MSUB Women's Soccer Preview 10/6/15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, October 6, 2015 Yellowjacket women remain on the road, take on NNU, No. 3 WWU this weekend

Remaining on the road this week, the MSUB women’s soccer team is set for two more tough GNAC matches against Northwest Nazarene University and No. 3 Western Washington University.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off of its largest victory of the season, the Montana State University Billings women’s soccer team hits the road again this week to challenge Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents Northwest Nazarene University and No. 3 Western Washington University.

The Yellowjackets (5-2-2, 3-1-1 GNAC) responded to a 1-0 road loss at Simon Fraser University last week with a loud 4-1 triumph over Saint Martin’s University in the team’s most recent match last Saturday.

MSUB will look to carry the momentum on the road to challenge a familiar opponent in Northwest Nazarene and one of the top teams in the nation in Western Washington. The ‘Jackets will face the Crusaders on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the NNU Soccer Field in Nampa, Idaho, before heading to Bellingham, Wash., to face the Vikings at Harrington Field at 2 p.m.

Mountain time on Saturday. Both matches will feature live video and statistics, available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

“NNU is a tough team to play against, and we have to come out with the same intensity we had against Saint Martin’s,” said MSUB head coach Wojtek Krakowiak. “Western is doing very well right now, and that is going to be a tough game.

We will be ready for the challenge on Saturday.”

The meeting with the Crusaders will be the second of the season, as MSUB handed NNU a 2-0 loss in Billings on Sept. 19.

“I am excited to play NNU again, and we had a good result against them at home,” commented junior captain Dana Lubieniecki. “Playing at their home it will be a little bit of a different game. They will give us a good game but I think we definitely have a chance to get another win.”

BAILEY NETS A PAIR: Making the second start of her career against Saint Martin’s last week, freshman midfielder Bailey Griglio scored her first two collegiate goals in the 41 victory. The Covington, Wash., native slotted home MSUB’s first goal of the match in the ninth minute, and found the net again in the 58th minute to seal the victory.

“All the players here have helped me boost my confidence,” Griglio said regarding transitioning to the game at the collegiate level. “NNU and Western Washington are both really tough conference games, and it will be a big test for us.”

“Bailey responded really well as a freshman getting a start and scoring two goals,” Krakowiak said. “That says a lot about her and that she is definitely able to compete.

Overall she had a really good game.”

Freshman Bailey Griglio.

SPANG CONTINUES TO LEAD GNAC: Though she did not score last weekend, sophomore forward Jessica Spang added two more assists to push her GNAC-leading points total to 14 on the season. The Skyview High School graduate is No. 2 in the conference in goals with five and in assists with four on the year.

WRIGHT HAVING STRONG DEBUT SEASON: Freshman forward Alycia Wright scored her third goal of the year against the Saints, finding the net in the 27th minute on Spang’s second assist. Wright has been efficient with her looks towards goal this season, placing eight of her 17 shots on target for a shots-on-goal percentage of .471. She has played in all nine matches, starting six.

LUBIENIECKI LEADING IN MIDFIELD: Lubieniecki has set the tone in the midfield for MSUB this season, and added her second goal of the year against the Saints. Collecting the rebound after a corner kick, Lubieniecki fired a long shot across the goal box and just inside the far post out of reach of the SMU goalkeeper. She has started all nine matches and totaled 800 minutes for the Yellowjackets.

“Overall it was a big confidence booster to get a result like that, and I think we needed that a little bit,” Lubieniecki said regarding the victory on Saturday. “We had different players scoring which was good, and it shows the depth that we have on our team this year.”

DEFENSIVE LU-CORE: Junior Lindsay Lucore earned her sixth start of the year along MSUB’s back line against the Saints, playing 65 strong minutes helping the Yellowjackets to the victory. Lucore has played a key role as an outside back for the Yellowjackets, combining with freshmen Sarah Coghlan and Kienna Ogden.

LOKAY CLIMBING CAREER MINUTES CHART: Having played every minute so far this season, senior captain Katlyn Lokay now ranks No. 11 in MSUB history in career minutes played with 5,684. She is on pace to become just the seventh player ever at MSUB to play 6,000 career minutes, as she has played the crucial role of center back for the ‘Jackets this year.

MSUB Women’s Soccer – Career Minutes Played Leaders Rk. Name Minutes Years 1.

Jennifer Larsen 6,569 2009-12 2.

Jaucelyn Richter 6,403 2009-12 3.

Megan Plank 6,377 2003-06 4.

Mandy Ploskanka 6,107 2005-08 5.

Carly Valentine 6,100 2007-10 6.

Ally Stroup 6,006 2003-06 7.

Kari Foreman 5,998 2007-10 8.

Sam Boehm 5,976 2006, 2008-10 9.

Abby Bennett 5,869 2004-07 10.

Sara Gress 5,724 2005-08 11.

Katlyn Lokay 5,684 2012-15 COMPLETE EFFORT FROM KASTELIC, HOWARD: In conjunction with Lokay along Senior Katlyn Lokay. the back, junior captain Kari Kastelic has not been subbed off this season, playing all 877 minutes as a central defender. She has tallied upwards of 100 minutes in a match four times this year and the Yellowjackets are 2-0-2 in games that have gone to overtime while not allowing a goal in extra periods.

Senior midfielder Elizabeth Howard has also started all nine matches this season, and took three more shots last weekend placing one on target.

SEVEN SAVES FOR HOPPS: Freshman goalkeeper Chloe Hopps did all she could to keep MSUB in the game against Simon Fraser, making a season-high seven saves in the match and keeping the score at 1-0 the whole way through. Hopps made two more saves on Saturday against Saint Martin’s, giving her nine on the weekend in two complete games.

So far this season Hopps holds a record of 5-1-1 and a goals-against average of 0.80 which ranks fourth in the GNAC. “Chloe has had a huge impact on the team,” Lubieniecki said. “We are all very proud of her and happy with what she has done for us. She has definitely been the player of the game for us a couple of times this season and we are really happy to have her.”

TOTAL-90 FOR TEEGAN: Senior Teegan Koster earned her second start of the season against Saint Martin’s, turning in a complete game for the ‘Jackets as she played all 90 minutes. She has played at least 50 minutes in each of her last three appearances, and had her first shot against the Saints.

TRIZNA, OAKS MAKE DEBUTS: Freshmen Allie Trizna and Dariann Oaks made the first appearances of their collegiate careers, each playing in both of MSUB’s matches last week. Trizna totaled 46 minutes and took a corner kick for MSUB, while Oaks saw action for 52 minutes and took her first-ever shot against the Clan.

OTHER TEAM NOTES: Coghlan recorded her first collegiate point with her assist on Griglio’s second goal…junior Brittney Greenback added another shot last week to keep her tied with Spang for the team lead on the season with 18…junior

Hayley Warren played 39 minutes in both matches last week, keeping pressure on the opposition with four shots in her two appearances.

Thursday, October 8 – at Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders – 4 p.m.

2015 Record: 4-5-1, 1-3-1 GNAC Head Coach: Mary Trigg, 3rd season 2014 Record: 4-11-3, 3-10-1 The Crusaders have played four matches since the 2-0 loss to the Yellowjackets, highlighted by a 1-0 home victory over nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific University on Sept. 24.

NNU also played Western Oregon to a 2-2 double-overtime draw, before losing to Central Washington 6-2 and Seattle Pacific 3-1 in two road matches.

Nicole Nsa has upped her goals total to five on the year as she leads the team and is tied with MSUB’s Spang for secondmost in the GNAC. Lexi Fesenbek and Kelsey Martin have scored three goals apiece for the Crusaders, which have narrowly been outscored by their opponents 19-18.

Ashley Cook-Cox is tied with Spang for second-most assists in the league with four, and she has also scored once this year for NNU. In goal, Daniele Ortiz has played every minute and has tallied four shutouts while making 70 saves and holding a goalsagainst average of 1.84.

The Series: MSUB now leads the alltime series between the teams 16-5 and there have been two draws in the 23 historic meetings.

Last Time Out: The Yellowjackets shut down the Crusaders on a windy day at Yellowjacket Field, not allowing a shot in the first half and surrendering just four in the match. Howard and Spang each had goals, and Hopps made saves on all three of NNU’s shots on target.

Saturday, October 10 – at No. 3 Western Washington University Vikings – 2 p.m. MTN 2015 Record: 9-1, 4-0 GNAC Head Coach: Travis Connell, 13th season 2014 Record: 16-1-4, 11-0-3 GNAC Off to a perfect 4-0 start to their conference season, the Vikings have won seven matches in-a-row heading into Thursday’s encounter with Central Washington University. WWU moved up to No. 3 in the latest National Soccer Collegiate Coaches Association top-25 rankings, as the Vikings have allowed just four goals on the season and none so far in GNAC play.

Reigning first-team all-GNAC selection Catherine Miles leads the squad and the conference in goals scored with six, and also has two assists on the year for a total of 14 points to sit in a tie with MSUB’s Spang.

Elise Aylward has scored five times, three of which came in WWU’s 5-0 shutout win at Simon Fraser on Sept. 26. Overall on the year the Vikings have outscored opponents 24-4.

Ashley Haden has played the majority of minutes in goal, holding a record of 8-1 with five shutouts and a GNAC-second best goals-against average of 0.35.

As a team, WWU is first in the GNAC in shots (208), points (67), goals (24), and assists (19), while its four goals allowed defensively is also the top mark in the league.

The Series: WWU holds a 15-3 record against MSUB alltime with two draws among the results as well. The Vikings have won the last seven meetings between the teams.

Last Time Out: MSUB took a 1-0 lead late into a road match against WWU, but the Vikings rallied for a 2-1 overtime victory last October in Bellingham, Wash. WWU also collected a narrow 1-0 win over MSUB at Yellowjacket Field in Billings on Oct. 4, 2014.

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