MSUB Men's Soccer Preview 11/5/15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Thursday, November 5, 2015 MSUB men close season with Senior Day Saturday against Mary

MSUB’s men’s soccer team will honor its six graduating seniors in a pregame ceremony Saturday before taking on the University of Mary in the final match of the 2015 season.

BILLINGS, Mont. – With one match remaining on the 2015 schedule, the Montana State University Billings men’s soccer team will wrap up its season on Saturday as the Yellowjackets host the University of Mary on Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Yellowjacket Field, and MSUB’s six graduating seniors – Cameron Lee, Daragh Kavanagh, Guido Riffeser, David Loeung, Fernando Perez, and Sam Butterworth – will be honored in a pregame ceremony on the field.

It will be the final match of the year for MSUB, which currently sits in fifth place in the GNAC Standings with a record of 8-5-4 and a mark of 6-5-2 in GNAC play. Live video and statistics will be available for Saturday’s match, through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

A Senior Day special admission price of $1 will be offered to all fans ages seventh grade and older, with children ages sixth grade and younger receiving free admission.

“We would like to finish our season on a positive note and send our seniors out in good fashion,” commented MSUB head coach Alex Balog. “They deserve that. Regardless of what happens, this season has been a massive success. If you look at where we came from to where we are now, the incline has been steep. However, we want to put the icing on the cake on our home field. I hope for a big turnout so our senior class can be honored the right way.”

Despite falling in its last two matches, MSUB still has a chance to finish as high as third in the GNAC standings. With 20 points, the ‘Jackets are within striking distance of both Northwest Nazarene and Concordia, with first-place Seattle Pacific having clinched a GNAC title and Simon Fraser in second place with 27 points.

CAM CLOSING CAREER: A four-year starter in the program, Lee has been a rock for the ‘Jackets defensively and has worn the captain’s arm band as a leader within the squad. Saturday’s match will be the 70th of his career, which moves him up to No. 4 in the MSUB record books for career matches played.

Lee has started 16 matches this season, totaling 1,431 minutes as a center back on MSUB’s defensive unit.

MSUB Men’s Soccer Record Book – Career Games Played Rk. Name Games Career 1.

Greg McKeever 72 2004-07 Chris Andre 72 2007-10 3.

Brian Huskey 71 2005-08 4.

Jess Spann 69 2002-05 Joshua Hernandez 69 2004-07 Kyle Emerick 69 2011-14 Cameron Lee 69 2012-15 8.

Dave Austin 68 1997-2001 9.

Thomas Pertuit 67 2001-04 Jurell Linford 67 2005-08 BILLINGS BETTER WITH BUTTERWORTH: Another four-year starter for MSUB, Butterworth has been a fixture along the back line next to Lee throughout his career. Playing in 66 career games, Butterworth has also shown offensive prowess as he has scored three career goals and added 10 assists including a team-best six in 2014.

Senior Cameron Lee.

MIXING IN THE MIDDLE: All having started their collegiate careers elsewhere and finishing up at MSUB, Perez, Loeung, Kavanagh, and Riffeser have each had an impact in MSUB’s midfield.

Loeung began the year as one of MSUB’s top offensive threats, scoring three goals and adding a pair of assists before suffering a season-ending injury after eight games. Playing a crucial role as a holding midfielder, Perez has started nine matches and scored the game-winning goal in a big 1-0 home win over Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 15 at Yellowjacket Field.

Kavanagh also scored his first career goal this season, finding the net in the 80th minute at home against Seattle Pacific.

The Perth, Australia native has played in 24 matches over his two seasons with the ‘Jackets.

Coming to MSUB for his final season of eligibility, Riffeser played his way into a starting role after missing the beginning of the year with an injury. His first point as a ‘Jacket came on an assist to Ricardo Palomino in a home match against Saint Martin’s, and he has played in 10 games this season as an attacking midfielder.

PALOMINO POWERS OFFENSE: Providing an offensive output unmatched at MSUB since the career of former Division II Player of the Year Sam Charles, Palomino enters Saturday’s match with a GNAC-best 16 goals and 34 points as he has lifted the team’s offensive output to a new level. Palomino currently ranks No. 8 in all of the NCAA Division II in scoring, and is only behind Charles, who had seasons of 24, 19, and 19 goals, in MSUB’s single-season record books.

LOHMANN STAYS STRONG: The Yellowjackets failed to score in their two road matches last week, but junior goalkeeper Tom Lohmann made seven saves in the two games to keep his team in the matches. Against No. 9 Seattle Pacific on Saturday, he made three big stops and kept the margin at 1-0 the entire match, but MSUB couldn’t find the net against the conference’s top defense.

Lohmann holds a goals-against average of 1.17 this season, making 48 saves over 1,533 minutes in 17 games. He is the owner of five shutouts on the season, turning in a strong follow-up to his debut campaign with MSUB as a sophomore in 2014.

SCORING STALLS: Before last week, MSUB had been shut out just two times all season. Entering Thursday’s match with their hopes still alive for a GNAC title, the Yellowjackets could not capitalize on a dozen shots as they slipped at Saint Martin’s 2-0. MSUB rebounded in a big way on Saturday against nationally-ranked SPU, but could not find the net in seven shot attempts in a narrow 1-0 defeat.

WINNING STEMS FROM TOP OFFENSE: Despite the setbacks, MSUB is still guaranteed its first winning season since 2012, as head coach Alex Balog has drastically improved his team’s finish over his three seasons in charge of the program.

Junior Tom Lohmann.

A big part of MSUB’s winning season has stemmed from its much improved offense, as the ‘Jackets reversed a negative scoring margin in 2014 (23 goals scored, 28 allowed) to a mark of plus-11 this year (32 goals scored, 21 allowed). While Palomino has been the top producer for MSUB, the goals have come from a variety of sources as nine different players have scored and seven have found the net multiple times.

The ‘Jackets lead the GNAC in offensive output with 32 goals, 90 points, and 1.88 goals per game. MSUB also ranks second in assists (26) and assists per game (1.53), and fifth in shots (211).

Saturday, November 7 – University of Mary Marauders – 2:30 p.m.

2015 Record: 3-13-1, 2-11 GNAC Head Coach: Dave Cook, 8th season 2014 Record: 5-9-2, 4-9-1 GNAC Currently sitting towards the bottom of the GNAC standings, UM enters Saturday’s match with an overall record of 3-131 and a mark of 2-11 in GNAC games.

Saturday’s match will mark the third game this season UM has played at Yellowjacket Field, but the first against MSUB on its home turf. The Marauders participated in the MSUB Rimrock Classic running Sept. 11-13, tying 1-1 against South Dakota School of Mines and winning 3-2 against Carroll College during the preseason.

James Liddiard leads the team with five goals, and Christoffer Nogueira and Aaron Brennan are tied for the team high in assists with five each. Jonathan Sellars has found the net three times for UM, and has started every match.

Ludvig Rhodin has played the majority of minutes in goal for the Marauders, starting 11 matches and holding a goalsagainst average of 2.34.

As a team UM has been outscored 39-17, allowing 15.6 shots per game while taking 11.4.

Last Time Out: MSUB opened its GNAC schedule with a commanding 4-0 shutout of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. on Sept. 19.

Palomino scored twice in the match, and Loeung and Julian Toenges also found the net in the loud victory.

The Series: The Yellowjackets hold a 26-7 alltime advantage in the series between the teams, and have only lost once since 2002. At home against Mary, MSUB holds a mark of 13-3 historically.

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