BILLINGS, Mont. – Though the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team has just one match on its schedule this week, it's a crucial one with a Great Northwest Athletic Conference showdown set for Saturday night under the lights at No. 22 Simon Fraser University.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-5, 3-1 GNAC) currently share the top spot in the league table with Western Washington University, with each team holding nine points. MSUB will travel across the Canadian border to face the Clan (5-1-2, 1-1-1 GNAC) on Saturday night at Terry Fox Field with kickoff set for 8 p.m. Mountain time. Live video and live statistics for the match will be available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
"The fact that we have Thursday off is going to help us in our game against Simon Fraser on Saturday," said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "We have four wins in the last five games, and nine out of 12 points in the GNAC, so I think we are doing relatively well. Our heads are right, and there is a lot of confidence in the team right now."
 
MSUB is coming off a 4-1 victory over conference opponent Saint Martin's University at home last week, rebounding from a 2-1 loss to Seattle Pacific two days earlier to remain at the top of the standings.

LONG ROAD AHEAD: The 'Jackets are prepping for three straight weeks on the road, with the five-game stretch away from Billings standing as the longest of the year. MSUB won't play at home again until Oct. 26 when it faces Simon Fraser a second time. MSUB is 2-2 in matches played away from Yellowjacket Field this year, and has won its last two away contests.
 
HAUENSTEIN PUTTING IT TOGETHER: All five of JD Hauenstein's goals this season have come in the last six matches, and the sophomore leapt past his 2016 total with two finishes last week in the win over Saint

Martin's. Hauenstein scored the equalizer and the game-winner against the Saints, in his first career multi-goal performance.
 
Through nine games, Hauenstein ranks third in the conference in goals with five, and his 20 shots are the fifth-most in the league.
 
KREMER CONTRIBUTES CONTINUALLY: Like Hauenstein, junior midfielder Guillaume Kremer has had a major influence on MSUB's results lately, with all of his team-high 12 points coming over the last three weeks of action. Kremer scored the only goal for MSUB against Seattle Pacific on a penalty kick, and assisted on another score in the win over Saint Martin's last week.
 
Entering this week, Kremer ranks third in the league in total points (12), and leads the entire conference in shots with 35 for an average of 3.5 per game.
 
2017 GNAC Men's Soccer Points Leaders (As Of Oct. 4, 2017)

	Rank	Name	Points	Goals	Assists	School
	1.	Anthony Dean	19	8	3	Western Washington
	2.	Matteo Polisi	14	6	2	Simon Fraser
	3.	Guillaume Kremer	12	4	4	MSU Billings
	4.	Gabriel Weber	11	4	3	Seattle Pacific
		Gabe Kellum	11	3	5	Seattle Pacific
	6.	Brandon Madsen	11	5	0	Saint Martin's
		JD Hauenstein	10	5	0	MSU Billings

SEASON OF FIRSTS FOR SENIORS: Becoming the fourth senior this fall to score his first-career goal as a Yellowjacket last week was outside back Aidan Raj. The Hollister, Calif., native got his head on a perfect free-kick cross by Kremer for the third goal against Saint Martin's, contributing with a score in his best performance of the season thus far.
 
Raj's goal was just the latest in a widespread attack by MSUB's seniors, as Alexis Chavez, Victor Sanchez, and Eli Williams have each also scored their first MSUB goal this season. The diversity in scoring has been a key for the 'Jackets offensively, with 11 different players having found the net at least once to account for the team's 20 goals. By contrast, among MSUB's 40 goals scored during the 2016 season, only 11 different players contributed with a finish.
 
"It has been really nice, and you never really know who is going to score the next goal," said senior midfielder Niklas Schregel. "That's the good thing about our team (offensively). We have to defend a little better sometimes, and now we are trying to get a clean sheet."
 
REALF & OLI THE BOSSES IN THE BACK: Since being out-scored 10-1 in two matches during the Rimrock Classic, the Yellowjackets have tightened up their defense and have not allowed more than two goals in a match. Over the last five games, the 'Jackets are conceding just under two goals per game (1.8) while enjoying an average of 3.4 goals per game on the offensive end. Center backs Realf Zhivanaj and Oliver Posarelli have been the driving figures behind the improved defense, playing every minute of the last seven matches together side-by-side.
 
CRESPO CREATING CHANCES: In his most effective performance of the conference season thus far, sophomore midfielder Ignacio Crespo entered Saturday's game against Saint Martin's off the bench and wound up tallying 66 minutes. MSUB's final goal of the game was created by the Guatemalan out of the center of the field with a perfectly-weighted through ball towards the box to Dana Kowachek. Crespo has seen time in all 10 matches this season, and has one assist to his name.
 
LOHMANN JUMPS TO NO. 2 IN SAVES: Making seven total saves last week and pushing his season total to 33, senior goalkeeper Tom Lohmann moved up a pair of spots in the MSUB career saves category to No. 2 all-time. In his three-plus seasons, Lohmann has now made 178 stops, and is 19 saves shy of breaking the school record of 196 held by Matt Mitchell (2007-2010). Among conference keepers, Lohmann ranks second in both total saves (33) and save percentage (.733). 

MSUB Career Saves Leaders  

Rk.	Name	Saves	Seasons
1.	Matt Mitchell	196	2007-2010
2.	Tom Lohmann	178	2014-17
3.	Eoin Hurley	177	2011-13
4.	Jess Feldtman	174	2003-05

 
 
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Yellowjackets, who were the third-highest scoring team in the NCAA Division II west region a season ago, are finding their groove and currently rank second in the GNAC with 20 goals this season. MSUB's torrent scoring pace of nearly 3.5 goals per game over the last three weeks has it projected to pull even or surpass both Simon Fraser and Seattle Pacific, who are co-leading the GNAC with 21 goals each. MSUB is also second in the league with 19 assists, and in total points with 59 and an average of 5.9 per contest.
 
Simon Fraser University Clan
Saturday, October 7 – 8 PM MTN Time – Terry Fox Field – Burnaby, B.C.
2017 Record: 5-1-2, 1-1-1 GNAC (4th place)
Head Coach: Clint Schneider, 3rd season
2016 Record: 14-1-3, 9-1-2 GNAC (1st place)
 
After starting the season 4-0 and earning the No. 2 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches top-25, Simon Fraser has slipped to No. 22 this week after two draws and a loss in its last four games.
 
The reigning GNAC champions are five points behind the 'Jackets in the league table entering their first match of the week on Thursday at home against Northwest Nazarene University.
 
SFU's Matteo Polisi is second in the GNAC with six goals, and leads the team offensively with 14 total points. Reigning GNAC Player of the Year Adam Jones has scored three times and turned in a pair of assists, but has been absent from the Clan's lineup in the last three matches.
 
Connor Glennon has been another attacking weapon for SFU this year, and is tied for second on the team with three goals scored.
 
Defensively, the Clan rely on center back Magnus Kristensen, the most seasoned veteran in all of the GNAC as a fifth-year senior and four-year starter. Miguel Hof has started every game in goal for SFU, and has needed to make just five saves in 755 minutes while owning a 0.83 goals-against average.
 
This will be the first meeting between the teams this season, but not the first time they've seen one another play. SFU competed at MSUB's Rimrock Classic in early September, defeating Cal State San Bernardino 2-1 and No. 10 Cal Poly Pomona 2-1 at Yellowjacket Field.
 
The Series: MSUB has never defeated Simon Fraser, with the Clan holding an 18-0-3 record in the one-sided series. The 'Jackets are 0-9-1 in games played in Canada, and have lost three in-a-row since a double-overtime draw in 2015.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB was shut out in both games last season, with then-No. 2 SFU winning 1-0 in Billings on Oct. 8, 2016 on a penalty kick. It was a different story in Burnaby on Oct. 27, with the then-No. 3 Clan strolling to a 4-0 win over the 'Jackets.