FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, September 12, 2015 Golden goal in the Golden Gate city: Spang lifts ‘Jackets 2-1 over AAU in double OT
Jessica Spang scores MSUB’s second golden goal of the season in double overtime, lifting the MSUB women to a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Academy of Art in San Francisco on Saturday. SAN FRANCISCO – Reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week Jessica Spang scored the second golden goal of the season for the Montana State University Billings women’s soccer team, as the sophomore’s score in the 107th minute lifted the Yellowjackets to a 2-1 double overtime victory over the Academy of Art Saturday afternoon at Boxer Stadium. Spang’s second goal of the season came with just under four minutes to play, giving MSUB its second overtime victory of the year. The Yellowjackets improved to 2-1-1 with the win, and three of the team’s four games so far this year have gone into extra time. “This was a great win, and we definitely kept pushing all game,” commented MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak. “A lot of credit goes to our women for not giving up and keeping the pressure on them. Finally Jessica stepped up and it was a great cross from Ashely. She sprinted down the field, put the ball in the right spot, and Jessica got a rebound and put it away. She was very calm on the ball and didn’t panic. It was a very good finish.”
Dana Lubieniecki scored the first goal of the game for MSUB, which out-shot AAU 30-5 in the match. The junior captain’s strike from the top of the box was one of 15 shots on target on the game by the Yellowjackets, while the Urban Knights managed a goal on their only shot on frame. “Dana had a really good game, and she scored a great goal from distance,” Krakowiak said. “She was very effective and busy in the attacking third, and she really played with a lot of confidence and composure on the ball.”
Junior Dana Lubieniecki.
The Yellowjackets dominated the run of play in the first half, producing 14 shots and placing seven of them on target. The Urban Knights managed just two shots in the first period, and MSUB goalkeeper Chloe Hopps didn’t have to make a save in the opening 45 minutes.
Lubieniecki put the pressure on with a shot in the seventh minute, as AAU goalkeeper Morgan Wirz made her first save of the match. Making her first collegiate start at forward, freshman Alycia Wright followed with a shot on frame in the 11th minute that Wirz was able to secure. Ashely Marra and Spang put two more shots on target in the span of four minutes, but neither was able to beat Wirz as the game remained scoreless midway through the opening half. Entering the game as a substitute, Hayley Warren had her first shot of the game saved and her next one blocked as she immediately put pressure on AAU’s back line. MSUB finished the first half with three straight shots in the final five minutes, but the teams entered the halftime break deadlocked at 0-0. Not long into the second half, Lubieniecki got the Yellowjackets out to a lead. Shaking off a defender at the top of the goal box, she sent in a high shot that sailed over the head of new AAU goalkeeper Maggie Alikpala and into the back of the net to make the score 1-0. MSUB nearly doubled its lead with 10 minutes to go, as Elizabeth Howard stood over a free kick from 25 yards out. Her high shot was on target, but Alikpala was able to tip it up then grab it to prevent a goal. Despite taking just four shots and placing none on target into the 83rd minute, the Urban Knights found an equalizer as Alice Michell headed a shot into the net to even the score at 1-1 late. The ‘Jackets kept the pressure on in overtime, but couldn’t find the net in the first period. Avoiding what would have been its second draw of the season, MSUB raced onto the field and embraced Spang after her game-winner crossed the line. “The whole team came out with a lot of fight and fire, and I was proud of how we responded to the Thursday game,” Krakowiak said referring to MSUB’s 2-1 defeat at San Francisco State on Thursday. “It was a different game, a different attitude, and they wanted to win and they earned it.”
THE BUZZ: The match on Saturday was the first-ever meeting between the two teams…the goal was the second of Lubieniecki’s career…the game-winner was Spang’s fourth career goal…the 30 shots by the ‘Jackets were the most in a game since shots on a per-game basis began being tracked in the 2010 season. COMING UP: The ‘Jackets return to Billings to open their 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule against Northwest Nazarene University on Sept. 19 at Yellowjacket Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m., in the first of three straight GNAC matches at home for MSUB. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--