FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, October 4, 2016 ‘Jacket women continue road trip at No. 7 WWU, SFU this week
MSUB’s women’s soccer team has two more road games, at No. 7 Western Washington and Simon Fraser coming up this week. BILLINGS, Mont. – Wrapping up its longest road stretch of the season this week, the Montana State University Billings women’s soccer team is set for a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches and will reach the midway point of the conference season. The Yellowjackets (2-5-2, 2-1-1 GNAC) first travel to Bellingham, Wash., to face nationally-ranked and GNAC-leading No. 7 Western Washington University (9-0-1, 4-0-0 GNAC) on Thursday evening. MSUB will then cross the Canadian border to challenge Simon Fraser University (4-3-1, 2-2-0 GNAC) on Saturday in Burnaby, B.C. Thursday’s game against the Vikings will kick off at 8 p.m. Mountain time at Harrington Field, while Saturday’s contest against the Clan is set for 1 p.m. Mountain time at Terry Fox Field. Both games will feature live video and live statistics, available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.
MSUB split a pair of GNAC games last week on the road, defeating Northwest Nazarene University in comeback fashion 2-1 on Sept. 29, before being dealt a 3-0 loss at Central Washington University on Oct. 1. The Yellowjackets enter the week in a tie for fourth place in the GNAC standings with seven total points. THE WRIGHT TIME FOR WINNERS: Scoring her first goal of the season last week, sophomore Alycia Wright drove home the game-winning goal in the Yellowjackets’ comeback win over the Crusaders. In the right place inside the goal box on a corner kick, Wright was there to finish a flicked ball from Kari Kastelic and give the ‘Jackets the lead with 15 minutes to play. It was the seventh career goal for Wright, who led the team in scoring with six goals as a true freshman in 2015. She also ranked second in the GNAC with four game-winning goals last year, and picked up where she left off with the fifth game-winner of her career last week. In 2015, Wright had one game-winner against Carroll College, two against Saint Martin’s, and a memorable finish against Central Washington on Senior Day to help MSUB clinch a berth into the GNAC tournament. “Alycia is something special, and she definitely knows how to be in the right place at the right time,” said fellow sophomore Bailey Griglio. “You know if you give her a ball in front of goal that she’s going to finish it. You always have that trust in her.” KASTELIC EARNS FIRST TWO ASSISTS: Contributing on both of MSUB’s goals last week, Kastelic earned the first two assists of her career with MSUB. Having played every minute on the back line this year, Kastelic recorded her first two points of 2016 to help in the comeback effort. “It’s always kind of fun getting on the scoresheet, and I’m happy that Jordan and Alycia were able to get me those assists,” Kastelic said.
Five of sophomore Alycia Wright’s seven career goals have counted as game-winners.
Overall in her three-year career, Kastelic has started all 43 games and has not missed a single minute at her center back position. Totaling 4,054 minutes during that time, the senior captain is averaging 94.3 minutes played per game in her career. DEVOTO DOES IT AGAIN: Exactly one week after scoring her first-career goal, sophomore Jordan Devoto struck again with the opening score in MSUB’s win over NNU. Chasing down a long ball from Kastelic, Devoto worked past several Crusader defenders and finished a shot from just inside the goal box. Also with an assist this season, Devoto ranks second on the team with five total points through nine games and 417 minutes played. IT ALL STARTS WITH DANA: Serving in the cross on Wright’s game-winning goal last week was senior captain Dana Lubieniecki, who earned her first assist of the year and fifth of her career on the play. As one of the team’s main distributors on free kicks and corner kicks, Lubieniecki has handled 10 of the Yellowjackets’ 26 corners on the year. She has also scored once on a free kick, further proving her skill over the ball on set pieces. Leading the team with seven points this season, Lubieniecki’s total also ranks ninth in the GNAC.
BAILEY’S BACK: After missing several games early with an injury, Griglio returned to the lineup last week and saw action in both GNAC games. Starting nine games as a true freshman last year, the ‘Jackets will look for her to supply offense as she scored three times in her debut college season. TEVASEU PLAYING AT FULL STRENGTH: Playing her first two complete games of the season last week, freshman midfielder Claire Tevaseu started and competed for a full 90 minutes in both of the Yellowjackets’ matches. Playing directly in front of the back line as holding midfielder, Tevaseu has seen action in eight games – all starts – and 565 total minutes this year. She recorded her first career shot in MSUB’s game at Central Washington, coming close to hitting the right goal post with a right-footed attempt from the top of the box. “Claire has developed a lot, and she is starting to pick up a leadership role on the field,” Griglio said. “We can rely on her in the midfield, she has really good technical skills, and she’s going to have a huge impact for us over the next four years.” HEMMEN KEEPS MINUTES STREAK GOING: At Kastelic’s side for the entire season has been freshman center back Amanda Hemmen, who has also played all 853 minutes on the defensive unit. In her first collegiate season, Hemmen has played a crucial role in holding down the defense and helping MSUB build its attack out of the back. “I have a lot of confidence in Amanda, and she has been doing an awesome job this season,” Kastelic said on her freshman counterpart. “She is very calm on the ball and is great out of the air, and we both cover for one another well.” Freshman defender Kalin Sandow has started all nine games for the ‘Jackets this season.
SANDOW, SHOVLIN STARTING CAREERS STRONG ON OUTSIDE: Mirroring Hemmen’s performance in the center of the defense, fellow true freshmen Kalin Sandow and Courteney Shovlin have also started all nine games for the ‘Jackets at the outside back positions. Shovlin has played 833 minutes on the left side, while Sandow has also eclipsed the 800-minute mark along the right flank. THE ONE AND ONLY DELGADILLO: Playing every minute in goal this season, sophomore Lili Delgadillo has helped MSUB to a strong start in GNAC play. She has made eight saves in each of the team’s first two conference series of the year, six of which came against Central Washington last week. Delgadillo’s 43 total saves rank fourth in the GNAC, as do her 4.78 saves per game. TEAM FIGURES: As a team, MSUB has been outscored 15-9 and is averaging 1.0 goals per game. The ‘Jackets have placed 48.9 percent of their shots on target, a mark that ranks second in the GNAC only to Simon Fraser’s 56.0 percent. MSUB has had a flare for the dramatic, with seven of its nine goals being scored in the second half.
Thursday, October 6 – at No. 7 Western Washington University Vikings – 8 PM MTN Robert S. Harrington Field | Bellingham, WA 2016 Record: 9-0-1, 4-0-0 GNAC Head Coach: Travis Connell, 14th season 2015 Record: 21-2-1, 11-0-1 GNAC (1st) Off to an undefeated start to its season, No. 7 Western Washington is 9-0-1 overall and a perfect 4-0 in conference play. After a landmark, 5-0 shutout win over No. 10 Bridgeport on Sept. 22, the Vikings have won three straight GNAC games and have won nine in-arow overall after starting the year with a scoreless draw at Sonoma State. Under veteran head coach Travis Connell, the Vikings lead the GNAC with 23 goals and have allowed just four to the opposition this season. Two of those goals against came last week, when WWU defeated Saint Martin’s 4-1 and edged Concordia 2-1 to stay unbeaten. Leading the team in scoring is senior veteran Caitlyn Jobanek, who has found the net four times this season. Elise Aylward and Gabriela Pelogi have each scored three times, and 13 total Vikings have found the back of the net. Peyton Chick leads the team with four assists, while Aylward has contributed three for a team-best nine points. Defensively, the league’s top unit is led by four-year player Erin Russell who has started all 10 games and played 618 minutes. In addition to piloting the back line, Russell has scored twice and added a goal for five points. Another key defensive returner is Sierra Shugarts, who leads all field players with 850 minutes and has scored one goal and added an assist in 10 starts. In goal, Ashley Homer has earned six shutouts and holds a goals-against average of 0.31 that ranks No. 8 in all of the NCAA Division II. Homer has made just 16 saves and allowed just three goals in 876-plus minutes, and holds a save percentage of 84.2. The Series: The Vikings lead the all-time series 17-3-2, and have won the last nine games between the teams. Last Time Out: WWU won both meetings last season, including a 4-0 result at the GNAC Championships that ended MSUB’s season. The Vikings also won the lone regular-season contest between the teams, 2-0 on Oct. 10, 2015 in the last game between the two at Harrington Field. Saturday, October 8 – at Simon Fraser University Clan – 1 PM MTN Terry Fox Field | Burnaby, B.C. 2016 Record: 4-3-1, 2-2-0 GNAC Head Coach: Annie Hamel, 3rd season 2015 Record: 7-6-2, 5-6-1 GNAC (5th) Starting GNAC play off with a 2-2 record, the Clan enter their game on Thursday against Northwest Nazarene coming off their best offensive performance of the year. Defeating Western Oregon 6-0 last week, SFU took 38 shots in the match to pull its conference record even after a 2-1 loss to Seattle Pacific on Sept. 29. The Clan’s Monpreet Heer was tabbed as the GNAC co-Offensive Player of the Week, after scoring two goals and posting two assists in SFU’s big win.
Leading the team and the GNAC with six goals this season is Emma Pringle, who has recorded a dozen points in eight starts over 585 minutes. Four players in addition to Heer and Pringle have found the net, and SFU has out-scored its opposition 12-7 through eight matches. On the defensive side, senior veteran Teagan Sorokan has started all eight games and has totaled 666 minutes leading the back line. Sophomore Carli Grosso has also been a crucial part of the team’s defense, starting all eight games and racking up 681 minutes. In the midfield, Allyson Dickson and Christina Dickson have each contributed a team-best three assists, while playing in all eight games. Priya Sandhu has started all eight games in goal, and has recorded four shutouts with 733 total minutes. The junior stopper has made 38 saves while facing 81 shots, and holds a goals-against average of 0.86. The Series: MSUB holds the upper hand with a 9-4 all-time record against the Clan. The defeat snapped an eight-game winning streak for the ‘Jackets, which dated back to the 2010 season. Last Time Out: In the only game between the teams last year, SFU notched a 1-0 win on a goal by Olivia Aguiar in Burnaby on Oct. 1, 2015.
--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--