime, and one in the second overtime.  Yellowjacket goalkeeper Megan Plank (Jr., Phoenix, AZ) made five saves in the game including one in the first overtime.

MSU Billings will finish its first trip to Texas on Tuesday with a regional counter at Angelo State in San Antonio.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.  The Yellowjackets will return home and wrap up the regular season on October 29 with a non-conference game at Rocky Mountain College.  The Bears defeated the Jackets 2-1 in double overtime on October 12.  MSU Billings makes a return trip to Texas for the Heartland Conference Tournament on November 3-5.  St. Edward’s, last year’s league champion, will host the tournament in Austin.