BILLINGS, Mont. – After finishing the non-conference season unbeaten, the Montana State Billings women's soccer team turns its attention to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers this weekend. The Yellowjakcets open play on Thursday at number 19 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 11 a.m., at Central Washington.
The Yellowjackets (3-0-1) are coming off the weekend with a dominating 4-1 victory at Colorado Christian and a hard fought 1-1 draw with RMAC favorites and NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist a year ago, Colorado School of Mines.
MSUB has outscored its opponents 10-3 in four games and holds a 42-28 shot advantage. The Yellowjackets have done most of their damage offensively and defensively in the second half, scoring seven goals on 23 shots and holding opponents scoreless with just five shots in the half.
Freshman Heidi Greenback (Woodinville, WA, Woodinville HS) currently leads the Yellowjackets in scoring with eight points, scoring three goals and two assists coming off the bench. She and sophomore, Jennifer Larsen (Mesa, AZ, Mountain View HS), are tied with three goals apiece to lead the Jackets. Freshman Whitney Siler (Monroe, WA, Monroe HS) has also been having a great year leading the team with three assists.
Between the posts, MSUB has used senior, Jordan Fenwick (Boise, ID, Boise HS), and freshman, Sabrina Grandke-Bawab (Kirkland, WA, Juanita HS), to help shut down opponents. The duo have made a combined nine saves against the 13 shots taken on goal this season, as both have a .750 save percentage.
Nationally, MSUB ranks 47th in scoring offense, tied for tops in the league with Northwest Nazarene at 2.5 goals per game. The defense also makes an appearance in the national statistics, as MSUB ranks 55th in goals against average with a 0.711.
Individually, Greenback is tied for the conference lead and ranks 54th nationally in points per game with a 2.0 average. She is also tied for the league lead in goals per game (0.75 - 69th nationally) and total points (8.0 – 42nd nationally).
Looking at the Seattle Pacific, the 19th ranked Falcons are currently 3-0-1 entering Thursday matchup. SPU is coming off 1-0-1 trip to the Hawaiian Islands where they tied BYU-Hawaii and defeated Hawaii Pacific in double overtime.
The Falcons are currently led by Brandi Hamre who has three goals and an assist on the year. Three other players have scored goals for SPU this season as the Falcons come into the match scoring 1.5 goals per contest and averaging 18.5 shots per.
Maddie Dickinson has been superb for the Falcons between the posts, recording three shutouts this season and allowing just one goal for a 0.23 goals against average.
The matchup Saturday in Ellensburg will put the Yellowjackets against a winless Central Washington team. The Wildcats (0-3-1) come into the match allowing 1.75 goals per game while scoring 0.75 times per match. They've given up seven goals on the year and have faced 66 total shots, 30 on goal.
CWU is led by Kaycie Hutchins who has four points, a goal and two assists, and is followed by Nicole Laughlin and Brittany Franks with a goal apiece.
