BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings women's soccer team is set to conclude a six game road stretch in the schedule with a pair of contests against nationally ranked opponents. The Yellowjackets will take on NAIA #17, Simon Fraser, on Thursday at 5 p.m., and then travel to Western Washington for a matchup against the 20th ranked Vikings on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Yellowjackets enter the weekend with a 4-1-1 record overall and a 1-1 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after earning a split last weekend at Seattle Pacific (L, 0-3) and Central Washington (W, 2-1).
The results from last week helped MSUB maintain a top-10 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America west region poll, as the Yellowjackets found themselves at No. 10.
With this week's matchups, MSUB will have faced three teams that are ranked nationally in their respective divisions (Seattle Pacific, SFU, WWU), and two others that are currently ranked in their respective regions (Dixie State and Colorado Mines).
As a team, the Jackets are currently second in scoring offense in the GNAC with 2.0 goals per game and are third in goals-against average with 1.125 goals-against. MSUB has outscored opponents 12-7 this season and have outshot opponents 57-44. The Jackets have taken 9.5 shots per game this season and have a shot on goal percentage of 73.7 percent.
Individually, MSUB is led by Jennifer Larsen (Mesa, AZ, Mountain View HS) and Heidi Greenback (Woodinville, WA, Woodinville HS) who have each tallied eight points and have seven goals and two assists between them. The duo is currently third in the conference for points per game at 1.33, while Larsen leads the league in goals per game at .667.
Kari Foreman (Lakewood, CO, Bear Creek HS), who had the game-winner against Central Washington, has five points with two goals and an assist, while Whitney Siler (Monroe, WA, Monroe HS) stays amongst the league's best with three assists on the year.
Simon Fraser enters the match with a 3-1-0 record overall and are 2-0 in the conference after wins over Western Oregon (2-0) and Saint Martin's (4-0). SFU is led by Lauren Lachlan and Lia Marining who each have two goals apiece; while April Coffin has a team-high two assists.
As a team the Clan has outscored opponents 8-1 this season, getting three shutouts by goalkeeper Amelia Ng. Opponents have managed to take just 20 shots against Simon Fraser, only 13 have been on goal.
Western Washington, which is riding a 13-game unbeaten streak, is currently tied for the league lead with an overall record of 5-0-1 and 2-0 in the conference. Along with being ranked No. 20 in the NSCAA national poll, the Vikings are No. 3 in the west region poll.
WWU leads the conference in shots (15.17 avg.), points (7.17), goals (2.50), and assists (2.13).
The Vikings are led by Claire Morgan. Morgan has nine points on the year, scoring three goals and assisting on three others. Molly Shannon has eight points for WWU, scoring three times and assisting on two others.
