Yellowjacket Women's Soccer Heads to Dixie State Tournament to Open the Season

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BRIEFLY
The MSUB women’s soccer team opens the 2009 regular season at the Dixie State Tournament beginning Saturday with a neutral site game against Cal State San Bernardino. The Yellowjackets then battle host Dixie State Monday, Aug. 31, at 11 a.m.

JUST FOR KICKS
The Yellowjackets finished the 2008 season with a 10-10 record and a 5-7 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Dixie State finished 2008 with a 13-6-1 record, while CSUSB ended the ‘08 season with a 10-5-5 record.

SCOUTING MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
The Yellowjackets open the 2009 regular season on the road for the fifth time in the past six years with the Dixie State Tournament. The Yellowjackets finished the 2008 season with a 10-10 record overall and a 5-7 mark in the very competitive Great Northwest Athletic Conference. MSUB returns eight starters and 14 letter winners from last year and has just one senior on the team this season. Eighth-year head coach Don Trentham has nine new freshmen and a junior college transfer this season.

Returnees Kari Foreman, Ali Gamberg and MyKenzie Deverell all were named to the all-conference team last year. Foreman was a second team selection, while Gamberg and Deverell were honorable mention selections.

“I think we have a nice mixture of youth and experience,” Trentham said. “It’s a combination that pays off with success towards the middle and end of the season when we are hopefully battling for a conference title and a spot in the NCAA tournament.”

Because the Jackets are likely to return 24 of 25 players next season, Trentham is advancing a two-year approach. The potential for so many of the team to play together for the next two years bodes well for their future performance and progress in the GNAC.

“I think we have depth at every position on the field this year,” Trentham said. “With an experienced and deep team, and with just about everyone back in 2010, we are looking at it as a two-year project. If we go out and play the way we are capable of playing and we get results, I think we will be able to compete for a GNAC championship either this year or next.”

RECAPPING MONTANA AND GREAT FALLS EXHIBITIONS
MSUB completed the first week of camp with two exhibition road games at the University of Montana and at the University of Great Falls, Aug. 15 and 16, respectively. The Yellowjackets stepped up to the challenge and went 1-0-1 in those two exhibitions. Against Montana, the Yellowjacket freshman made the difference in the 1-1 tie as newcomers Jaucelyn Richter and Jennifer Larsen hooked up for an early goal as Richter fired a nice pass from inside the 18 to Larsen who chipped it over the head of the Montana goalkeeper in the 16th minute. The Grizzlies evened the score in the 21st minute as the teams played scoreless in the four 25-minute quarter game.

The next day, MSUB got the offense in gear as it downed Great Falls 4-0. MSUB started five freshmen in the game and was led by two goals from Larsen and Richter had two assists.

SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The Coyotes open the season at Dixie State before playing MSUB on Saturday. CSUSB is coming off a 10-5-5 season and is receiving votes in the preseason poll. In the CCAA poll, the Coyotes were picked third in the South Division after a 7-4-3 mark in 2008. CSUSB tied defending national champion and GNAC foe Seattle Pacific last year. CSUSB loses three starters and six players from last year, but return a pair of honorable mention all-CCAA selections in Ashley Salas and Jaclyn Clark. In addition, the Coyotes return senior goalkeeper Laura Lyons who posted five shutouts and allowed just 11 goals in 2008, as well as the team’s returning scorer as a freshman in Katie Liby.

INSIDE THE SERIES...
This is the first meeting between MSUB and Cal State San Bernardino. The Yellowjackets have a 2-8 record against teams from California and haven’t played a California team since a 1-0 loss to San Francisco State, Sept. 28, 2003.

SCOUTING DIXIE STATE
The Red Storm finished the 2008 season with a 13-6-1 record and return leading scorer, Mikala Wilkes, who had 12 goals as a junior in 2008. Wendy Stratford who scored nine goals last year also returns. The Red Storm had 54 goals in 2008. Tonya Smith returns as Dixie’s goalkeeper. She played in 12 games with 10 starts. Smith tallied a 1.12 goals against average with 16 saves and a 7-3-1 record to go along with two shutouts. Dixie State went 1-2 against the GNAC last season, beating the Yellowjackets in the season opener (4-0 in Billings) and lost to Western Washington and Seattle Pacific.

INSIDE THE SERIES...
Dixie State owns a 1-0 record in the series after winning the 2008 MSU Billings Cup Presented by Best Western Clock Tower Inn last year. The Red Storm defeated MSUB 4-0 in the season opener for both teams on four, first half goals. Erika Mourtinsen had a hat trick in the game to lead the way.

JACKETS FIFTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Montana State Billings was picked fifth in the annual GNAC Coaches Poll. The Yellowjackets received 22 ½ points, behind conference favorite Seattle Pacific with 47 points. Defending conference champion, Western Washington, was selected second (43 points) and one first place vote, followed by Central Washington (34), Saint Martin’s (25 ½), the Yellowjackets, Western Oregon (14) and Northwest Nazarene (8) was seventh to round out the league. Points are awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

FRESH FACES
The Yellowjackets welcome nine new freshmen and one junior college transfer this season and potentially could have up to five freshmen starting the season opener this weekend. Jennifer Larsen and Jaucelyn Richter have been impressive in two exhibition games as Larsen scored three goals and Richter had three assists versus Montana and Great Falls.

YOUTHFUL JACKETS
The Montana State Billings women’s soccer team has just one senior on the team this year in Chelsea Libby. The ‘Jackets have 11 juniors, three sophomores and nine freshmen.

LIVE ON THE WEB
This season ALL MSUB home 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.