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Box Score
BILLINGS, Mont. – Goals were in abundance Thursday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field as the Montana State Billings women's soccer team opened up the second half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with an exciting 4-2 victory over visiting Central Washington.
The Yellowjackets improved to 9-2-1 on the season and 6-2-0 in the GNAC, winning their second-straight match and six of the last seven. The Yellowjackets are currently sixth in the NCAA west region poll. The Wildcats drop to 3-8-1 on the season and 3-5-0 in conference play.
“At this point in the season it's all about getting good results,” said head coach Don Trentham. “It was good to get a win today and I thought we played pretty well overall. We did lose focus for about 15 minutes in the second half, but the team did a fantastic job of regaining focus and closing the door. I was really happy with our offensive performance today. We were able to create a lot of chances and made some very good finishes.”
The Yellowjackts jumped out to a 1-0 lead mid-way through the first half when senior Lauren Anderson (Ridgefield, WA) made a great touch on the ball up the left side, and then made a cross to fellow senior, Carly Valentine (Vancouver, WA).
From there, Valentine took three steps with the ball and fired a shot from the right side of the 18 yard box, sending the ball into the ball into the back of the net off the fingertips of C.J. Balstad. It was Valentine's second goal of the year.
The Jackets again struck in the 41st minute when Tyshae Davis (Idaho Falls, ID) took a ball from Kari Foreman (Lakewood, CO) on the left side and sent the ball in to Adrienne Biglow (Yakima, WA) in the middle of the field. Biglow then lofted a shot from 25 yards out over the outstretched arms of Balstad. It was Biglow's first career goal and Davis's first assist of the season.
“I was really happy with our bench play today,” said Trentham. “Adrienne Biglow scored a very important goal before halftime and played a solid second half at outside back.”
The Wildcats got on the board early in the second half, scoring a in the 53rd minute when Brittany Franks took a cross from Serena Tomaso and hit the back of the net in the upper right corner to make the score 2-1.
The Yellowjackets quickly answered as Foreman took the ball off a deflected Wildcats pass near the top of the 18 and dribbled the ball past Kaitlin Abrahamson and into the lower left corner for her team-leading fifth goal of the year.
Again CWU found an answer as Franks returned the favor to Tomaso and made a nice pass up the left side giving Tomaso the chance to take a shot from the left corner of the box and beat Sabrina Grandke-Bawab (Kirkland, WA) for her fifth goal of the year.
Heidi Greenback (Woodinville, WA) had the final word in the 75th minute as the freshman stole the ball from a defender from 25 yards out and just sent the ball under Abrahamson for her fourth goal of the year.
For the game, MSUB outshot the Wildcats 15-12, including 11-3 in the first half, but were outshot 8-7 on shots on goal. The Jackets held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks and a 6-3 advantage in saves.
Grandke-Bawab had a difficult time in the second half with the sun shining directly in her face, but managed six saves on eight shots faced. She stayed unbeaten on the year, improving to 7-0-1.
The win guarantees the Yellowjackets their first winning season since 2006 with just six games remaining on the schedule. It also moved the Jackets into sole possession of second place in the GNAC standings after Western Washington dropped a 2-1 decision at Saint Martin's earlier in the afternoon.
The Yellowjackets now turn their attention to No.14 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific. The Jackets and Falcons square off for first place in the conference on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game is the Make-A-Wish game for the Yellowjackets, stars can be bought for a one dollar apiece and for every five dollars purchased, fans get registered for an I-Pod Shuffle. The first 40 fans through the gate get a commemorative t-shirt. Fans are encouraged however, to wear GOLD to the game.
