BILLINGS, Mont. – Adam Jones curled a perfect free-kick shot into the back of the net in the 23rd minute at Yellowjacket Field on Saturday, lifting No. 2 Simon Fraser University to a 1-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory over the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-3-3, 1-1-3 GNAC) snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak with the loss, their first defeat at home this season. Simon Fraser shook off a draw at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, and remained unbeaten on the year with an overall record of 9-0-1 and a GNAC mark of 4-0-1.
 
"Today I'm disappointed with our second-half effort against a tactically-organized SFU team that deserves a lot of credit," commented MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "We were lacking inspiration and especially quality in the second half."
 
A red card for SFU shortly after Jones' goal gave MSUB the advantage of playing with one more player than the Clan, and the 'Jackets put their foot on the gas with 10 shots in the opening period.
 
The only scoring play in the game materialized after a foul by the 'Jackets just outside the goal box on the right side of the field. Jones ran onto the ball with his left foot, and tucked it past the protective wall

and off of MSUB goalkeeper Joe Scott's hand into the net.  

Thiago Novis had the first dangerous chance of the match for the 'Jackets, as he ran onto a ball inside the box on the left side. The striker made solid contact, but SFU goalkeeper Brandon Watson smothered it as he charged off of his line.
 
Ricardo Palomino also had a promising look towards goal in the first half, but his header shot with only Watson to beat was pushed over the crossbar. The senior goalkeeper made three of his four saves in the opening 45 minutes, keeping the lead intact at the halftime break.
 
SFU came close to doubling its lead eight minutes into the second half, when a defensive breakdown by MSUB created a chance for Mamadi Camara inside the box. The striker had a clean look towards goal, but pushed his shot from 15 yards away just right of the goal post.
 
MSUB's looks towards goal were limited in the second half, with Watson's lone save coming on a long shot from Aidan Raj that wound up carrying on frame. The diving deflection by SFU's stopper led to one of four corner kicks in the match for MSUB, but the 'Jackets failed to capitalize.
 
Flavio Colasanti led MSUB with five shots in the game, and played all 90 minutes in the midfield. Junior captain Rhys Lambert also played the entire game defensively, and mustered a pair of shots. Novis was the only Yellowjacket with multiple shots on frame (2), and the senior striker had four of the team's 16 total shots.
 
Camara was the only player with multiple shots for the Clan, who earned their third shutout of the season.
 
"We are going to have to find a way to rebound from three straight draws and a home loss to keep our dreams alive," said Balog.
 
THE BUZZ: Colasanti was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB's Palomino was issued a red card in the 88th minute and will miss the next game…each team was whistled for 14 fouls in the match…it was the first home loss for MSUB since a 3-1 defeat against Seattle Pacific on Oct. 8, 2015.
 
COMING UP: MSUB remains at home for four more GNAC games, starting next week with Western Washington University and Northwest Nazarene University coming to town. Both games will be doubleheaders with the Yellowjacket women's team, and will kick off at 3:30 p.m. both Thursday and Saturday at Yellowjacket Field.