Yellowjackets Host No. 18 Western Washington in Regular Season Home Finale Friday

Click here for Game Notes in PDF Format

BRIEFLY
MSUB returns home for the final home game of the season agains No. 18 and West Region top seed, Western Washington Friday at 1 p.m. at the College of Technology Field.  The Yellowjackets stand at 9-8 overall and 4-5 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  WWU enters with a 13-2-1 record and an 8-0-1 record in conference play. 

FIRST LIVE WEBCAST
The Yellowjackets women’s soccer team will have its first home game broadcast live on the internet against Western Washington Friday.  The game will be FREE of charge and fans can access the game by logging on to www.msubillings.edu/athletics and clicking on live broadcasts.  All men’s and women’s home soccer games are scheduled to be broadcast live on the internet in 2009.

SCOUTING MSUB
The Montana State Billings Yellowjacket women’s soccer team enters the week with a 9-8 record and a 4-5 record in conference play.  The Yellowjackets split two games last week with a 3-0 loss at Western Oregon and rebounded for a 2-1 overtime victory at Saint Martin’s.  Senior Sara Gress scored the game winner in the 96th minute on an assist from Ali Gamberg. 

Leading the way for the Jackets this season is Kari Foreman, who has five goals, two assists and 12 points thus far.  She is third on the team with 27 shots and second on the team with 18 on goal and has two games winners.  Ali Gamberg is second on the team with 12 points courtesy of four goals and four assists.  Gamberg has one game winner and leads the team with 37 shots and 25 on goal.  In addition, she has scored three goals and tallied two assists in the past five games.  She had just one score in the first 12 contests.  Melissa Carlson, Chelsea Libby and Mandy Ploskonka each have three goals, while Ploskonka, Samantha Sandau and Gamberg lead the team with four assists each.

In goal, the Jackets are led by Jordan Fenwick who has played and started in 15 games.  She has a 8-7 record with three shutouts to go along with a 1.73 goals against average and 69 saves.  She has allowed 25 goals on the year.  Brittany Knudtzon has two starts this season and both were against Western Oregon. She carries a 1-1 record with a 1.40 gaa and seven saves and has played in a total of five games this season.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK
The Yellowjackets split two games last week as they dropped a 3-0 decision at Western Oregon and won a hard-fought 2-1 overtime decision at Saint Martin’s to sweep the series.  MSUB got behind early against WOU and was unable to recover in a 3-0 loss.  WOU out-shot the ‘Jackets 16-8.  The Wolves held a 1-0 lead at halftime and scored two goals in a span of 10:30 midway through the second half to take command.  The Yellowjackets rebounded with a 2-1 overtime victory at Saint Martin’s last Saturday.  Senior Mandy Ploskonka opened the scoring in the 23rd minute and the Jackets held a 1-0 lead at intermission, but SMU would answer in the 77th minute off a corner kick.  Not to be out done, the Jackets had the last laugh again against Saint Martin’s as senior defender Sara Gress  drove almost the entire length of the field and scored off a great assist from Ali Gamberg in the 96th minute.

SCOUTING WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings enter the week as the top seed in the West Region and conference leader with a 13-2-1 record and a 8-0-1 record in conference play.  WWU enters the winners of three straight and currently own an 11-game unbeaten streak, (10-0-1).  Nationally, the Vikings are ranked 18th according to the latest NSCAA/adidas Coaches Poll. 

Leading the way for WWU this season is Claire Morgan who leads the team with eight goals, seven assists and 23 points.  She also leads the team with 65 shots and 25 on goal and has four game winners.  Molly Shannon is second on the squad with seven goals and two assists with two game winners.  Lucy Miller is third in goals with six to lead the balanced offensive attack.

In goal, the Vikings are led by Kylie Broadbent who has played and started in all 16 games.  She has a 13-2-1 record with six shutouts and 70 saves.  She leads the league with a 0.73 goals against average in 1475:32 minutes of action and only has allowed 12 goals thus far.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Vikings own a 5-0-1 record in the series that dates back to 1998.  WWU won a 2-0 decision earlier this season in Bellingham and went 1-0-1 against the Yellowjackets last year as the teams played to a 2-2 draw in Bellingham and WWU won 2-0 in Billings.

CARLSON ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Senior Melissa Carlson was named to the first team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team Thursday.  Carlson, a midfielder from Renton, Wash., is a health and human performance major and carries a 3.92 grade point average.  She currently is tied for third on the team with three goals and has two assists for eight points.

FIRST WIN IN WASHINGTON
The 2-1 overtime victory at Saint Martin’s last week was the first victory for the women’s soccer program against a Division II opponent in the state of Washington in school history.

FANS, FANS AND MORE FANS
The Oct. 18 3-2 overtime loss to arch-rival Rocky Mountain College set the record for the third largest crowd in school history with 323.  It does, however, mark the largest crowd at the College of Technology Field.  The largest crowd of 423 also was against Rocky, Sept. 20, 2006, at Daylis Stadium as was the second largest of 378 last season (Oct. 3) against Rocky at Daylis as well.

CONDITIONED FOR OVERTIME
The Yellowjackets stand at 3-1 in overtime games this season.  Most recently, the Jackets need extra time to defeat Saint Martin’s 2-1 last weekend.  Sara Gress scored the game winner in the 96th minute for the Jackets.  In addition, the Jackets won overtime games versus Fort Lewis (2-1) and Saint Martin’s in Billings coming from two goals down in the final seven minutes of regulation for a 3-2 overtime win.  Rocky posted a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime victory over MSUB Oct. 18 in the Seventh Annual Rimrock Cup. 

NEW FOUND RIVAL?
This season, the Yellowjackets and Saints of Saint Martin’s have had two incrediable games.  First, MSUB rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation to tie the game with just 19 seconds left in regulation and then to cap it off, scored the game winner with 23 seconds left in the first overtime period for a 3-2 victory in Billings.  To make it even more thrilling, the Jackets returned the favor last week at Saint Martin’s taking the early lead to only see it vanish midway through the second half.  Sara Gress scored the game winner midway through the first overtime as she made an impressive run down the field and pass from Ali Gamberg for the game winner, 2-1. 

DA ALI G SHOW
Ali Gamberg has been impressive in the last five games.  She has three goals and two assists during that span.  Prior to the last five games, she had just one goal in the first 12.  Most recently, she added the game winning assist in overtime as MSUB downed Saint Martin’s last week, 2-1 in overtime.  She also had goals in three consecutive games...at Central Washington  (Oct. 11), Northwest Nazarene (Oct. 16) and Rocky (Oct. 18). 

TAKE IT TO THE CORNER
The Yellowjackets have 58 corner kicks this season compared to 45 by the opponents.  However, MSUB has a 33-17 lead in corner kicks in the second half and the opponents have a 27-24 advantage in the first half.  Last season, the Jackets tallied just 55 corners all season and allowed 87. 

PENALTY FREE JACKETS
Not one Yellowjacket player has been carded through seven games this season.  MSUB had just four during the 2007 season, but two were in the first six games.   

LISTEN TO COACH TRENTHAM
Head coach Don Trentham’s weekly coaches show will be uploaded to the website every Wednesday.  Click on audio library from the front page and select women’s soccer to hear the weekly show.

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.

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.