Yellowjacket Men's Soccer Travels to Seattle Pacific and Northwest Nazarene

Game Notes in PDF format

BRIEFLY
The MSUB men’s soccer team returns to conference action this weekend at Seattle Pacific on Saturday and then at Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday for two key conference matchups.  The Yellowjackets, ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Division II West Region Poll, stand at 8-2-2 overall and 2-0-2 in league play, while Seattle Pacific enters with a 9-2-3 record and are 2-1-2 in the GNAC.  Northwest Nazarene enters the weekend with a 5-7-1 record and a 0-3-1 record in conference play.  The Crusaders play host to Western Washington on Saturday, before entertaining the Yellowjackets Oct. 20

SCOUTING MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
The Yellowjackets are led by senior forward Sam Charles who leads the team and the league with 14 goals and 33 points.  He also ranks in the top 10 nationally in points per game and goals per game.  Charles leads the league in those areas, too.  Second on the team in scoring is sophomore Garion Holian who has five goals and one assist for 11 points. He is second in shots with 32 and second in shots on goal with 21.  Chris Andre is third in scoring with 11 points and leads the team and the conference with seven assists on the year.  Jeremy DeHerrera is second on the team in assists with six.  Jarred Weisen and Tyler Moriarty each have two goals, while Ross Carmichael has one to roundout the goal scoring for MSUB.

Between the posts, the Yellowjackets are led by Matt Mitchell who has played and started in 11 games.  He has logged 1050:31 minutes with 51 saves and a 0.94 goals against average which is good for second in the league.  Mitchell leads the league in saves and saves per game (4.64).  He has a 7-2-2 record with three assists. 

As a team, MSUB has 28 goals on the year with 32 assists for 88 points.  The team has 167 shots for a .168 percentage.  The Yellowjackets have tallied 88 shots on goal for a .527 average and have eight game-winners.  MSUB’s opponents have 12 goals, eight assists and 32 points.  The opponents have 158 shots (0.76), with 74 on goal (.468).

RECAPPING LAST WEEK
The Yellowjackets earned a hard-fought 3-2 overtime victory at the University of Mary Oct. 9.  MSUB held a 1-0 lead, but the Marauders came back and tied the score just 1:05 into the second half.  MSUB would have the answer as Sam Charles scored the first of his two goals 12 minutes later.  Mary tied the game in the 75th minute as the game went to overtime.  Charles tallied his league-leading fifth game winner with an assist from Chris Andre 4:43 into the first overtime on an extremely cold day in Bismarck, N.D.  MSUB dominated the game statistically to the tune of 17-5 in shots and 8-3 in shots on goal.  MSUB had six corner kicks in the game as well.  The Yellowjackets were supposed to play at Rocky Mountain College Oct. 11, but due to snow and cold temperatures the game was moved to Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. at Wendy’s Field on Rocky’s campus. 

SCOUTING SEATTLE PACIFIC
The Falcons enter the game with a 9-2-3 record and a 2-1-2 mark in conference play.  SPU comes off a 3-2 loss at Saint Martin’s Thursday.  SMU sweeps the Falcons for the year as SMU’s Vlad Voin scores the game-winner in the 75th minute.  The Falcons entered the game 25th nationally and ranked third in the latest NCAA Division II West Region Poll.

Leading the way for the Falcons this season is Tyler Schultz who leads the team with six goals on the year.  He has one assist on the year and 13 points.  Second on the team in scoring is Alec Nelson who has four goals and two assists for 10 points.  Drew Williams leads the team with six assists on the year. 

In goal, SPU is led by Kaleb Kuehn who has played in 13 games and started 11.  He has allowed all 12 goals and has 29 assists on the year with an 8-2-3 record and six shutouts.  Zach Johnson has seen action in two games with one start.

As a team, the Falcons have 23 goals on the year with 16 assists for 62 points. SPU had 205 shots on the year with 84 on goal and nine game winners with two converted penalty kicks.  SPU has allowed 12 goals on the year tying MSUB with the fewest in the league. 

INSIDE THE SERIES...
SPU leads the all-time series 5-3-2, including 5-1-1 in Seattle.  The teams tied the first matchup this season in Billings on Sept. 19, 1-1.  MSUB has a 3-0-1 record in the past four meetings and won both meetings last year, including a 4-2 win in Seattle for the first win in school history there.

LAST TIME OUT VERSUS THE FALCONS
The Yellowjackets scored a first half goal just 17 minutes in by Sam Charles and an assist from Jeremy DeHerrera.  SPU’s Jon Pearman scored the equalizer in the 72nd minute as both teams had ample opportunities to win it in regulation and overtime.  Both goalkeepers went the distance and tallied nine saves combined.  SPU dominated the shots (18-10) and corner kicks (8-2), but the Yellowjacket defense was up to the challenge.

SCOUTING NORTHWEST NAZARENE
The Crusaders begin the weekend with a 5-7-1 record and an 0-3-1 record in conference play.  NNU is led by Alex Mangeac who leads the team with seven goals and 17 points.  Renatto Brito is second with 11 points on five goals.  Mangeac and John Stump lead the team with three assists each.

In goal, the Crusaders have used two keepers for much of the season Alexander Engemann began the year playing eight games with six starts, but Cesar Lira came on the scene against the Yellowjackets in Billings and has four games played with three starts.

As a team, the Crusaders have scored 24 goals with 14 assists for 62 points.  They have 164 shots (.146) with 82 on goal (.500) and are 3 for 4 in penalty kicks.  The opponents have scored 28 goals with 19 assists for 75 points.

INSIDE THE SERIES...
MSUB leads the all-time series 5-4-1, but NNU leads 2-0-1 since the Crusaders began intercollegiate men’s soccer a year ago. NNU swept the season series last year with a 2-1 victory in Billings and a 3-2 win in Nampa.  This season, the teams tied the first meeting in Billings, 2-2.  MSUB had a 2-0 lead 45:54 in, but NNU roared back scoring two goals in the second half.  The equalizer came as John Stump got his foot on a ball in a mass of humanity in front of the net and poked it in.  Both teams had chances to win the game in overtime, but the game remained tied.  Cesar Lira tallied eight saves for NNU in his season debut. 

SIXTH REGIONALLY
The Montana State Billings men’s soccer team remains sixth in the NCAA Division II West Region Poll, announced Tuesday.  Sonoma State took over the top spot in the region this week and has a 10-1-2 in-region record and an 11-1-2 overall mark.  Cal State-Los Angeles dropped to second with an 11-2-1 record.  Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe, Seattle Pacific, moved from fourth to third and boasts an 8-1-3 record.  Cal State San Bernardino is fourth (10-3), followed by Grand Canyon (10-1-1) and MSUB (6-2-2 with an overall mark of 8-2-2).

LEADING THE LEAGUE
The Yellowjackets lead the GNAC in a number of team and individual areas.  The ‘Jackets are tops in the league in points (88), points per game (7.33), goals (28), goals per game (2.33), assists (32), assists per game (2.67), saves (62) and saves per game (5.17).  Sam Charles is third in shots (49) and is second in shots per game (4.08). He leads the league in points (33), points per game (2.75), goals (14), goals per game (1.17) and game-winning goals (5).  Chris Andre leads the league in assists (7) and assists per game (0.58).  Jeremy DeHerrera is tied for second in assists with six and third in assists per game at an 0.50 clip.  Matt Mitchell is second in goals against average at 0.94 and leads the league in saves (51), save percentage (.823) and saves per game (4.64).

ANDRE NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior forward, Chris Andre, was named GNAC Player of the Week as he tallied the game-winning goal against Western Washington.  He sparked the Yellowjackets to a 2-1 double overtime win at WWU which was the first win in school history in Bellingham.  It was Andre’s first POW honor of the season and third for the Yellowjackets. 

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Montana State Billings men’s soccer team is ranked nationally in a number of areas.  The Yellowjackets are 32nd nationally in scoring offense (2.33), 37th in team goals against average (0.93), 51st in shutout percentage (0.33) and 22nd in save percentage (0.838).  Individually, Sam Charles is sixth nationally in points per game (2.75) and fifth in goals per game (1.17).  Chris Andre is 12th in assists per game (0.58), while Jeremy DeHerrera is 32nd (0.5) and Charles is 67th (0.42).  Matt Mitchell is 45th in goals against average (0.943) and is 32nd in save percentage at a 0.823 clip.

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. 

MCNALLY HITS .500
With a 3-1 win over Jamestown (Sept. 20), Dan McNally  reached the .500 mark for the first time in his career.  He started his career 10-24-2 in his first two years and has gone 31-14-3 since.  He is the all-time winningest coach at MSUB in men’s soccer and has led the team to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in school history.  McNally now is 41-38-5.

MCNALLY COACHES’ SHOW
Each week fans have the opportunity to log on to www.msubillings.edu/athletics and listen to Dan McNally’s Coaches Show.  McNally will breakdown the previous week and preview the upcoming with the voice of the Yellowjackets, Ken Adelblue. 

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.