MSUB Men's Soccer Recap 10/17/15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, October 17, 2015 Palomino’s second-half hat trick lifts MSUB to 3-2 come-from-behind win over CU

Ricardo Palomino scores a hat trick in the second half and MSUB finds a way to erase a 2-0 halftime deficit in a 3-2 win over Concordia Saturday.

BILLINGS, Mont. – In one fell swoop, Ricardo Palomino became the NCAA Division II scoring leader, completed a secondhalf hat trick, and most importantly lifted the Montana State University Billings men’s soccer team to an unbelievable come-from-behind 3-2 victory over visiting Concordia University on Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer match at Yellowjacket Field.

MSUB faced a 2-0 deficit at halftime, and played the final 35 minutes a man down after a red card, but somehow found a way to will itself to its third straight victory.

“We brought a lot of confidence from our last couple games into the second half today,” commented senior Garret Robinson, who helped anchor MSUB’s back line for 90 minutes defensively. “The team did a great job battling back in the second half. Ricardo had an unbelievable performance, and the defense stepped up as well making sure we didn’t have any of the same mistakes that we had in the first half.”

Robinson and Cameron Lee each played the entire match on the back line, and helped limit Concordia to just one shot on target in the final 45 minutes of play. Sam Butterworth contributed 78 quality minutes on the defensive unit as well, and turned in his third assist of the season on Palomino’s game-winning goal.

The Yellowjackets improved to 7-3-3 on the season and 5-2-2 in GNAC play, temporarily pulling into a tie for first place at 17 points with Seattle Pacific University which plays Western Washington Saturday evening.

“I’m very disappointed with the way that we played the first 45 minutes,” said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. “At halftime we had a little chat with the team, and reminded them of the priorities. This game as a whole is the best game of soccer that I have been involved with as a player and as a coach.”

Before Saturday’s MSUB Kicks Cancer match began, players and coaches from both teams, as well as family, friends and spectators all converged around the center circle at Yellowjacket Field in honor of former Yellowjacket Trevor Wildberger, who passed away in August after a battle with cancer. Wildberger’s mother Tammy and father Jon were in attendance Saturday, as ‘TW26’ logos were unveiled next to the MSUB Soccer sign on the bleachers and inside of MSUB’s benches to permanently honor their son’s memory.

“Today was an emotional day with Trevor’s parents coming out for this event,” Lee commented. “Beforehand, the ceremony and everything that went on was a deep reminder of the adversity the team had gone through.”

Sebastien Easton, MSUB’s Team IMPACT child in his second season on the team, conducted the ceremonial kickoff before the match.

Entering the day, Palomino had 13 goals on the season and was within striking distance of the national leaders at 15.

With three goals in the final 45 minutes, the sophomore jumped to the national lead with 16.

“Ricardo put together an absolutely unbelievable performance, but it’s not just him,” Balog said. “From the front to the back, that was MSUB Men’s Soccer. We defended like men, we challenged, fought for every inch of ground, and we had so much quality on the ball going forward.”

The Cavaliers (5-3-4, 3-2-4 GNAC) had the first dangerous chance of the match 10 minutes in, but two straight shots by Zak Naylor and Erick Urzua were blocked by MSUB’s back line in front of the goal.

CU’s Matt Paine created a dangerous chance 17 minutes into the match, curling a cross into the box from the left side.

Despite an attempt to clear the cross, the ball wound up in MSUB’s net on an own goal as the Cavs took a 1-0 lead.

Nearly doubling their lead with five minutes left in the half, Jordan Potts got his head on a corner service from Paine but pushed the ball high from five yards away.

Capitalizing with just seconds left on the clock in the first, CU took advantage of its fourth corner kick of the half. B.J. Romac got his head on the service from Paine, directing the ball back towards the six-yard box. Potts was there waiting for it, and blasted home his third goal of the year to make it 2-0 in the 45th minute.

Making a statement out of the halftime break, Palomino was fouled just outside of the goal box on the right side of the field. Lining up over the 20-yard free kick, Palomino curved a low shot around the wall and watched as the ball glanced off of the right goal post and into the net.

Just as the ‘Jackets began showing signs of life, a soft red card after two yellows in the 56th minute meant MSUB would play the rest of the way with 10 men.

Midway through the second, a prime scoring chance originated with a pass from Rhys Lambert in the center to Strom Nuernberger on the left side. The sophomore connected on a pair of give-and-gos, first with Butterworth and immediately following with Palomino to wind up with the ball in the goal box. Nuernberger took a shot towards goal, but missed just wide as CU dodged a bullet.

Palomino displayed his dominance in the 77th minute as time began to run out for the ‘Jackets. Collecting the ball on the right side, he embarked on a streaking run down the sideline and into the box. Blasting a right-footed shot past CU goalkeeper Arne Niermann, Palomino evened the score at 2-2 as his shot punctured the side netting attached to the left post.

Building off of a long throw-in with 11 minutes left, CU nearly took the lead again on a diving header attempt by Urzua that was saved by Lohmann.

Just four minutes later, the GNAC’s scoring leader pelted home his NCAA-leading 16th goal of the season, receiving an excellent header pass from Butterworth and uncorking a half-volley just inside the left post.

“I’d like to give a personal mention to Ricardo, because I think he’s been the missing piece to the puzzle,” Lee said.

“Myself as a senior this program has been heading in the right direction, and he has provided that cutting edge that can allow us to finish off results.”

Despite a strong push from the Cavaliers down the stretch, the Yellowjackets held strong defensively and prevented any final chances to collect their third win in-a-row. CU held a 13-9 advantage in shots, but MSUB had the edge in corner kicks at 7-6. Lohmann had a save on the game for the ‘Jackets, and earned his seventh win of the year.

Nuernberger had his best outing of the season, contributing 42 strong minutes and starting the second half to help with the Yellowjackets’ initial burst back into the match.

THE BUZZ: The fifth game-winning goal of the season for Palomino marks the most in the GNAC…the teams battled to a 3-3 double-overtime draw in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 1…Palomino was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was his fifth multi-goal game of the year and second hat trick.

AHEAD: The Yellowjackets hit the road for a crucial four-game trip over the next two weeks, beginning in Canada next Thursday at Simon Fraser University. The Yellowjackets will then play at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., on Saturday, before taking on Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash., and Seattle Pacific University in Seattle the following weekend. MSUB’s next home match will come on Nov. 7 against the University of Mary, the final regularseason match on the Yellowjackets’ schedule.

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