BILLINGS, Mont. – Three second-half goals and five saves by goalkeeper Joe Scott helped the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team to its third consecutive shutout victory, as the Yellowjackets blanked visiting Cal Baptist University 3-0 Thursday evening at Yellowjacket Field.
 
Ricardo Palomino had a hand in all three of MSUB's goals, scoring one and single-handedly creating the opportunity for another to materialize. The junior led all players with five shots in the match, as he created chances from start-to-finish while playing 79 minutes.
 
After recording a pair of assists in MSUB's last game on Sunday, senior Julien Dragomir scored his first goal as a Yellowjacket to give MSUB a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute. Freshman JD Hauenstein followed with his second goal in as many games in the 66th minute, and Palomino put the match out of reach with the 17th of his career at MSUB in the 76th minute.

"I am incredibly proud of the guys after this win against a very good California Baptist team," said MSUB head coach Alex Balog, who earned his 20th career victory on Thursday. "For us to show up the way we did today, shows that we are moving in the right direction." 

With the victory, MSUB improves to 3-2 after starting the season 0-2. The Yellowjackets dealt Cal Baptist its first loss of the season, as the Lancers had started the year 3-0 heading into Thursday's match.
 
Perhaps the most pivotal point in the match came in the 67th minute, when CBU was awarded a penalty kick almost immediately following Hauenstein's goal. MSUB held its breath as the strike by Kyle Pizano glanced off of the left goal post, and caromed away. Instead of having its lead cut to a single goal, the 'Jackets continued the offensive push and added a third finish to leave no doubt.
 
Flavio Colasanti, who contributed 51 minutes in the midfield for MSUB, had a solid look towards goal midway through the first half. The junior turned quickly and lofted a left-footed shot just over the crossbar, one of many dangerous chances the 'Jackets put together in the opening 45 minutes.
 
MSUB had out-shot the Lancers 11-7 by halftime, but only two of the home team's chances were on target.
 
MSUB narrowly missed out on a scoring chance nine minutes into the second half, after a powerful shot by Dragomir was blocked out of bounds for a corner. Guillaume Kremer played a perfect cross into the goal box on the ensuing play, but it was just out of reach of MSUB's attackers as CBU escaped danger.
 
Shortly thereafter, MSUB's first goal was created on a long through ball by Niklas Schregel from the defensive third of the field. Palomino tracked it down in the left corner, and shook off a defender before slotting a cross to Julian Toenges in the box. After the senior's shot was blocked by CBU goalkeeper Noah Oyler, Dragomir was there to turn and fire it into the lower-right corner of the net.


 
The Lancers countered with a push into the offensive third, but Scott made a sliding save on a strong shot by Hugo Gutierrez from the top of the box.
 
Palomino and Toenges worked together to create the second goal of the match, combining in the right corner with a pair of passes. The latter then beat a defender into the box, and found Hauenstein with a cross for his second assist of the match. "I saw Julian getting ready to cross the ball, so I made a run from outside into the box," Hauenstein said regarding the scoring play. "The ball went past Ricardo and his defender, and I was right there on top of the six to tap it in."


 
Striking again 10 minutes later, this time it was Palomino's turn as he combined with Dragomir on a give-and-go. Working against a defender inside the box, Palomino created just enough space for a quick, right-footed shot that was placed perfectly into the lower-left corner of the goal.


 
Scott preserved the clean sheet with 13 minutes to play, first handling a tricky back pass, then sliding to knock a follow-up effort out of play. "The team did great, and we all worked as a unit, especially in the back," Scott commented after earning his first career shutout. "We are really rolling, and we used our rough start in California to toughen us up a little bit. Things are going well."
 
Oliver Posarelli played a full 90 minutes at center back in contributing to the shutout, while Rhys Lambert, Garret Robinson, and Eli Williams all played north of 80 minutes defensively as well. Kremer was again the team's rock in the midfield, playing a full 90 minutes and distributing the ball well to all parts of the field throughout the match.
 
Overall, CBU out-shot MSUB 18-17, while both teams placed five shots on target. The Lancers held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks, but MSUB defended well against set pieces in the match. Oyler finished with three saves, and Luca Tschaidse led the visiting team with four shots and two on target.
 
"We are going into our game on Monday with a lot of confidence," Balog said. "We have seen Mary play a couple of times throughout the season, so we will know what to expect. The way we got this result today is going to take us into that game roaring."
 
THE BUZZ: Palomino was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Toenges now has three assists on the year, and his 15 in his career moves him into sole possession of fifth place in the MSUB record books…Chad Triplett made his MSUB debut in the match…Dragomir has five points in his last two matches, with a goal and three assists.
 
COMING UP: MSUB faces the University of Mary on Monday, in its final non-conference game of the season. The Yellowjackets and Marauders will kick off at 1 p.m. Mountain time at Yellowjacket Field, with live video and live statistics available through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.