BILLINGS, Mont. – The final two home matches of the 2017 Montana State University Billings women's soccer season are this weekend at Yellowjacket Field, with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents headed to the Magic City.
 
MSUB (2-9-1, 1-5-1 GNAC) will host Western Oregon University on Thursday at 2 p.m., and Concordia University on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both matches will feature live video and live statistics, available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
"Last week's GNAC matches showed the highs and lows of our season, and I think we are all ready to get back after it this week," commented MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo. "We had a great overall team performance on Thursday to beat Simon Fraser, only to turn around and lose in disappointing fashion to Saint Martin's on Saturday. Western Oregon will provide us a stern test. We felt we played well against them in Monmouth, but did not get the result to show it. I know the team feels it has a lot to prove starting with WOU on Thursday."

Saturday will be Senior Day at Yellowjacket Field, with MSUB's lone senior Jessica Spang being honored in a pregame ceremony. The Billings native is a four-year starter for the 'Jackets, after finishing her prep career at

Skyview High School. "The Senior Day game against Concordia will provide us with a great opponent on a special occasion, and I look forward to seeing the team step up against them," said Cavallo.
 
MSUB split a pair of conference matches last week, defeating Simon Fraser University 4-1 last Thursday before a 2-0 loss to Saint Martin's on Saturday at Yellowjacket Field. MSUB enters the week in eighth place in the conference standings, with four points in GNAC competition.
 
TIP OF THE HAT TO WRIGHT: Putting together the best performance of her career last Thursday, junior Alycia Wright stole the show with a hat trick and an assist in the big win over Simon Fraser. Wright jumped to first place on the team with five goals and 11 total points, and she also ranks tied for eighth in the conference in points and tied for seventh in goals. The assist was the second of the striker's career, and the three goals pushed her career total to 13 midway through her third season. Wright is now one goal away from matching her personal best of six goals in a season, achieved as a freshman in 2015. All five of Wright's goals this year have come in multi-goal performances, as she scored twice in a 4-1 win over Black Hills State on Sept. 8. All eight of her previous goals before this season came in separate matches.
 
Contributing on all four of MSUB's goals in the game, Wright amassed seven total points which is tied for the fifth most in school history in a match.
 
MSUB Women's Soccer Single-Game Points Records

Rk.	Name	Points	Opponent	Date	Score
1	Jelisa Guy	14	Texas A&M International	9/16/2006	18-1
2	Brittney Sandau	9	Texas-Permian Basin	9/2/2006	11-0
3	Lacey Miles	8	Concordia (Neb.)	9/24/1999	10-0
	Ally Stroup	8	Texas A&M International	9/16/2006	18-1
5	Mandy Ploskonka	7	Texas A&M International	9/16/2006	18-1
	Samantha Sandau	7	Saint Martin's	9/16/2007	6-2
	Alycia Wright	7	Simon Fraser	10/5/2017	4-1

 
SPANG SCORES FIRST OF SEASON: Finding the net for the first time this season in the win over Simon Fraser was senior Jessica Spang, who has made five consecutive starts since missing the first five matches with an injury. Spang also had an assist on Wright's first goal of the match, upping her career tally to nine goals and nine assists for a total of 27 points. "It is hard to fathom that these will be Jessica's last two matches at Yellowjacket Field," Cavallo said. "She is a player who means so much to our program and me personally. I know her senior season has been hampered by her ankle injury, but she has come back into the team, really lifted our spirits, and has brought the level of play up. I know we will all do our best to help honor her this week on and off the field."
 

KALIN FIRST TO 1K: Starting every match of the season so far is sophomore Kalin Sandow, who became the first player on the team to reach 1,000 minutes last week. The center back stretched her string of complete games to four in-a-row, and is averaging a team-high 86.5 minutes along the defensive unit.
 
DEVOTO THREADS THE NEEDLE: Slotting home a perfect pass on Wright's final goal against SFU was junior captain Jordan Devoto, who grabbed her first assist of the year on the play. Devoto has been another mainstay as a winger for the 'Jackets, starting all 12 matches and contributing one goal. The assist last Thursday was the second of her career.
 
VERVAIR SHOWING STEADY IMPROVEMENT: Freshman Hallie Vervair has had an immediate impact this season at the outside back position for the 'Jackets, and is another player who has started all 12 games. The Spokane, Wash., native has steadily increased her workload each weekend, and played a season-high 166 minutes in the two matches for the 'Jackets last week.
 
Western Oregon University Wolves
Thursday, Oct. 12 – 2 PM – Yellowjacket Field
2017 Record: 2-7-1, 1-4-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Steve Ancheta, 7th season
2016 Record: 5-11-1, 2-9-1 (7th place GNAC)
1st Meeting (Sept. 23 at Monmouth, Ore.): MSUB 1, WOU 1 (2 OT)
 
The Wolves have momentum after their first conference win of the season, picking up a 2-0 victory over Central Washington last Saturday. WOU is in the midst of a four-game road stretch, and will play at Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday after meeting the 'Jackets in Billings Thursday.
 
WOU is the second-lowest scoring team in the league, being out-scored by its opposition 24-9 through its first 10 matches.
 
Offensively, Alyssa Tomasini and Meli Cortez are the only WOU players to have scored more than once, with a pair of goals each. Alexie Morris leads the team with two assists. Dacia Alexander and Kai Mahuka have been two of the most consistent players under veteran head coach Steve Ancheta, each starting all 10 games.
 
In goal, WOU has relied on Caitlin Kastelic to play every minute of the season. She is third in the GNAC with 55 saves, and holds a goals-against average of 2.28.
 
The Series: MSUB is 10-8-3 all-time against WOU, and is 7-3-1 in home matches against the Wolves. MSUB has gone unbeaten in the last five meetings between the teams.
 
Last Time Out: The 'Jackets grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on the first career goal by Amanda Hemmen, and came inches away from their first conference win of the season. Instead, Cortez found the equalizer for WOU in the 89th minute, and the teams were scoreless through double-overtime in a 1-1 stalemate.

Concordia University Cavaliers
Saturday, Oct. 12 – 2 PM – Yellowjacket Field
2017 Record: 8-2-1, 5-0-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Grant Landy, 21st season
2016 Record: 10-4-3, 5-4-3 GNAC (5th place GNAC)
1st Meeting (Sept. 21 at Portland, Ore.): CU 2, MSUB 0
 
The only unbeaten team in the GNAC besides No. 3 Western Washington, Concordia is primed for a trip to the GNAC Championships in second place with 16 points entering the week. The Cavaliers have rattled off five straight victories and are unbeaten in their last seven games overall dating back to Sept. 8.
 
CU has surrendered just two goals during that time span, and has only given up one goal in conference play with a league-best five shutouts against GNAC teams.
 
Offensively, the 'Cavs are dangerous with eight different players finding the net. Sydney Van Steenberge leads the team with five goals this fall, and Kyra Radcliffe is close behind with four goals.
 
Kayla Braunthal has started all 10 matches and leads the team with three assists. Gabrielle Ewing, Kasey Ames, and Karlie Hurley are the other 'Cavs to have started every game as well.
 
Shannon Peth and Anna Miller have split time in goal, and have combined for a stellar 0.85 goals-against average. Peth made the two starts last week and picked up two shutouts, needing to make just four saves in CU's wins over Saint Martin's and Simon Fraser.
 
The Series: MSUB is 0-2-2 all-time against Concordia and is 0-0-2 in home matches. The 'Jackets have never scored a goal against the Cavaliers.
 
Last Time Out: McKenna Stocker scored in the 37th minute and Van Steenberge added another five minutes after halftime to boost CU to the 2-0 shutout win over the 'Jackets on Sept. 21 in Portland, Ore. It was a one-sided match, with MSUB managing just two shots compared to 20 by the 'Cavs.