Young Yellowjackets Return To Winning Ways

It was a season that featured close decisions, as well as individual and team recognition for the Montana State Billings women’s soccer team.  Head coach Don Trentham feels strongly that this young team, which finished 10-10 on the season and fourth in the very tough Great Northwest Athletic Conference, showed positive improvement and developed a notable chemistry that bodes well for the coming season.
 
“I think we had a lot of positives this season,” Trentham said.  “We improved from the previous season with a team of eight sophomores and eight freshmen.  We put a lot of emphasis on team chemistry and I think it paid off.  The chemistry on this team is the best I’ve seen since I started here.”

According to Trentham, the Yellowjacket formation and style this year was targeted at defense.

“I think that our focus on defensive play may have contributed to the team not scoring a lot of goals when they played a 4-5-1 for part of the season,” Trentham said.  “But that changed at midseason when Ali Gamberg was moved up top and ended up being the most consistent and effective forward for us in holding the ball, creating opportunities, getting assists and scoring some goals.”

The 2008 campaign, which began at home for the first time since 2003, opened with the Sixth Annual MSUB Cup presented by Best Western Clock Tower Inn.  In the opening match of MSUB Cup play, four first-half goals locked the Yellowjackets in a 4-0 loss to 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Dixie State.  Not to be thwarted, MSUB rallied the following day with a thrilling, come-from-behind overtime 2-1 victory over Fort Lewis as the ‘Jackets benefitted from an own goal by Fort Lewis (8:20) into the extra period.  This own goal marked the second in as many days for MSUB, with the men’s soccer team having defeated Dixie State the previous day with a 4-3 overtime victory on an own goal.  The MSUB women continued to play strong, putting away a pesky Eastern New Mexico team, 3-0 for a 2-1 record in August.

It was a mixed bag on the first trip away from home, as MSUB defeated Adams State 2-1 and dropped a 4-0 decision to host Augustana (SD) the next week.  Upon their return to MSUB, the Jackets garnered close, 1-0 decisions versus Mary and Carroll College, with both victories coming in the final 10 minutes of regulation. 

Arguably the toughest conference in Division II, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference featured the National Champion this season in Seattle Pacific and league champion Western Washington.  The ‘Jackets opened conference play with two tough defeats at home against Central Washington (2-0) and a 3-0 setback against nationally ranked Seattle Pacific, but responded with two huge home victories against Saint Martin’s (3-2 in overtime) and a 2-1 decision versus Western Oregon.  This leveled their record in conference play at 2-2.  In the Saint Martin’s game, MSUB scored two goals in the final seven minutes (including the equalizing goal, with just 19 seconds left in regulation) and won the game in overtime with a goal with 23 seconds left in the first overtime.

MSUB also posted two shutout victories over Northwest Nazarene (4-0, 3-0) and won in overtime at Saint Martin’s (2-1) to round out the 10 wins for the Yellowjackets this season.  MSUB finished 10-10 for the fourth .500 or better season in Trentham’s tenure.   The Yellowjackets finished 5-7 in league play, good for a fourth place finish.

The Yellowjackets earned honors on and off the field this season, including the NSCAA Team Academic Award.  This honor was doubled when both the men’s and women’s teams earned the award, making MSUB one of just 59 schools to earn this honor in tandem.  The 2008 season marks the seventh consecutive year in which the women’s team has won this award.  Their 3.37 team grade point average, just one-one hundredth of a point behind Seattle Pacific, marks a true highlight and example of achievement by the student athletes who comprise the MSUB women’s soccer team.

“I am very proud of our players for receiving this award for the seventh-straight year,” Trentham said.  “All of the players put a tremendous amount of time into their studies, so it is great to see the NSCAA and adidas recognize them for their success in the classroom.”

In addition, the Yellowjackets had eight named to the GNAC Scholar-Athlete team with senior Melissa Carlson leading the way with a 3.92 GPA in health and human performance.  The eight MSUB scholar-athletes tied Northwest Nazarene for third-most in the league on the women’s side, and coupled with the men having seven selections, MSUB had a league-best 15 athletes named to the GNAC Scholar-Athlete team.  Along with Carlson, Sara Gress, Carly Valentine, Lauren Anderson, Samantha Boehm, Kari Foreman, Mandy Ploskonka and Chelsea Libby all were named to the team.

Among the individual academic achievements this season, Carlson was named first team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine District Seven Academic All-Star.  Carlson was just one of two GNAC student-athletes to be named to the district team(s).  Four Yellowjackets also were named to the NSCAA/adidas Women’s Soccer Scholar All-West Region team.  Gress was a first team selection, while Carlson, Ploskonka and Libby were named honorable mention.  MSUB was the only GNAC school to have anyone named to the team.

Gress led five Yellowjackets named to the all-league team as she became the first MSUB player to be named first team since MSUB joined the GNAC in 2007.  With two goals and a game winner this season, Gress was also the only Yellowjacket to play every minute.  In addition, Foreman was named to the second team,  Ploskonka, sophomore Ali Gamberg and freshman MyKenzie Deverell were honorable mention selections.

This season, MSUB was led by Gamberg and Ploskonka who each had 13 points.  Foreman led the team with five goals, while Carlson had four goals and 10 points.  Nine different Yellowjackets scored goals this season and Ploskonka and Foreman each had two game winners.  Five Yellowjackets played and started all 20 games, including Gamberg, Ploskonka, Gress, Deverell and Carly Valentine.  

Defensively, the Yellowjackets saw action from two goalkeepers.  Jordan Fenwick played and started in 17 games and tallied a 9-8 record with four shutouts and a 1.70 goals against average.  She had 78 saves and 28 goals against in 1484:02 minutes of action.  Brittany Knudtzon played in six games and started three with a 1-2 record and a 1.56 GAA.  She had 26 saves and six goals allowed. 

With just three seniors departing the program in Gress, Carlson and Ploskonka, the Yellowjackets return 19 players and eight starters.  In addition, Dani Ritter will return from an injury, bringing speed and a little more attack.  With a key group of newcomers, the Yellowjackets are poised to continue the progress that was made this season into 2009.

“One of the biggest challenges we will face next season is the toughness of our conference,” Trentham added.  For example, the team that won the National Championship this season, did not win our league crown.”

“I’m pleased with our chemistry and the progress that our young team made,” Trentham said.  “We are excited about the future and what we have coming back and this season everyone contributed which was a big key to chemistry and our success.”