BURNABY, B.C. – Colin Ralston scored his first two goals as a Yellowjacket, igniting a comeback as Montana State University Billings battled host Simon Fraser to a double-overtime, 3-3 draw in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at Terry Fox Field on Thursday night.
 
MSUB conceded a goal within the first minute of the match, but an equalizer by Thorge Jess in the 13th minute kept SFU from running away with the game. "Tonight I am very proud to be the head coach of this program," said second-year lead man Alex Balog. "The resilience our players showed, after being down 3-1 against a team that has made the Final Four two years in-a-row, was phenomenal. We did play well in patches in the first half, but it is the first time this season that we showed it consistently for 45 minutes in the second half."
 
Overall on the match, SFU out-shot MSUB 21-13, and Yellowjacket goalkeeper Tom Lohmann came up with six saves. The Clan also held a slight 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
 
The draw pushes MSUB's record to 0-3-3 on the season, and the point was the first of the team's conference schedule as its GNAC record is now 0-1-1. For SFU, the draw was the second of the season, moving the team's record to 2-1-2 overall and 0-0-2 in GNAC play.
 
Jovan Blagojevic put SFU ahead with a penalty kick just 28 seconds into the match, and finished with a team-best three shots on target.
 
After MSUB responded with a successful penalty kick by Jess, SFU scored two more times before the halftime break to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Niko Schroettle found the net in the 21st minute, and Ryan Dhillon finished a ball from Alex Rowley in the 35th to push SFU ahead.
 
Coming out of half time, SFU was given a red card, putting the Clan at a one-player disadvantage for the remainder of the match. Ralston took advantage of an opportunity in the 68th minute, helping MSUB back into striking distance with his first career goal as a Yellowjacket.
 
Less than five minutes later, the sophomore found the net again, tying the game in the 73rd minute to help complete the improbable comeback.
 
The 'Jackets nearly pulled off an upset victory, but a final attempt on goal entered the net just two seconds after the clock had expired.
 
Playing into overtime for the fifth time this season, the Yellowjackets could not find the net for a fourth time, and settled for a draw against the reigning GNAC champions. "Perhaps we could have won the game, but in any case, to come back from a two-goal deficit will help boost confidence for Saturday's game against Western Washington," Balog said. "It should be agnother great GNAC game, against a good program that is well-coached."
 
COMING UP: MSUB continues its road trip against Western Washington on Saturday as GNAC play continues. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific time inside the brand-new Robert S. Harrington field on the WWU campus.