Yellowjacket Men’s Soccer Third in GNAC Preseason Poll

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Montana State Billings men’s soccer team has been selected third in the annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason poll, the conference office announced.  The Yellowjackets received 15 ½ points, behind unanimous conference favorite Western Washington with 25 points.

“This year’s men’s soccer conference will be very competitive,” MSUB head coach Dan McNally said.  “I’m sure each team believes it can win the conference championship.  I think we have a really good team, but we have to prove that every day in practice and in the games.”

Seattle Pacific was second in the voting with 17 ½ points, followed by MSUB and Saint Martin’s edged Northwest Nazarene for fourth 9 ½ points to 7 ½ points, respectively.  Points are awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.

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) and was named GNAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2008.

Charles has won back-to-back GNAC scoring titles and is on pace to become the conference’s all-time leading scorer.  His 85 career point total (38 goals, nine assists) is just eight points off the GNAC record of 93 by Bobby McAlister of Seattle University (2002-2005).  Charles has 45 career goals and 101 points, however the GNAC only recognizes the years MSUB has been in the league (2007 – present).  In addition, Charles scored seven goals and two assists for 16 points as a freshman while MSUB was in the Heartland Conference, which are not counted in the GNAC total.

The Yellowjackets host Rocky Mountain College in an exhibition game, Saturday at 2 p.m., at Yellowjacket Field on the MSUB College of Technology campus.  MSUB opens the regular season Fri., Aug. 28, at 5 p.m. versus Colorado Christian at Yellowjacket Field.  It is the first time in MSUB men’s soccer history that the Yellowjackets have opened the regular season at home. 

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.