BILLINGS, Mont. – The complete schedule for the 2015 Montana State University Billings women's soccer team has been revealed, with 16 regular season games on tap as announced by head coach Wojtek Krakowiak on Thursday.
 
The Yellowjackets, who finished the 2014 season as the runners up in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a record of 11-4-2 and 9-3-2 in GNAC play, will open the 2015 season with four nonconference games before starting their 12-game GNAC schedule in mid-September.
 

"It is a good schedule, and we are going to be playing some new teams," Krakowiak, the 2014 GNAC co-Coach of the Year commented. "We are going to California which will be challenging but exciting. All four of our nonconference games will be competitive ones right before GNAC."
 
After three exhibition matches at the end of August, the Yellowjackets will host Montana opponent Carroll College in their 2015 home opener on Sept. 2 at Yellowjacket Field. MSUB will then head east to Bismarck, N.D., to challenge the University of Mary on Sept. 5.
 
The 'Jackets will close their nonconference schedule in the City by the Bay with games against San Francisco State on Sept. 10 and the Academy of Art on Sept. 12.
 
"Mary will be a good opponent and so will San Francisco State," Krakowiak said. "Those two games will be very competitive."
 
MSUB will open GNAC play with three straight home contests, beginning with a single game against Northwest Nazarene at Yellowjacket Field on Sept. 19. The following weekend, MSUB will welcome Western Oregon and new GNAC opponent Concordia University, which is in its first season competing in the conference.
 
A tough, four-game road trip is slated for the beginning of October starting with an evening match at Simon Fraser on Oct. 1. After closing the trip at Western Washington on Oct. 10, the 'Jackets will return home to host Seattle Pacific in the only regular season meetings with the Vikings and Falcons.
 
After taking on the Falcons, MSUB will host Saint Martin's on Oct. 17 in the team's annual MSUB Kicks Cancer Game, which supports the fight against cancer.
 
The Yellowjackets will get their first look at Hilken Community Stadium on the campus of Concordia in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 22, as part of a two-game road trip which also features a match against Western Oregon two days later.
 
MSUB will close its regular season at home against the Wildcats of Central Washington, and Senior Day will fall on Halloween.

 
"Every game will be a tough one, I don't think there is an easy game in the GNAC," Krakowiak said. "You have to show up for every game and earn the win. We will focus on taking it game by game."
 
Before opening its regular season schedule, the Yellowjackets will play preseason scrimmages at home against Sheridan Community College (Aug. 22), Northwest Community College (Aug. 27), and Western Nebraska Community College (Aug. 30). All regular season home games will feature live video and statistics, as will select road contests.
 
The 2015 GNAC Championships are scheduled for Nov. 5-7 and will be hosted by Simon Fraser University at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, British Columbia. The top four teams in the GNAC regular season standings earn berths to the championship tournament, with the winner of the tournament clinching the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II West Region Championships.
 
The Yellowjackets have advanced to the GNAC tournament twice, including last season and in 2012.
 
"Each year we have expectations for our team and I don't think it matters where we finished a season ago," said Krakowiak. "This will be a new season and we have to start from the ground up. Obviously, we want to make the GNAC tournament again, and I think we will have a little bit of a target on our backs after finishing in second place last year."
 
MSUB Women's Soccer 2015 Schedule
August (Exhibition)
22 – Sheridan Community College, 6 p.m.* 27 – Northwest Community College, 1:30 p.m.* 30 – Western Nebraska, 12 p.m.*
 
September
2 – vs. Carroll College, 3 p.m. 5 – at University of Mary, 1 p.m. 10 – at San Francisco State, 2 p.m. 12 – at Academy of Art, noon. 19 – vs. Northwest Nazarene+, 2 p.m., 3 p.m. 24 – vs. Western Oregon+, 4 p.m. 26 – vs. Concordia+, noon.
 
October
1 – at Simon Fraser+, 5 p.m. 3 – at Saint Martin's+, noon. 8 – at Northwest Nazarene+, 4 p.m. 10 – at Western Washington+, 1 p.m. 15 – vs. Seattle Pacific+, 1 p.m. 17 – vs. Saint Martin's#+, 3:30 p.m. 22 – at Concordia+, 2 p.m. 24 – at Western Oregon+, 1 p.m. 31 – vs. Central Washington+$, 2 p.m.
 
November
5-7 – GNAC Championships, Terry Fox Stadium, Burnaby, BC
 
 *-Exhibition match.
 +-Great Northwest Athletic Conference Match
 #-MSUB Kicks Cancer
 $-Senior Day
 All times local.
 All home matches at Yellowjacket Field in Billings, MT.