Yellowjacket Men’s Soccer Opens Saturday with Exhibition Versus Rocky

BILLINGS, Mont . – The Montana State Billings men’s soccer team begins the 2009 season with an exhibition game versus Rocky Mountain College Saturday at 2 p.m., at Yellowjacket Field on the MSUB College of Technology campus. 

“The game against Rocky is a good opportunity to improve before our regular season opener against Colorado Christian next Friday,” head coach Dan McNally said.  “It is important that we continue to build on all the progress we have made so far this preseason. I expect it to be a difficult challenge as it is Rocky’s first-ever men’s soccer game and they should have a lot of energy and excitement.”

Admission to the game is $5 for the general public, $3 for seniors (age 65 and over), $3 for students grades 7-12, $3 for MSUB faculty and staff and MSUB students are free with a current school ID. 

Fans who cannot attend, can watch the game live on the internet.  This season ALL MSUB home men’s and women’s soccer games will be FREE on the internet with live video and audio as the voice of the Yellowjackets, Ken Adelblue, will have the call.

The Yellowjackets are coming off their first back-to-back winning seasons in school history.  In 2007, MSUB finished with a 13-4-1 record, the best in school history and followed with a 10-8 mark this past season.  Highlighted in the 2008 season was the first win in school history at Seattle Pacific, a 4-2 victory during the final week of the regular season.

This season, the Yellowjackets return 14 letterwinners, including two-time Daktronics All-America selection in senior forward Sam Charles.  Charles basically has rewritten the MSUB record book as he has scored 19 goals in back-to-back seasons (tied his own school record) and was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2007.  He finished sixth nationally in points per game (2.44) and fifth nationally in goals per game (1.06) in 2008.  He also was named GNAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2008.

McNally considers two key strengths of the 2009 team to be experience and flat out talent.

“For the first time since I’ve been at MSUB, we are going to be able to field an experienced team of juniors and seniors,” McNally said.  “Some of the sophomores and freshmen will play because some of them are excellent, but the strength of this team is the juniors and seniors who bring the needed experience to do well in Division II men’s soccer.” 

“In terms of talent, McNally added, we have an outstanding group of defenders, two great goalkeepers, we’re loaded in midfield and we have, arguably, the best forward in the country, as well as great forward support.”

The Yellowjackets open the regular season slate a week from Friday (Aug. 28) as they battle Colorado Christian at 5 p.m., at Yellowjacket Field.  It will mark the first time in MSUB men’s soccer history that the team has opened the regular season at home.