Men's Soccer Travels to Mary for Two Games

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BRIEFLY
The MSUB men’s soccer team looks to build on a three game winning streak as it travels to the University of Mary for two games.  The Jackets face Jamestown in a neutral site game Friday at 12 p.m. central time at Mary, and face the Marauders on Sunday at 11 a.m.  The Jackets stand at 7-4 overall and now are 2-1 in conference play after two key home conference victories this past week.

SCOUTING MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
The Yellowjackets begin the final stretch of the regular season schedule as six of their final seven games are away from home.  The Jackets begin a four game road trip versus Jamestown College and at Mary this weekend.  MSUB is 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Leading the way for the Jackets this season in Sam Charles who has a team and conference best-13 goals on the year in 11 games. Charles also has three assists and 23 points.  He also leads the team with 56 shots and 32 on goal.  He has five games winners and had his first penalty kick of the season against Jamestown, followed by his second against Saint Martin’s.   For his career, Charles is a perfect 10 for 10 in PK’s.  Jarred Weisen, Garion Holian and Justin Hoskins each have two goals on the year.  Weisen is second on the team with eight points and is tied for the team lead with four assists.  Scott Dixon also leads the team with four assists. 

In goal, the Jackets are led by Matt Mitchell who leads the team with a 6-3 record and an 0.79 goals against average.  Mitchell has 23 saves, seven goals against and three shutouts.  Sander Tollefson saw his first action since the second game of the year.  He is 1-1 with five goals against and 11 saves.  Michael Sheridan saw his first action of the season as head coach Dan McNally gave each goalkeeper approximately 30 minutes against Jamestown, Sept. 27  Sheridan had one save against the Jimmies.    

THE LAST TIME OUT
The Yellowjackets posted two key home conference victories this past week.  The Jackets pulled out a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Saint Martin’s and also gutted out a tough 1-0 victory over Seattle Pacific.  Sam Charles scored the game winner on a penalty kick against the Saints for his second score of the game and Jurell Linford scored the lone goal against Seattle Pacific.  The Jackets moved into a first place tie with Seattle Pacific after winning both games last week.

SCOUTING JAMESTOWN
The Jimmies enter the week with a record of 1-10-1.  Jamestown suffered its worst defeat of the season against MSUB, 8-0 and have scored just in its past four games.   The Jimmies have allowed 15 goals during that stretch.  JC’s last two games have been against Great Falls - a 4-1 loss in Great Falls and a 1-0 loss at Jamestown.  MSUB defeated Great Falls 1-0 in Billings earlier this year.

LAST MEETING WITH THE JIMMIES
MSUB leads the all-time series 2-0 and have outscored the Jimmies 15-1 in the two meetings.  MSUB posted its second largest margin of victory in school history with an 8-0 victory over JC Sept. 27 in Billings.  This will be the first road or neutral site game in series history.  Seven different Yellowjackets scored goal against Jamestown the first time this season.

SCOUTING UNIVERSITY OF MARY
The Marauders enter the week with a 1-7-1 record after winning their first game of the season last week with a 3-2 victory over Jamestown.  The Marauders had not scored since scoring one goal in a 3-1 loss to MSUB, Sept. 8.  For the season UM has just four goals on the year through nine games.

Leading the way for the Marauders is Alex Calder who leads the team with two goals.  He also leads the team with 15 shots and nine on goal as well as scoring on a penalty kick.  Ryan Mahylis and Josh Pape each have a goal as well, while Pape leads the team with one assist.  The Marauders have been out-scored 21-4 this season and 21-1 in assists.  UM has 77 shots compared to 174 for its opponents and are being out shot in shots on goal, 87-37.

In goal, the Marauders are led by Derek Luptak who is 1-4-1 on the year with a 1.45 goals against average in six games.  He has allowed nine  goals and has 38 saves with one shutout.  Will Corcoran and Josh Norman have played and started in three games combined, allowing 12 goals to go along with 28 saves and a 0-3 record.

LAST TIME AGAINST UNIVERSITY OF MARY
The Jackets defeated Mary 3-1 on Sept. 8 in Billings.  Sam Charles recorded his first hat trick of the year and his third of his career.  MSUB boasts a 14-5 record in the series and is 4-4 away from Billings.

MARAUDERS AND JACKETS ON THE NET
The MSUB vs. Mary game slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. central time will be streamed LIVE on the internet at www.northernsun.tv.  Fans can log on to the website and get the game streamed free of charge through Penn Atlantic and the Northern Sun Conference.

SAM’S CLUB
Sam Charles ranks fifth nationally in goals per game (1.18) and sixth nationally in points at a 2.64 clip in this week’s NCAA Division II national statistical report.  Charles leads the GNAC with 29 points, including 13 goals and three assists. He is the only GNAC player ranked in the top 10 in any category.

THE UNFAMILIAR ROAD
The Yellowjackets are making just their third road trip of the season this week and will play just their second true road game of the year.  MSUB began the year with two neutral site games against Dixie State and Metro State in Salt Lake City, then had its first road game at Fort Lewis College.  The Jackets are 2-2 overall away from College of Technology Field. 

ROAD WARRIORS
The Yellowjackets, who hardly have had any road games to this point, now will play six of their final seven games away from Billings.  The lone home game is Oct. 31 in a key GNAC game against Western Washington.  MSUB is 2-2 away from home, 1-1 in neutral site games and 0-1 in road games.

TOUGH IN THE CLOSE ONES
MSUB is 4-4 in one goal games this season.  In fact, all four losses have come by one goal.  The Jackets began the season with a 4-3 double overtime victory over Dixie State, then lost to No. 7 Metro State, 2-1, lost to NAIA No. 6 Simon Fraser, 1-0, beat Great Falls, 1-0, lost to Northwest Nazarene, 2-1 and lost at Fort Lewis, 2-1.  The Jackets won two one goal games this past week with a 2-1 victory over Saint Martin’s and a 1-0 victory over Seattle Pacific in conference play. 

DIXON DISHES
Scott Dixon had his team-leading fourth assist of the season last week against Saint Martin’s as he, Tom Milroy and Sam Charles hooked up for a score.  With that assist, Dixon ties Thomas Pertuit as the all-time leader in MSUB history with 14 assists. 

CHARLES NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
Junior forward, Sam Charles, earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week as he scored four goals helping the Jackets to a 2-1 record.  He had his third career hat trick against the University of Mary, tying the career best for hat tricks in the GNAC.  He also had the game winner in the 89th minute against Great Falls.  The week before, Charles earned co-weekly honor as he broke the school record for goals in a career and points in a career against nationally ranked opponents.

SAM’S TRICK
Sam Charles recorded his third career hat trick in the GNAC in 3-1 victory over Mary Sept. 8.  The hat trick ties him for the most all-time.  In addition, it was the 20th three goal (or more) game in the history of the GNAC. 

BREAKOUT IN ‘07
The Yellowjacket men’s soccer team had a breakout season in 2007.  MSUB won 13 games which is the most in school history.  The Jackets went 13-4-1 in Dan McNally’s third year at the helm of the program.  MSUB was second in the GNAC with a 5-2-1 record and just missed out on its first NCAA Tournament appearance.  Not only did individual players break school records, the team did as well.  MSUB tallied a school record 46 goals in 2007 and was just as stout defensively.  MSUB allowed a school record low 13 goals in 2007 and had a 0.71 goals against average along with a school best nine shutouts.

MSUB SOCCER FIELD WINS AWARD
The newly renovated MSUB Soccer Field won a NCAA Community Engagement Award as the top community relations effort submitted from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  MSUB was one of 22 schools to receive the award and also received a $500 grant from the NCAA to be used in future community-engagement efforts.

JACKETS TABBED LEAGUE FAVORITE
The MSUB men’s soccer team has been selected as preseason conference favorite by the league coaches.  The Jackets received 23 points and three first place votes, edging out Western Washington by two points overall and one first place vote for the top spot.  Following the Vikings is Seattle Pacific who received 15 points after a 7-6-3 record and a 2-3-3 record in conference play.  Saint Martin’s was tabbed fourth with 10 points after going 3-16 last season and Northwest Nazarene was picked fifth as a first year men’s soccer program with six points.  Points are awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.

LISTEN TO COACH MCNALLY
Head coach Dan McNally’s weekly coaches show will be uploaded to the website every Wednesday.  Click on audio library from the front page and select men’s soccer to hear the weekly show.

TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Yellowjackets are ranked nationally in a number of areas.  The Jackets are 38th in scoring offense at 2.27 per game, 43rd in team goals against average (1.08), 42nd in shutout percentage (0.36) and 78th in save percentage (0.755).

INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS NATIONALLY
Scott Dixon, who tied the school career assists record last week is ranked 79th nationally in assists per game at a 0.4 clip.  In addition, Chris Andre and Jarred Weisen are tied for 97th nationally in assists per game at an 0.36 clip.  In addition, Matt Mitchell is 23rd in goals against average (0.792) and is 59th in save percentage at 0.767.

WWW.MSUBILLINGS.EDU/ATHLETICS
Montana State Billings launched a newly redesigned website in August.  The new website features improved navigation, improved layout and a crisper look.  Log on and checkout the new www.msubillings.edu/athletics for all MSUB athletic information.