2007-2008 Weekly Release #3 (September 4)

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This Week's Schedule

Week in Review

After opening the season with a grueling road trip on which they posted a 2-1 record, the Yellowjackets did not play a game during the final week of August.  A week's worth of rest and practice served them well when they hosted Regis University on Labor Day.  MSUB scored twice in the first 28 minutes and held on for a 3-1 win to improve to 3-1.  Regis, thought to be one of the top teams in the RMAC, fell to 1-3 after a challenging early season schedule that has pitted them against two top 10 teams.

The Yellowjackets found pay dirt inside of 10 minutes when Mandy Ploskonka (Federal Way, Wash.) took a quick cross in the box from Brittney Sandau (Billings) and drove it past Rangers keeper Holly Redmond.  It was Ploskonka’s third goal and Sandau’s first assist of the year.

Brittany Knudtzon

The Yellowjackets controlled possession for much of the early going, but only challenged Redmond three times on the day.  All three shots on goal from MSUB found the net.  Kari Foreman (Lakewood, Colo.) scored her first collegiate goal at 27:12 when she headed in a ball from Samantha Sandau (Billings).  Forman’s goal turned out to be the game winner.

“Kari’s goal is a reflection of what we worked on in training this week,” said Yellowjacket head coach Don Trentham.  “We wanted the weak side runners getting in the box.  Mandy Ploskonka and Samantha Sandau did a nice combination, and Kari finished it off.  It’s nice to see two freshmen link up for the game winner.”

Brittney Sandau gave the Yellowjackets an insurance goal early in the second half when she beat a Rangers defender one-on-one and scored from the left side.  Sandau’s third goal of the year, coming at 58:30, gave MSUB breathing room, but Jacket keeper Brittany Knudtzon (Kent, Wash.) still had to work for the win.

The freshman made five saves with all of them coming in the second half.  A few of the saves were at the end of her reach with diving efforts knocking the shots out of play.

“I thought Brittany Knudtzon was the player of the match today,” said Trentham.  “She made a couple key saves that helped us get the win.  Without her making a couple great saves, the game would have been a different story.”

The Rangers’ five shots on goal in the second half were indicative of the momentum shift that took place after Sandau’s goal.  Regis couldn’t crack Knudtzon, though, and time ran out on the Rangers’ comeback bid.  Knudtzon won her third decision of the season to remain unbeaten at 3-0.

“One thing we talked about this week was scoring goals,” said Trentham.  “We did a great job getting some early goals and a 2-0 lead.  I thought we sat on the lead too much, but at the same time I give credit to Regis for coming out in the second half and taking it to us.  At the end of the day, we did a good job scoring early, and our team feels that if we get three goals we’re going to win.”

AROUND THE GNAC:  Martinez’ scoring heroics overshadowed a seven-point performance (2 goals, 3 assists) from Meredith Teague in Saturday’s 7-1 win over Cal State Stanislaus.  For the week, Teague had two goals and four assists.  Shannon Oakes was also productive with two goals and three assists. . .Ashley Porter and Kara Kuttler each had a goal and two assists in Seattle’s three contests.  Porter already has seven assists this season to extend her GNAC career record to 41. . Seven different players had either a goal or an assist in Western Washington’s 2-0 wins over Northwest and Sonoma.  Claire Morgan, Amanda Font, Bryn Gibson and Kasey Hostetler had the goals and Molly Shannon, Kelly Gagne and Rosie Zadra earned assists. . .Kelsey Penn had four goals, including a hat-trick in Central Washington’s 5-1 win at Chaminade, as the Wildcats finished off a four-game trip to Hawaii with a win, draw and loss.  Kaycie Hutchins also contributed a goal and two assists. . .Trisha Halvorson scored two goals, including the game-winner in Saint Martin’s 2-1 win over Notre Dame de Namur as the Saints earned their first win in school history.  Halvorson’s game-winner came off a corner kick from Jessica Wilson.  She was named the MVP in the Quiznos Soccer Classic at Arcata.  Saint defender Julianna Sackeyfio was also named to the all-tournament team . .Amanda Peters had 10 saves and didn’t allow a goal in 167 ½ minutes as Northwest Nazarene earned shutout wins over Eastern Oregon (1-0) and Albertson (3-0).

GNAC PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK:   Sarah Martinez, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-6, Sr. Bothell, WA – Cedar Park Christian) had the most productive offensive week in GNAC history, scoring 13 points on five goals and three assists in wins over Humboldt State, Sonoma State and Cal State Stanislaus.  She scored three goals and also earned an assist in a 4-1 win over Humboldt, was credited with an assist on SPU’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over Sonoma and scored her team’s first two goals and got another assist in a 7-1 thrashing of Stanislaus.   Martinez already has 17 points (7 goals, 3 assists) and three game-winning goals this season and now ranks fourth in GNAC history in points with 96 and first in GWG with 17.

HONORABLE MENTION: Teresa Fish, Western Washington (GK, 5-7, Sr., Snohomish, WA – Monroe) and Leah Wymer, Seattle (F, 5-6, Sr., Bothell, WA). . .Fish was credited with seven saves in recording her 22^nd and 23^rd career shutouts in 2-0 wins over Northwest and Sonoma State.  Including Monday’s 3-0 shutout of Cal State Stanislaus, Fish has stopped 14 shots this fall without allowing a goal and now has a school-record 24 career shutouts, one short of the GNAC record. . .Wymer had four goals, including three in a 7-1 win over Cal State Stanislaus, to lead the Redhawks to two wins in three games.  Wymer has 15 points this season (7 goals, 1 assist) and ranks seventh in GNAC history with 82 points (34 goals, 14 assists).

Click HERE for the complete GNAC weekly release

Upcoming Opponents

In 2007, Mary is off to a 1-1-0 start, defeating Sioux Falls 4-0 before losing to Augustana 2-1.  Current season statistics are not available for the Marauders.  Junior Jessica Janusz was the team's leading scorer a year ago with eight goals and six assists.  She was a second team all-conference selection and was named the NSIC tournament MVP.

All-time vs. MSUB: Mary leads series 8-6-0
Last Meeting: The Yellowjackets defeated the Marauders 2-0 in Billings on Sept. 3, 2006, behind goals from Ally Stroup and Jelisa Guy.

The Stats

Click HERE for current MSU Billings 2007 season statistics

The Standings

2007 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Standings
(Through games of Sept. 3, 2007)

The Stats Leaders

Click HERE for GNAC Stats Leaders

The Players

The Last Time in Yellowjacket Women's Soccer

The School Records (records that include 2007-2008 in bold)

Points
Game – 1. Jelisa Guy (14); 2. Brittney Sandau (9); 5. Mandy Ploskonka (7)
Season – 1. Ally Stroup (39); 3. Brittney Sandau/Jelisa Guy (26)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (109); 4. Brittney Sandau (64); 6. Jelisa Guy (28); 6. Mandy Ploskonka (28)

Goals
Game – 1. Jelisa Guy (5); 3. Brittney Sandua (3)
Season – 1. Ally Stroup (16)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (40); 4. Brittney Sandau (23)

Game Winning Goals
Season – 1. Ally Stroup/Margot Merrill-Johnson (4); 4. Brittney Sandau/Melissa Carlson (3)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (12); 3. Brittney Sandau (7)

Assists
Game – 1. Jelisa Guy (4); 3. Mandy Ploskonka/Brittney Sandau (3)
Season – 1. Brittney Sandau (10); 2. Jelisa Guy (8); 8. Mandy Ploskonka (6)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (29); 2. Brittney Sandau (18); 6. Mandy Ploskonka (10); 7. Jelisa Guy (8)

GK Wins
Season – 1. Megan Plank (13)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (41) 

Saves
Game – 1. Jenny Bunnell (23)
Season – 1. Jenny Bunnell (151)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (336) 

Shutouts
Season – 1. Megan Plank (10)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (23) 

Goals Against Average
Season – 1. Megan Plank (0.77)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (0.95) 

Minutes in Goal
Season – 1. Megan Plank (1868:15)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (6376:53) 

Fastest Goal from Start of Game
1. Kelly Bryn – 0:27 

Games Played
1. Ally Stroup (74); 12. Brittney Sandau (61)

Games Started
1. Ally Stroup (74); 8. Brittney Sandau (60)

Schedule & Results

The Coaches

Don Trentham, Head Coach
Don Trentham enters his sixth year as head women’s soccer coach at MSU Billings in 2007.  Under Trentham’s direction the program has gone 44-39-7.  He is the winningest coach in the history of the program in terms of both total wins and winning percentage, and his teams have posted the only three winning season in team history.  

Trentham attended Columbia College (Missouri) and played for head coach Dan Hogan, who is now head coach at University of Southern Indiana.  At Columbia he was part of an NAIA program that was consistently ranked in the top-20, won two conference tournament championships and twice advanced to the regional tournament.  In his senior year, the team finished 17-5 and was ranked ninth in the nation.

It was during his playing days at Columbia when Trentham began coaching.  He was head coach of two teams for the Columbia Pride Soccer Club and was assistant camp director for Columbia College Soccer Camps during the summer.  In 1998 the Missouri Youth Soccer Association honored Trentham as the Boys’ Coach of the Year.

Trentham began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Florida where he had the chance to work two seasons with one of the finest soccer tacticians in the country – David Gregson.  At Embry-Riddle he assisted in guiding the team to a #16 NAIA National Ranking in the final poll of 1999 season, two NAIA Regional Tournament appearances and a Florida Sun Conference regular season championship.

"I've been very fortunate to have played for and coached with two great people," says Trentham.  "Much of what I learned about the game came from Coach Hogan and David Gregson.  Had it not been for those guys, I don't know if I'd be coaching today."

Aside from his head coaching duties with the team at MSU Billings, Trentham also plays an active role in developing players throughout the state and the region.  Over the past two years he has served as the u13 and u14 girls head coach for the Magic City Soccer Club, guiding each team he has coached to Montana State Championships.  In the past he has also coached in the Olympic Development Program serving as the ODP girl's head coach for Montana, as well as an ODP staff coach for Region IV.  Furthermore, he holds many camps, clinics, tournaments, and leagues during the course of the year for both adult and youth players throughout the state.

Trentham earned his bachelor of arts in education from Columbia College and a master's of education in sport management from East Stroudsburg University.  He holds an "A" license from the United States Soccer Federation, as well as an Advanced National license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. 

Ally Stroup, Assistant Coach

The 2007 season will be Stroup’s first as the Yellowjackets’ women’s assistant soccer coach.  She is a 2007 graduate from MSU Billings, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in psychology with a minor in coaching and graduating cum laude.  

“Ally is a great addition to the coaching staff here at MSUB,” said Director of Soccer and Head Women’s Coach Don Trentham.  “She had a terrific career and a major impact here as a player, and I am confident she will have as big an impact, if not bigger, on our program as a coach.  She knows the game very well and has a tremendous passion for MSUB soccer, and it will be exciting to see her pass on her knowledge and passion to the players in the program.”

As a player, Stroup was a four year starter and two-time captain for the Yellowjackets.  Her freshmen season she was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-West Region Second Team.  As a junior, she received the following honors: MSU Billings Most Valuable Student-Athlete, Heartland All-Conference Team, Scholar-Athlete by her teammates, and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Second Team.  For her senior season, she received the following honors:  ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Second Team, Dakrtonics All-Midwest Region Team, Scholar-Athlete and MVP by her teammates, NSCAA/adidas College Scholar All-West Region Team, NSCAA/adidas Women’s Soccer Scholar All-America College Division First Team. 

At one point during her senior season, the team was ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region and ranked nationally in the top 10.  Stroup finished her MSU Billings career as the school record holder for career goals, assists, points, game winning goals, and games started. 

Stroup plans to begin her Masters of Science in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling at MSU Billings in the spring of 2008.  She is married to Garret Stroup, a 2006 graduate of MSU Billings.