Yellowjackets Head to Western Oregon and Saint Martin's

Game Notes in PDF Format

BRIEFLY
MSUB returns to the road looking to improve on its fourth place standing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  The Yellowjackets travel to Western Oregon (Thursday) and Saint Martin’s on Saturday.  The Jackets defeated both Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s earlier this season in Billings.  MSUB is 8-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play.  With a win this week, the Yellowjackets can equal their win total from a year ago with three games to play.

SCOUTING MSUB
The Montana State Billings Yellowjacket women’s soccer team enters the week with a 8-7 record and a 3-4 record in conference play.  The Yellowjackets snapped a two game conference skid last week with an impressive 4-0 victory over Northwest Nazarene and followed with a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Rocky Mountain College in the Seventh Annual Rimrock Cup.  The Jackets fought valiently to come from behind before losing on a free kick from about 35-yards out. 

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 23 shots and second on the team with 14 on goal and has two games winners.  Ali Gamberg is second on the team with 11 points courtesy of four goals and three assists.  Gamberg has one game winner and leads the team with 34 shots and 23 on goal.  In addition, she has scored three goals in the past three games to lead the team.  She had just one score in the first 12 contests.  Melissa Carlson and Chelsea Libby each have three goals, while Mandy Ploskonka and Samantha Sandau lead the team with four assists each.

In goal, the Jackets are led by Jordan Fenwick who has played and started in 14 games.  She has a 7-7 record with three shutouts to go along with a 1.79 goals against average and 66 saves.  She has allowed 24 goals on the year.  Brittany Knudtzon earned her first start of the season against Western Oregon and carries a 1-0 record with a 0.54 gaa and seven saves.  She has played in a total of four games this season.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK
The Yellowjackets got back on the winning track this past week as they split two contests.  MSUB pulled within one game of .500 in league play with a convincing 4-0 home victory over Northwest Nazarene and dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime decision to arch-rival Rocky Mountain College in the Seventh Annual Rimrock Cup.  Against Rocky, the Yellowjackets were down 1-0 and 2-1 in the second half and rallied to tie the game each time. 

SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
The Wolves enter the week with a 5-7-2 record and are 1-2-1 in their past four games, including a 2-1 setback at MSUB Oct. 4.  WOU is 1-2-2 in conference play.  The Wolves are led by Melinda Ingalls who leads the team with eight goals and two assists for 18 points.  She leads the team with 29 shots and has two game winners.  Second on the team in scoring is Brenna Lander and Kristen Werhane who have four points each.  Lander has two scores, while Werhane has one goal and is tied for the team lead in assists with two. 

In goal, Brittney Rigtrup leads the way with a 5-4-1 record as she has allowed 12 goals and carts a 1.28 goals against average.  Rigtrup has 53 saves and three shutouts in 846:20 minutes of work.  Kelsie Blachly has played in eight games and started two.  She has a 0-2-1 record with a 2.65 gaa and 30 saves. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
MSUB evened the series at 2-2 with a 2-1 victory Oct. 4 in Billings.  WOU got on the board first in the 16th minute, but the Yellowjackets rallied just over a minute later as Carly Valentine scored her first  career goal and senior captain Mandy Ploskonka scored her first goal in the 33rd minute as MSUB took a 2-1 lead into half and for the game.  The teams split two games last season with both teams winning at home.  WOU won the first meeting, Sept. 11, 2000.

SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN’S
The Saints enter the week with a 4-9-1 record and have won just one game since Sept. 20.  SMU is 1-5-1 during that span and have scored 10 goals and allowed 13.  Prior to Sept. 22, the Saints had just eight goals and allowed 12. 

Jill Jensen leads the team with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points.  She also leads the squad with 51 shots and two game winners.  Kayci Donatelli is second with three goals and two assists for eight points.  Aleigh Mansfield is second on the team in assists with three.

In goal, Ashley Engel leads the way with a 4-9-1 record and a 1.89 goals against average.  She has 79 saves with 24 goals against in 13 games. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Yellowjackets own a 2-1 record in the series including a come-from-behind overtime victory in Billings, Oct. 2. The Jackets posted a 3-2 win for its first conference victory of the year.  Jill Jensen scored a goal in each half to give SMU a 2-0 lead.  With just under seven minutes to go in regulation, the Jackets caught fire and scored two goals to tie  and won it in overtime.  In 2007, the Jackets won a 6-2 decision in Billings in the first meeting and dropped a 2-0 decision in Lacey later in the season.

DA ALI G SHOW
No one on the team has been hotter in the last three games than Ali Gamberg.  She has scored three impressive goals in each of the last three games.  Gamberg’s first goal and second of the season came as the equalizer in a 2-1 loss at Central Washington Oct. 11.  The goal came just over two minutes into the second half to tie the game at one.  She added another goal, the fourth and final goal, in a 4-0 home victory over Northwest Nazarene Oct. 16 and scored the equalizer again in the 47th minute against Rocky Mountain College this past Saturday to tie the game at one.  RMC eventually won the game 3-2 in overtime on a free kick.  Through the last three games, she has three goals one assist for seven points to lead the team.  She also has 11 shots and nine on goal.

‘JACKETS LIKE THE CRUSADERS
The Yellowjackets posted their second-straight 4-0 victory over NNU this past Thursday.  Since 2007, the Jackets now have outscored NNU 11-1 in three meetings.  The Jackets travel to Nampa Nov. 6.

TAKE IT TO THE CORNER
The Yellowjackets have 56 corner kicks this season compared to 41 by the opponents.  However, MSUB has a 33-14 lead in corner kicks in the second half and the opponents have a 26-22 advantage in the first half.  Last season, the Jackets tallied just 55 corners all season and allowed 87. 

CLUTCH JACKETS
The Yellowjackets scored two goals in the last seven minutes of regulation and scored a goal in overtime for a dramatic 3-2 victory over Saint Martin’s Oct. 2.  It was the Yellowjackets’ first conference victory of the season.  Even more impressive, the Jackets scored the equalizer with just 19 seconds left in regulation and won the game with 23 seconds left in the first overtime. 

VALENTINE’S DAY
Sophomore Carly Valentine scored her first collegiate assist Oct. 2 in a 3-2 victory over Saint Martin’s.  She followed that up with the equalizing goal in the first half of a 2-1 victory over Western Oregon Oct. 4.  Her goal came just 75 seconds after WOU took a 1-0 lead. 

FOREMAN NAMED POW AGAIN
Sophomore midfielder Kari Foreman was named co-GNAC Player of the Week Oct. 6, her second time this season.  Foreman scored two goals helping the Jackets to a 2-0 record in conference play last week.  Foreman scored the equalizing goal with 19 seconds left in regulation and scored the game winner with 23 seconds left in the first overtime in a 3-2 victory over Saint Martin’s Oct. 2.  Foreman leads the team with four goals on the year.  This week Foreman shares the honor with Jill Jensen who scored five goals last week for Saint Martin’s. 

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.

WINNING LATE AGAIN
Four of the seven Yellowjacket wins this season have been in late dramatic fashion, including four of the last five.  MSUB posted 1-0 victories over Mary and Carroll College with late goals and then scored three goals in the final 17 minutes of regulation and overtime to beat Saint Martin’s.  MSUB also needed to come from behind to defeat Western Oregon Oct. 4.

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.