Men's Soccer Opens 2009 Regular Season at Home Friday

Click here for release in PDF format

BRIEFLY
The MSUB men’s soccer team opens the 2009 regular season at home Friday versus Colorado Christian.  The game time is scheduled for 5 p.m., at Yellowjacket field on the campus of the College of Technology.

JUST FOR KICKS
The Yellowjackets are coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in school history.  MSUB finished the 2008 season with a 10-8 record and a 3-5 mark in the GNAC.  In 2007, the Jackets finished their most successful season in school history, going 13-4-1 overall and a second place finish with 5-2-1 record in their first year in the GNAC.  The Yellowjackets return 14 letterwinners heading into 2009.

SCOUTING MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
The Yellowjackets open the 2009 regular season at home for the first time in school history.  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.

Head coach Dan 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.”

In addition to Charles, the Yellowjackets return seven starters including goalkeeper Matt Mitchell who played in 17 games and started 14 with a 1.06 goals against average.  He had 57 saves with a 9-7 record and four shutouts in 1359:42 minutes.  The Yellowjackets return 30 of 39 goals from last season offensively.

RECAPPING ROCKY EXHIBITION GAME
MSUB played first-year program and Billings rival, Rocky Mountain College, this past weekend in an exhibition game at Yellowjacket Field.  After scoreless first half, Sam Charles changed things for the Yellowjackets just 1:16 into the second half, scoring the first of his two goals en route to a 3-0 win over Rocky.  The Yellowjackets dominated the game with a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal and 9-0 advantage in corner kicks.  Charles scored two goals with assists from Tyler Moriarty sandwiched between a goal and assist from Chris Andre and Zach Yeager, respectively.

SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
The Cougars also open their season with MSUB on Friday.  CCU is coming off a 0-21 season last year and a 0-14 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  The Cougars are led by senior forward Taylor Shade who had 21 starts last year and two assists.  Ryan Schlichtman had two goals as a sophomore in 2008 and Mike McHugh had 21 starts in the midfield and one goal.  Head coach Josh Caucutt is in his second year at the help of the Cougars and welcomes back 14 letterwinners and eight starters. 

INSIDE THE SERIES...
Montana State Billings owns a 6-2-1 record all-time versus Colorado Christian.  The Yellowjackets have won the past three and six of the past seven meetings (6-0-1).  MSUB leads the series in Billings, 3-0 and is 3-2-1 in Lakewood, Colo.  The Yellowjackets won both meetings in 2007, 2-0 at CCU on Aug. 23 and 5-1 in Billings on Sept. 29.  In those two games, Sam Charles scored three goals against the Cougars while Chris Andre had two goals and an assist.  Jarred Weisen had three assists in the Sept. 29 meeting, which tied the school record for assists in a game.

SCOUTING UNIVERSITY OF GREAT FALLS
University of Great Falls also begins its season this weekend.  The Argos battle Rocky on Friday, take on Colorado Christian on Saturday in a neutral site game and play the Yellowjackets on Sunday.  Head coach Tim Brooks begins his third year at the helm of the Argo program.  He has a 13-18-1 record in two years at Great Falls.  Brooks has 18 returning players and 12 new players this season.  Senior Ivan Valencia and junior Chris Worthen lead the returners in goals from a season ago with four each.  Zach Johnson played and started all 17 games, recording an 8-8-1 record with 53 saves and a 0.803 goals against average.

INSIDE THE SERIES...
The Jackets own a 3-0 record in the series with Great Falls.  MSUB is 2-0 on the road and won the most recent game, last year, 1-0 on Sept. 14, at Yellowjacket Field.  Sam Charles scored in the 89th minute (88:49) off a clear out after a free kick with an assist from Chris Andre.  Great Falls has never scored a goal on the Yellowjackets in three meetings and have been outscored 10-0. 

JACKETS THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Montana State Billings was picked third in the annual GNAC Coaches Poll.  Western Washington was the unanimous favorite, followed by Seattle Pacific, MSUB, Saint Martin’s and Northwest Nazarene.  WWU had 25 points to lead the way.

FIRST TIME OPENING AT HOME
For the first time in school history, the MSUB men’s soccer team will open the regular season at home.  Since the program began in 1996, the Yellowjackets have opened on the road or at a neutral site every year.  MSUB is 6-5-2 in regular season openers.

CHARLES IN CHARGE
Senior Sam Charles has basically rewritten the MSUB men’s soccer record book and is looking to put his stamp on the GNAC record book, too.  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.

LIVE ON THE WEB
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.