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Box Score
BILLINGS, Mont. – The perfect ending just wasn't meant to be as the Montana State Billings women's soccer team looked poised to pull off an upset of No.14 Seattle Pacific at home Saturday afternoon, but a goal four and half minutes into the first overtime lifted SPU to a 2-1 victory.
The Yellowjackets fell to 9-3-1 overall and 6-3-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Falcons improved to 10-1-2 on the season and remain in the top spot in the conference with a 7-1-1 record.
“We're obviously disappointed with the loss,” said MSUB head coach Don Trentham. “I felt like we played good enough to get a positive result. If we can play the rest of the season just like we played today, then we should be able to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season. But it's important that we put the loss behind us immediately and focus on our next two games.”
The Falcons got on the scoreboard first after Janie Wurth sent a free kick into the box and had the ball bounce around in a mob before Megan Lindsay tapped the ball in near the right post for her fourth goal of the season.
The Jackets managed to pull even just two minutes and five seconds later as they were awarded a corner kick in the 29th minute. Whitney Siler (Monroe, WA) lined the ball on the mark in the left corner and sent a beautiful ball over the group of players on the near side and found the head of Jennifer Larsen (Mesa, AZ). Larsen then put the ball into the open net in the lower left corner.
Throughout the second half the Yellowjackets looked like the more dominant team as they controlled the ball and made chances with four shots while SPU was limited to just one.
After regulation came to a close, the Yellowjackets took a shot in the overtime period, but had the ball go wide. It was then that Kendall Thoreson fed the ball to Lindsay up the right side and floated a ball that found its way into the upper right corner for her second goal of the afternoon.
The contest was close the entire way as both teams took nine total shot with MSUB firing five on goal and SPU putting six on target. The Jackets did have the edge in corners with five to SPU's four. Both keepers made four save as Sabrina Grandke-Bawab (Kirkland, WA) suffered her first collegiate loss (7-1-1).
The energy of the match was high throughout as one of the largest crowds in recent memory turned out on a cool afternoon to support the team and help raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Over 250 fans turned out and rose over $700 for the charity which grants wishes to kids with illnesses.
The venture over the project was an idea senior Samantha Boehm (Wilsonville, OR) spearheaded as volunteer project. Boehm and her fellow teammates got sponsors to help make the warm-up shirts before the game and donate an I-Pod Shuffle, which was raffled off at halftime.
“I was very pleased with the support our fans and fellow MSUB teams gave us today,” Trentham continued. “I'm also really proud of Sam (Boehm) who is our senior captain and has been a great leader of this team this season. She did a remarkable job organizing this event for today's game and followed it up with just a great performance on the field.”
The Yellowjacket head out on the road this week for a pair of conference matches at Saint Martin's on Thursday, Oct. 21, and at Western Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 23. Those matches are scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.
