BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings men's soccer team concludes its longest and last road trip of the season, beginning Thursday with a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at Saint Martin's and then at conference rival Seattle Pacific Saturday.  Match times are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

The Yellowjackets enter the week on the heels of an eight-day layoff as they defeated the University of Mary 4-1 Oct. 13 in Bismarck, ND.  The Jackets stand at 6-5-1 overall and 1-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is senior Chris Andre who leads the team with six goals, four assists and 16 points.  Andre also leads the team with 39 shots and 21 on goal. He has two game winners, and is a perfect 2 for 2 in penalty kicks. 

Andre also is among the leaders in the conference as he ranks fourth in shots and shots on goal.  He is tied for second in points, fourth in goals and tied for fourth in assists.

Second on the team in scoring is sophomore Thomas Sheets who has nine points on three goals and three assists.  Sheets is third on the team in shots (27) and fourth in shots on goal with 12.  He has one game winner.  Junior Garion Holian is second on the team in goals with four and third in points with eight.  He is second in shots (32) and second in shots on goal with 19.  Junior Peter Davies is tied for second on the team in assists with three, along with senior Ryan Covey.

Between the posts, the Yellowjackets are led by senior Matt Mitchell who has played every minute thus far.  He has allowed 18 goals for a 1.47 goals against average.  Mitchell has stopped 49 shots for a .731 average and has two shutouts on the year.

As a team, the Yellowjackets have scored 20 goals and allowed 18.  They have 17 assists and 57 points on the year.  The opposition has 14 assists and 50 points.  MSUB has 168 shots for a .119 average and 88 shots on goal for a .524 average.  Conversely, the opponents have 141 shots (.128) and 68 on goal (.482).

Saint Martin's enters the week with a 7-6 record overall and a 2-3 mark in conference play.  The Saints won their past two matches against non-conference opponents Trinity Lutheran (2-0) and University of Mary (3-0). 

Leading the way for SMU this season is Ruben Orozco who leads the team with five goals and four assists for 14 points.  He also leads the team with 37 shots and a .135 shot percentage.  He has one game winner and is 1 for 1 in penalty kicks.  Xan Nixon is second on the team in scoring with nine points on four goals and one assist.  Nixon has only nine shots on the year, but has converted four of them.  Vlad Voin is third on the team in scoring with eight points on three goals and two assists.  Voin is second on the team in shots with 29.

As a team, the Saints have scored 25 goals and allowed 20.  They have 22 assists on the year and 72 points.  SMU has 164 shots for a .152 average.  Conversely, the opponents have scored 20 goals with 16 assists for 56 points.  The opposition has fired 175 shots for a .114 average.

In goal, three players have seen multiple-game action.  Zac Lubin leads the way with nine starts and 835:15 minutes.  He has allowed 17 goals and carries a 1.83 goals against average.  Lubin has stopped 35 shots for a .673 average and has a 4-5 record with two shutouts. TJ Young and Chad Schmidt also have logged time between the posts.

The Saints won in Billings earlier this season as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 5:49 into the match. The Yellowjackets had two good looks at the equalizer early in the second half, but SMU scored the eventual game winner on Orozco's second assist of the game in the 59^th minute.

MSUB didn't give up, however, Andre scored a goal with 2:36 left in regulation as he turned on a shot from the top of the box.  MSUB had another good look with less than a minute as Lubin came out to challenge Sheets and Lubin was able to redirect the ball wide of the net.  MSUB senior Kyle Moriarty tried to collect the rebound, but it was too wide of the goal resulting in a goal kick.

MSUB leads the all-time series 4-3 with SMU.  The Yellowjackets won a 1-0 decision in Lacey last year.

The Seattle Pacific Falcons (6-5-2, 3-1-1 GNAC) enter as one of the hottest teams in the GNAC, if not the region.  SPU has won three straight and are 6-1-1 in its last eight matches after starting the year 0-4-1. 

The Falcons also dipped out of conference play in their last three games as they defeated Hawaii Pacific (1-0 2ot), then-No. 1 in the West Region and Yellowjacket opponent, Grand Canyon, by a 3-0 score University of Mary 8-1.  In those games, the Falcons have outscored their opponents 12-1.  In their six wins, they have outscored their opposition 19-3 and have been outscored 12-4 in the five losses.

The Falcons are led by Tyler Schulz who leads the team with seven goals and 16 points.  He also leads the team with 41 shots and two game winners.  Andy Wolverton is second in scoring with 10 points on five goals.  Brandon Kuenzi leads the way with four assists.

As a team, SPU really has come on as of late as they have scored 21 of its 25 goals in its last seven matches.  The Falcons have tallied 19 assists and a total of 69 points.  They have fired 219 shots for a .114 average and a 3 for 3 in penalty kicks.  The opponents have scored 17 goals, but just six in the last seven games, to go along with a total of 13 assists and 47 points.  The opposition has 176 shots on the year for a .097 average.

In goal, Zach Johnson has started 11 matches and logged 1055:11 minutes.  He has allowed 16 goals for a 1.36 goals against average.  Johnson has stopped 49 shots for a .754 clip and is 4-5-2 on the year with four shutouts.  Kaleb Kuehn has seen action in two matches, while Liviu Bird has played in one.