MSUB Men's Soccer Game Recap 8/30/15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Sunday, August 30, 2015 Yellowjackets roll to 8-1 win over Western Nebraska CC in preseason finale

MSUB scores seven goals in the second half, and Sam Butterworth has two goals and three assists as the ‘Jackets trample Western Nebraska CC 8-1 in their preseason exhibition finale.

BILLINGS, Mont. – A scoring flurry of three goals in the opening 10 minutes of the second half and seven total in the period propelled the Montana State University Billings men’s soccer team to a loud 8-1 win over visiting Western Nebraska Community College in the Yellowjackets’ final exhibition game of the preseason Sunday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field.

“First of all, we need to backtrack a little bit and recognize that this has been one of the toughest weeks in the history of this program,” commented MSUB head coach Alex Balog referring to the passing of freshman Trevor Wildberger last week after battling cancer. “Our guys dealt with that adversity like men, which is the way we love them to react to adversity. Our motto when we started preseason was that we were going to take things session-by-session, and if you look at how we played this game compared to our first game, it has been a huge incline.”

Sam Butterworth scored the first and assisted on the next two of MSUB’s three goals early on in the second half, which broke a 1-1 tie and set the tone for the remainder of the match. The senior wound up with two goals and three assists on the game, earning him St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game honors.

“Sam understood what he needed to do as a senior to maintain his spot in the starting eleven, and we have seen a big incline in level of play with him,” Balog said of the senior. “We know he is going to be dangerous and that he can be clinical in front of goal, so what he did today was exactly what we expect from him.”

Julian Toenges also scored twice for MSUB, and Ricardo Palomino, Rhys Lambert, David Loeung and Kyle Davis had a goal apiece. The ‘Jackets placed 18 of their 24 shots on target, while WNCC got two of its four on frame. MSUB totaled six corner kicks in the match while allowing zero.

“Defensively we were a lot more solid, and offensively we have some ingredients on our roster that can be extremely dangerous,” said Balog. “The way David and Ricardo are clicking up top along with our wings Jacob and Julian is impressive right now.”

The ‘Jackets got a pair of early chances, as a close-range shot by Toenges was knocked out for a corner kick, and WNCC goalkeeper Miguel Enriquez made a save on a shot by Palomino moments later.

After receiving a pass from Loeung, Toenges streaked into the box with the ball and finished a powerful strike into the upper left corner of the goal for the first finish of the game.

MSUB nearly doubled its advantage two minutes later, but Enriquez smothered a cross by Jacob Richter before Loeung could reach it inside the six-yard box.

Toenges fired a shot towards goal with eight minutes remaining in the opening half, but Enriquez knocked it wide with a diving deflection. Eli Herman got a shot off on the ensuing play, and Enriquez held onto it to keep the score at 1-0.

With less than five minutes until halftime, the Cougars equalized as Guilherme Oliveria finished a leaping volley shot into the upper left part of the goal. Neither team had a serious threat towards goal in the remaining minutes, and the score remained tied at 1-1 at the break.

Opening the second half with a bang, Butterworth carried the ball into the box, beat two defenders and tucked a neat shot into the far side netting. The ‘Jackets nearly added a third goal less than a minute later, but offside was called prior to a shot from Palomino crossing the goal line.

Junior Julian Toenges.

Creating a scoring chance from the defensive third, Butterworth played a long ball onto the foot of Palomino along the left side. The sophomore carried the ball into the box and slotted home MSUB’s third goal into the lower left corner with seven minutes gone in the second.

Butterworth played another perfect cross into the box directly off of a corner kick, and it took a diving save from Enriquez to prevent a header redirection by Lambert from making the score 5-1 midway through the second.

Adding to his scoring total with 27 minutes left, Butterworth collected the rebound after a blocked shot and finished his second goal of the game into the net from point blank range. The carom came courtesy of Lambert, who for a second time was denied a header goal on a last-ditch effort by WNCC’s defensive unit.

Toenges added an assist to his line, crossing the ball in to Loeung who put away MSUB’s sixth goal with a strong finish from six yards out.

Lambert finally got his deserved header goal, nodding in a set-piece cross from Butterworth to make the score 7-1 with 23 minutes to go.

Controlling the game into the closing minutes, Davis used his speed to beat three defenders into the box and add an eighth goal with seven minutes left.

PRESEASON WRAP: Over its three preseason exhibition victories, MSUB scored 15 goals while allowing four. Seven different players found the net for the Yellowjackets offensively, who will look to improve on last season’s goal differential of minus-5 (23 goals scored, 28 allowed).

“We have one more week to make sure everybody is ready for next weekend, but so far the things we have seen on the field are very promising,” Balog said. “It has been good, and we are very proud of these three preseason games.”

AHEAD: MSUB kicks off its 2015 regular season with a pair of neutral site contests on the road at Dixie State University.

MSUB will challenge Cal State San Marcos on Thursday before taking on Metro State on Saturday with both games kicking off at 5:30 p.m. The ‘Jackets will then return home to host the second annual Rimrock Classic sponsored by TNT Automotive and Marine, which will run Sept. 11 and 13 at Yellowjacket Field.

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