ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Held scoreless for the third straight match, the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team lost to Central Washington 1-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action Thursday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium.
 
Sydney Lowe scored for the Wildcats in the 54th minute, in what held up as the game-winning goal. CWU completed the season sweep of MSUB, after topping the 'Jackets 4-0 in Billings on September 15. The 'Cats improved to 3-7-4 overall and 3-4-2 in league play with the victory, their second in the last three matches.
 
The Yellowjackets lost their fifth straight match, and fell to 4-9-1 overall and 1-8 in GNAC play. "Again we can take positives from the game, but it is a frustrating result," said MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo. "We started the game on the front foot which is exactly what we hoped for. In the second half we really tried to push at the end after conceding our goal, but we couldn't create a clear cut chance to get an equalizer. I can't fault the effort of the team, as they are still digging deep and battling."
 
Freshman forward Julia Keller came close to scoring just two minutes into the match, but her open shot from the right side of the box rolled just wide of the far post. MSUB managed three shots in the opening 14 minutes of play, including an on-target header by Jordan Devoto, but didn't have an attempt for the remainder of the first half.
 
The Wildcats spent the first 15 minutes building offensively, and Lexsi Manning's first attempt of the day curled wide of the far post as the 'Jackets dodged a bullet.
 
Bailey Martoncik rattled the woodwork with just under 20 minutes to go in the opening half, as her shot from the top of the box glanced off the right goal post.
 
Similar to the opening half, Keller had a shot very shortly after kickoff, but her attempt was saved by CWU goalkeeper Emily Thomson. Thomson made three saves overall in the game, and collected her fourth shutout of the year.
 
The Wildcats were the first to strike however, as Lowe gave her team a 1-0 advantage in the opening 15 minutes of play in the second. Her first collegiate goal beat MSUB goalkeeper Lili Delgadillo, and the Wildcats nearly struck again a minute later with a shot off the crossbar.
 
Delgadillo saved the day with three minutes to go, racing forward and knocking away a wide-open attempt by Manning from within the box. It was the last of four saves that she had in the match, as she reached her second highest total of the year.
 
Defensively, junior Kalin Sandow played a full 90 minutes for the sixth straight game, and outside back Courteney Shovlin also played the full match. MSUB was out-shot 15-5 in the game, as it managed just two attempts in the second half.
 
THE BUZZ: Shovlin was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 11-16-1 all-time against CWU and is 4-9-1 in road games…the 'Jackets lost their fifth straight in the series against CWU…Thursday was MSUB's first-ever match at the newly renovated Tomlinson Stadium, which was completed prior to the fall 2018 season.
 
NEXT UP: MSUB heads west to take on Seattle Pacific University on Saturday in its final road match of the 2018 season. Kickoff against the Falcons is set for 3 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Mountain time, and live video will be available online here with live statistics here.

Date	Location	H/A/N	Result	Score
10-3-98	Billings, MT	H	L	3-1
10-4-98	Billings, MT	H	L	6-0
11-8-98	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	6-2
9-17-00	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	2-0
9-11-03	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	3-0
9-18-04	Billings, MT	H	W	5-1
9-22-07	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	3-0
10-12-07	Billings, MT	H	W	2-1
9-24-08	Billings, MT	H	L	2-0
10-11-08	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	2-1
9-17-09	Ellensburg, WA	A	W	3-1
10-3-09	Billings, MT	H	L	3-0
9-18-10	Ellensburg, WA	A	W	2-1
10-14-10	Billings, MT	H	W	4-2
10-1-11	Ellensburg, WA	A	T (2 OT)	1-1
10-27-11	Billings, MT	H	W	3-0
9-15-12	Billings, MT	H	W	2-1
10-11-12	Ellensburg, WA	A	W	2-0
9-28-13	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	2-1
10-17-13	Billings, MT	H	L (OT)	1-0
9-25-14	Billings, MT	H	W	1-0
10-11-14	Ellensburg, WA	A	W	2-1
10-31-15	Billings, MT	H	W	1-0
10-1-16	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	3-0
10-15-16	Billings, MT	H	L	2-1
10-28-17	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	2-0
9-15-18	Billings, MT	H	L	4-0
10-18-18	Ellensburg, WA	A	L	1-0