BILLINGS, Mont. – Amanda Perri scored a goal on an assist from Dana Lubieniecki with less than three minutes remaining to propel the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup Saturday at Yellowjacket Field.
 
Katlyn Lokay scored MSUB's first goal of the game in the 67th minute, after beating four Falcon defenders, carrying the ball into the box and beating the keeper with a shot inside the far post.
 
Hannah Huesers scored her fifth goal of the season in just the seventh minute, giving the Falcons the early lead.
 
"We responded pretty well to the early goal, and we teach our players that the game is 90 minutes," said head coach Wojtek Krakowiak. "We just don't give up. That's what we stand for, we kept creating chances, and kept our composure."
 
The victory pushes MSUB's record to 4-1-1 and 2-1-1 in GNAC play. The Yellowjackets now have a three-game unbeaten streak, after a victory over Central Washington on Thursday and a draw against Saint Martin's last Saturday. Defensively, Haley McFarlane was crucial in terms of patrolling balls in the air and keeping the Yellowjackets' shape along the back line. Chelsea Shuman was also effective as a leader for MSUB, taking one shot and winning multiple balls to keep possession on the Yellowjackets' side.
 
"I'm very proud of the girls to come back and get two goals on a very good team, it's not easy," Krakowiak said. "The players that came in gave us a lot of confidence and raised the level, and we scored two awesome goals. All three of the captains did a great job today. Haley was huge in the air for us and Chelsea was great as an inspiration to the team."
 
The Falcons fall to 4-2-1 with the loss, and are now even with MSUB at 2-1-1 in conference play.
 
SPU took advantage of a break just seven minutes into the match, as Huesers found the net with a shot off of her right foot into the left corner of the net from 18 yards out.
 
Isabel Farrell helped create another dangerous opportunity, serving in a corner kick in the 15th minute. The ball bounced around the box, but an eventual header shot by Shayla Page was corralled by Yellowjacket goalkeeper Krystal Daniels.
 
The Falcons held the majority of possession through the middle of the first half, and carried the narrow advantage into the halftime break.
 
Lokay had the first chance of the second half for MSUB, landing a shot on frame that was saved with 10 minutes gone.
 
Jessica Spang won the ball midway through the first, and took a promising shot towards frame that missed just wide of the far post.
 
A foul by the 'Jackets just outside of the 18-yard box set up a dangerous chance for SPU, and Daniels tipped Farrell's on-target free kick over the bar.
 
Minutes later, Lokay carried the ball into the attacking third and into the box. She tucked a left-footed shot low into the far corner, beating the SPU keeper to equalize the score at 1-1.
 
The teams battled into the closing minutes, but neither found an equalizer moving into the 86th minute. Lubieniecki won possession of the ball in the midfield, and played a perfect ball through to Perri. The sophomore calmly touched the ball over the oncoming Falcon keeper, with just enough touch to keep it from bouncing over the crossbar.
 
"Amanda got a great ball from Dana and she could have easily put it over the crossbar or wide," Krakowiak said. "Those are the things that as a coach you can't really teach, and it was a first-class finish like you would see in the professional leagues."
 
MSUB held tough through the final minutes, securing its second-straight conference victory. The 'Jackets finished with four shots on target compared with five by SPU, and Daniels made four saves in earning the victory.
 
NEXT WEEK: The Yellowjackets continue their homestand with a pair of GNAC contests against Northwest Nazarene and Western Washington. MSUB faces the Crusaders on Oct. 2 at 3:30 p.m., and the game against WWU on Oct. 4 is set for 1 p.m. The game against the Vikings will be the MSUB Kicks Cancer game, in support of the fight against breast cancer.
 
"It gives us a lot of confidence for these next two games," Krakowiak said regarding his team having won two games in-a-row. "We are very strong at home, the girls have awesome confidence and we feel like we can challenge anyone in the GNAC."