‘Jacket men continue on road at Seattle Pacific, Saint Martin’s this week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, September 27, 2016 ‘Jacket men continue on road at Seattle Pacific, Saint Martin’s this week

Carrying a six-match unbeaten streak on the road with them this week, MSUB’s men’s soccer team gets set to face two more GNAC opponents in Seattle Pacific University and Saint Martin’s University.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off of four points in its opening week of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, the Montana State University Billings men’s soccer team remains on the road this week for conference games against Seattle Pacific University and Saint Martin’s University.

The Yellowjackets (5-2-1, 1-0-1 GNAC) have a current six-match unbeaten streak intact as the team has out-scored its opposition 19-3 since starting the season 0-2 in early September.

MSUB visits Seattle Pacific University (2-3-2, 0-1-1 GNAC) on Thursday, in an 8 p.m. Mountain time match at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. On Saturday, the ‘Jackets head down I5 an hour south to challenge Saint Martin’s University (2-5-0, 1-1-0 GNAC) with a 4 p.m. Mountain time kickoff at the SMU Soccer Field. Both matches will feature live statistics only.

“I feel like Thursday is going to be a very open game, and we are going there to get a result just like we will on Saturday,” said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. “These are going to be two tough, quality GNAC games, and are two matches that we are looking forward to.”

The ‘Jackets are coming off a 3-0 victory over Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, and a 3-3, doubleovertime draw against Concordia University in Portland, Ore., last week. The four points MSUB earned on the road have the team in second place in the early conference standings, two points behind first-place Simon Fraser and one point ahead of third-place Saint Martin’s.

CAPTAIN KREMER CATCHES WEEKLY HONOR: Earning the team’s second GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season, sophomore captain Guillaume Kremer was recognized for his work in both the defensive and offensive portions of the field last week. In three total matches, including a 6-0 win over the University of Mary last Monday, Kremer helped maintain possession defensively and pushed forward when the team was in need of a boost.

In addition to supplying the assist on MSUB’s game-winning goal against NNU, Kremer added another assist on perhaps the most important goal of the week for the ‘Jackets. With the team having just fallen behind at Concordia 3-1, Kremer played a through ball to Julien Dragomir less than 30 seconds later and watched as the senior got the team back to within one goal in the eventual draw. “Guillaume came in and took an immediate leadership role within the team, and he’s a rock,” said junior captain Rhys Lambert. “He offers a lot defensively and offensively, and I’m really happy for him getting this weekly honor.”

Kremer also scored his first career goal on a header finish in the team’s first match of the week against Mary. The ‘Jackets have not lost a match since the holding midfielder began starting for the team on Sept. 9, and he has contributed heavily to a defensive unit that has allowed just three goals in its last six matches.

DRAGOMIR DOING PLENTY: Leading the team with 10 points so far this season, Dragomir added two more goals and an assist in the team’s first two conference matches. The senior striker has now scored three goals on the year, and is tied for the team lead with four assists. He scored the team’s second goal in the win against NNU, and put away Kremer’s pass on the big goal against the Cavaliers. “We went down 3-1, and to get a quick goal to give our team a little confidence was huge,” Dragomir said. “I had a beautiful pass from Guillaume, and I think that goal just brought us all together.”

JD SCORES IN FOUR STRAIGHT: Leading the team in goals this season, freshman JD Hauenstein scored in four straight games before having the streak snapped in the match against Concordia. Showing incredible efficiency in the attacking third, Hauenstein has taken just six shots this season, but they have all been on target and he has scored on four of them. He is making the most of his 33.6 minutes per game, as he is averaging a goal every 67.3 minutes played. “JD is a great player, and he is always in the right place at the right time,” said Dragomir. “He’s a clinical finisher, and that’s what we need. He has really helped us a lot.”

NOVIS SCORES 2 AGAINST ‘CAVS: Posting his second career multi-goal game on Saturday, senior striker Thiago Novis played a big role in helping the Yellowjackets salvage the draw at CU. He equalized the score at 1-1 with a goal in the 19th minute, helping the team stay in the game and ultimately preventing the ‘Jackets from trailing 3-0. With time winding down in regulation, it was his penalty-kick finish that saved the day and once again tied the score this time at 33. Hauenstein was responsible for drawing the penalty, as he was brought down in the goal box while working against three Concordia defenders. Novis left CU goalkeeper Brad Alcorn no chance for a save, as he blasted his third goal of the season into the lower-left corner of the net.

Novis now has three goals on the year, and has scored seven in his two seasons with the Yellowjackets. His other twogoal performance came in last season’s finale, in the Yellowjackets’ 3-3, double-overtime draw against Mary at home.

PALOMINO HAS MULTI-GOAL GAME TOO: Recording his seventh career multi-goal game last Monday, junior Ricardo Palomino found the net twice against the Marauders and now has three goals on the season. Palomino needs just one more goal to become the fifth player in MSUB history with 20 career finishes.

MSUB Career Goals Leaders Rk. Name Goals 1. Sam Charles 69 2. Dave Austin 27 3. Thomas Pertuit 23 4. Chris Andre 20 5. Mark Cipolla 19 Garion Holian 19 Ricardo Palomino 19

Years 2006-09 1997-2001 2001-04 2007-2010 2001-02 2008-2011 2015-16 Ricardo Palomino had his seventh career multi-goal game last week, and needs just

one more goal to become the fifth player in MSUB history with 20 in a career.

TOENGES SCORES FIRST TWO GOALS OF 2016: Finding the net against Mary and NNU, senior winger Julian Toenges pushed his career goals total to five with the ‘Jackets. He also added an assist in the match against Mary, giving him four on the year and 16 in his career. Pushing forward in the match against Concordia, Toenges set new personal bests for shots in a game (6) and shots on target (4) despite not finding the net. He has started all eight matches this year, and is averaging 71 minutes per game.

COLASANTI DISTRIBUTING WELL: With an assist in each of his last three games, junior midfielder Flavio Colasanti has begun to directly influence MSUB’s offense. The first-year player from Italy also played all 110 minutes against the Cavaliers, and has started all eight matches in the center of the field for the ‘Jackets.

SCHREGEL’S MINUTES INCREASING: Recovering from off-season knee surgery, center midfielder Niklas Schregel has steadily worked his way back into a starting role he earned at the start of his freshman season. The junior posted a season-high 98 minutes in the match against the ‘Cavs, and figures to be an important part of MSUB’s midfield unit for the rest of the season.

SCOTT PICKS UP ANOTHER SHUTOUT IN GOAL: After combining with freshman Caleb VanBlankenstein in the shutout of Mary last Monday, junior Joe Scott earned his first career GNAC shutout in the 3-0 win over NNU on Thursday. Scott made a career-high six saves against the Crusaders, while facing 19 shots over 90 minutes. The junior’s goals-against average of 0.73 ranks second in the GNAC, and his save percentage of 82.4 leads the league.

DEFENSE DESERVES CREDIT: Holding down the back line has been the consistent defensive unit of center backs Lambert and Oliver Posarelli, and outside backs Garret Robinson and Eli Williams. Lambert and Williams each played all 200 minutes in the two GNAC games last week, while Posarelli played all 110 and Robinson contributed 94 in Saturday’s match. All four players have started all eight games this season, and have been a big part of the team’s five shutouts.

GOALS GALORE SO FAR: After leading the GNAC with 35 goals a season ago, the torrid offensive pace has continued at an even higher clip so far this season. The ‘Jackets have already scored 19 goals through eight matches, and are leading the GNAC in that category as well as shots (134, 16.75 per game), and points (54, 6.75 per game).

Defensively, the team is tied for second-fewest goals allowed on the year with seven, and its goals-against average of 0.85 also ranks second. No GNAC team has more shutouts than MSUB’s five.

Thursday, September 29 – at Seattle Pacific University Falcons – 8 PM MTN Time Interbay Stadium | Seattle, WA | Live Stats 2016 Record: 2-3-2, 0-1-1 GNAC Head Coach: Mark Collings, 8th season 2015 Record: 14-1-4, 10-1-3 GNAC The Falcons started their GNAC schedule with a 3-1 loss at Simon Fraser last Thursday, before rallying to tie 3-3 at Western Washington on Saturday. SPU will host Northwest Nazarene on Saturday after entertaining the ‘Jackets on Thursday evening under the lights.

Leading the team and the GNAC in scoring is senior forward Stephen MacDonald, who has already found the net seven times in five matches played. Though the striker had scored in four consecutive games entering last week’s GNAC play, he did not play in either match for the Falcons last week.

Gabe Kellum has also been a key offensive player, scoring four goals and adding three assists. Kellum impacted the scoring in both GNAC games last week, scoring against the Clan and chipping in two assists against the Vikings. Ryan Higgins is the team’s other player with multiple goals, as he has also contributed to SPU out-scoring its opponents 17-14 this year.

In goal, SPU relies on senior keeper Cody Lang, who has started all seven matches. The reigning first-team all-GNAC goalkeeper has made 21 saves while facing 85 shots, but is still in search of his first shutout of the season.

Jordan Kollars has been a key distributor out of the midfield for the Falcons, and he leads the GNAC with five assists.

Seniors Davis Karaica and Jeffrey Collings are back on the GNAC’s top defensive unit from a season ago, but Collings has missed the team’s last five games.

The Series: The Falcons lead the one-sided series 16-3, and there have been four draws between the teams. SPU has won the last seven matches, and has not lost to MSUB since Oct. 4, 2008, when the ‘Jackets finished a three-game winning streak against the Falcons.

Last Time Out: SPU rolled to a 3-1 victory over MSUB in Billings last October, when the Falcons were ranked No. 18 in the country. The match was much more even in Seattle three weeks later, although the ninth-ranked Falcons defeated MSUB 1-0 to complete the season sweep.

Saturday, October 1 – at Saint Martin’s University Saints – 4 PM MTN Time SMU Soccer Field | Lacey, WA | Live Stats 2016 Record: 2-5, 1-1 GNAC Head Coach: Rob Walker, 10th season 2015 Record: 6-12-1, 4-10-0 GNAC The Saints split their first two conference games of the season, defeating Western Washington 2-1 on Thursday before falling to Simon Fraser by the same score on Saturday in a pair of home matches. SMU will host Northwest Nazarene on Thursday before Saturday’s game against the Yellowjackets.

Struggling offensively this season, SMU has scored just nine goals in seven games while allowing 22 on the defensive end. Will Eldred leads the team with three goals, and Kyle Witzel and Sebastian Navarro each have a pair.

Veteran Kaleb Strawn ranks among GNAC leaders with four assists, and has played the most minutes on the team with 614 in six starts.

In goal, Griffin Small has started all seven games and has made 35 saves for a save percentage of 68.6. He has surrendered 16 goals in 540 minutes, holding a goals-against average of 2.67.

Christian Caro has paired with Strawn to help lead the defensive unit, as he has started five matches and racked up 528 minutes on the back line for SMU. The Series: MSUB is 11-6 all-time against the Saints and the teams have drawn once in the 18 previous meetings. The ‘Jackets are 5-4 in games played at Lacey, Wash., and have won four of the last five games overall in the series.

Last Time Out: After a convincing, 5-1 win at home last year, MSUB was dealt a 2-0 loss at SMU at the end of the season.

Palomino scored twice in the home win, and Novis and Lambert each also had goals.