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BILLINGS, Mont. – Freshman Heidi Greenback (Woodinville, WA) scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 48th minute to help the Montana State Billings women's soccer team capture its second win of the season over Western Washington and keep its playoff hopes alive with a 1-0 result Thursday afternoon.
The Yellowjackets, who were ranked seventh in this week's NCAA west region poll, improved to 11-4-1 overall and 8-4-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The win earned the Jackets their first season sweep of WWU in program history and was just the second win ever over the Vikings.
With the loss, Western Washington fell to 9-4-3 overall and 6-4-2 in conference play.
“Today was a big win for us,” said MSUB head coach Don Trentham. “Anytime you can sweep a team in the GNAC it's big, and to do that against Western Washington says a lot about this team. I thought if we could've been sharper we might have capitalized on more of our opportunities, but everyone is playing hard and is excited about what could lay ahead for us. Again, it's a good victory for us but we still have two big games to finish the season.”
The first half saw a solid performance by the Yellowjackets as they had plenty of opportunities, but was unable to connect on any of their six shots. The defense allowed the only two shots on goal during the period, but preserved a 0-0 draw at halftime.
MSUB broke through on the scoreboard early in the second half as Jaucelyn Richter (Billings, MT) made a great run up the middle of the field, maneuvering past three or four Viking defenders. Richter was able to find Kari Foreman (Lakewood, CO) on the left side of the 18 yard box who then found a streaking Greenback up the center of the box and chipped in a wide open goal just outside the six.
“Jaucelyn (Richter) was a handful today,” said Trentham. “She created a lot of chances and just made a great play to break down those three or four defenders to get a great ball to Kari (Foreman), which led to the goal. Heidi has been phenomenal in these past few games for us, scoring the way she has.”
Greenback's goal was her third in the last two games as she had a pair in the 2-0 win over Western Oregon last Saturday. The game-winner was her fourth of the season. Richter collected her team-leading fifth assist of the year, while Foreman got her fourth assist of the season.
The defense again stepped up large for the Jackets, collecting their seventh shutout of the season and second in two games. The Jackets limited the Vikings to nine total shots, two on goal, and gave up just two corner kicks to WWU.
“The defense did a great job of limiting Western Washington's chances,” Trentham continued. “We played a fantastic second half and really managed the ball very well. It was probably the best performance we've had this season.”
Jacket goalkeeper Sabrina Grandke-Bawab (Kirkland, WA) made saves on both shots faced, but played key roles in coming out and making stops on the ball before a shot could be taken. It was her sixth shutout of the season and now carries a 0.82 goals against average.
The Yellowjackets had 10 total shots as a team as Richter had four, while Foreman and Carly Valentine (Vancouver, WA) each had a pair. The Jackets had four shots on goal and took six corner kicks for the match.
Today's win also guarantees MSUB of its first winning season in the GNAC conference since joining the league. The seven shutouts this season also ties the second most shutouts by a Yellowjacket team in program history.
“Now we have to turn our attention to Simon Fraser for Saturday,” Trentham concluded. “They're a tough team that doesn't allow very many goals and should be a good challenge for us. They probably have one of the best defenses in the conference and are hard to break down.”
MSUB is heads back out on the pitch this Saturday, Oct. 30, at 12:30 p.m. to face GNAC newcomer, Simon Fraser. The Jackets defeated the Clan 1-0 back on Sept. 23, in Burnaby, B.C.
