BILLINGS, Mont. – Looking to build off momentum from a pair of road victories last week, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team will look to repeat the feat with two more Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches away from home.
 
Entering the week in second place in the GNAC standings at 7-7-2 overall and 4-4-1 in league play, MSUB takes on Concordia University on Thursday in Portland, Oregon, at 4 p.m. Pacific/5 p.m. Mountain, before facing Saint Martin's University on Saturday in Lacey, Washington, at noon Pacific/1 p.m. Mountain. Both matches will feature live video and live statistics available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
"It'll be a very even matchup against Concordia on Thursday, as they come off two victories just like us," said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "I respect their program a lot, especially the way they are coached: Always competitive, never giving up, and constantly working and grinding. Having said that, we need to focus on ourselves and make sure our strengths come out. The game against Saint Martin's is always an interesting one. It is the only grass pitch left in our conference, which gives them an advantage especially when wet. On top of that, they have a couple of quality players. We are going there to win, but first thing's first and that's our game against Concordia Thursday."
 
For the first time in a decade, MSUB claimed six points in one GNAC weekend, as it defeated Northwest Nazarene University 4-2 in comeback fashion last Thursday and Seattle Pacific 3-2 last Saturday. This week marks the final road trip of the season, and the 'Jackets will close the regular season next Saturday at home against No. 1 Simon Fraser University.
 
"We have confidence, which is warranted after last week's performances," Balog said. "However, two GNAC wins on the road in themselves don't get us anywhere. We have to confirm our good form by getting after it from the start on Thursday, and see if we can put Concordia on their heels."
 
ANOTHER HEROIC SHOWING FROM RICKY: Completing his third career hat trick in the win at Northwest Nazarene earned senior striker Ricardo Palomino his second career GNAC Player of the Week award. He is up to 27 career goals which is tied for second in MSUB history, and he has 60 points which ranks tied for fourth in school history. He needs one more goal and five more points to assume second place in both categories, behind only MSUB Hall of Famer Sam Charles with 69 goals and 156 points from 2006-09.
 
Palomino is also ascending the GNAC record books, as he is now tied for No. 21 in conference history in points and is No. 13 in career goals.
 
Palomino has also been nominated for the HERO Sports D2 Men's Soccer HERO of the Week, and fans can vote online here until the poll closes on Friday at 1 p.m. Mountain time.
 
PASCAL PUTS ON A SHOW: Freshman Pascal Pisarek had a major breakout performance over the weekend as well, as he matched Palomino's total with three goals of his own. Being shifted up the field and playing on the wing, Pisarek cashed in on chances with the first goal against NNU and two more against SPU. He now ranks fourth on the team with three goals and six points, and his final strike against the Falcons counted as the game-winner. He has started 10 matches this year playing primarily as a defender, and has scored on all three of his shots that have landed on frame.
 
FOLLA FINDS THE NET: Another primary defender contributed on the offensive end last week, as junior center back Samuele Folla logged his first goal of the season. Folla got the scoring started against the Falcons, before Pisarek added the finishing touches. Ranking second on the team among field players with 1,381 minutes played, Folla has started 15 matches and has not been subbed off over the last 12 games.
 
TESCH, HEPBURN LEAD ASSISTORS: In a weekend where six different players had an assist, freshman Brady Tesch and senior Adam Hepburn led the way with two apiece. Tesch had an assist in each game, giving a pass to Palomino on Thursday before feeding Pisarek in his game-winner on Saturday. For Hepburn, Saturday marked the first career multi-assist game, as he had a hand in the goal by Folla as well as Pisarek's first finish.
 
In total, nine different players were involved with either a goal or an assist among the seven scores the 'Jackets tallied in the last two matches.
 

Opponent	Scorer	Assistor(s)
Northwest Nazarene	Pascal  Pisarek	Christian  Thode
Northwest Nazarene	Ricardo  Palomino	Dana  Kowachek
Northwest Nazarene	Ricardo  Palomino	Ludvig  Rhodin
Northwest Nazarene	Ricardo  Palomino	Brady  Tesch
Seattle Pacific	Samuele  Folla	Luca  Battistotti, Adam  Hepburn
Seattle Pacific	Pascal  Pisarek	Adam  Hepburn
Seattle Pacific	Pascal  Pisarek	Brady  Tesch

COMFORTABLE ON THE ROAD: MSUB has kept its season alive with stellar road play, as it is one of just three teams in the GNAC to play at .500 or better away from home. Aside from No. 1 SFU, which is 9-0 on the road and 14-0 overall, only Western Washington with a road record of 4-4-1 has matched MSUB's mark of 4-4 in away games. The other four GNAC teams are a combined 10-19-1 in road games.
 
Concordia University Cavaliers
Thursday, October 25 – 4 PM Pacific – Portland, Oregon
2018 Record: 5-8-1, 3-6 GNAC
Head Coach: Dan Birkey, 31st season
2017 Record: 5-10-2, 4-7-1 GNAC (6th place)
First Meeting: MSUB 2, CU 0 (October 6 at Billings, MT)
 
The Cavaliers broke out of a lengthy six-game losing streak last week, as they, like MSUB, posted impressive road results. CU topped Seattle Pacific 1-0 in Seattle before beating Northwest Nazarene 3-2 in overtime in Nampa. Concordia's lone game this week is against MSUB, before it closes the 2018 season at home against NNU on November 1 and Western Washington on November 3.
 
Kieran McMinn scored the game-winner against the Nighthawks in the 94th minute, as he netted his team-leading fifth goal of the year. Nicholas Denley has been the other top scorer for CU, with four goals and two assists for 10 points in 14 matches. Overall CU is averaging 1.00 goals per game with 14 on the year, but has conceded 22 to its opponents.
 
While Denley is the lone field player to have started all 14 games, Brandon McCurtain and Santeri Ihamuotila have posted 13 starts apiece as other crucial players in CU's lineup.
 
Grant Alcorn is the only goalkeeper CU has played this season, as he has made a GNAC-leading 76 saves and 5.43 per game in his 14 matches between the posts.
 
The Series: MSUB is 4-1-2 all-time against CU, but is yet to win a match in Portland at 0-1-2 in away games.
 
Last Time Out: Senior Dana Kowachek scored both goals for MSUB in the home win, and the 'Jackets stayed perfect at 4-0 all-time against the Cavaliers. CU won a 3-2 shootout the last time the teams played in Portland, on October 19, 2017.

Date	Location	H/A/N	Result	Score
10-1-15	Portland, OR	A	T (2 OT)	3-3
10-17-15	Billings, MT	H	W	3-2
9-24-16	Portland, OR	A	T (2 OT)	3-3
10-20-16	Billings, MT	H	W	4-1
9-23-17	Billings, MT	H	W	3-1
10-19-17	Portland, OR	A	L	3-2
10-6-18	Billings, MT	H	W	2-0

Saint Martin's University Saints
Saturday, October 27 – 12 PM Pacific – Lacey, Washington
2018 Record: 6-9, 4-5 GNAC
Head Coach: Rob Walker, 12th season
2017 Record: 2-14-1, 2-9-1 GNAC (7th place)
First Meeting: SMU 3, MSUB 2 (October 11 at Billings, MT)
 
After being named GNAC Team of the Week last Monday, SMU suffered a pair of road defeats last week. The Saints lost to Western Washington 2-0 last Thursday before a 3-0 loss against Simon Fraser last Saturday. Like Concordia, the game against MSUB will be the only one this week for SMU, which has Thursday off.
 
Despite no goals by the team last week, Brandon Madsen continues to lead the squad with seven on the year and three assists for 17 total points. Sebastian Navarro has scored five times and Cayman John four, and those two are tied for the team lead with four assists apiece.
 
Six different Saints have started all 15 matches, including the defensive tandem of Collin LaBranche and Nick Phillips who have each played upwards of 1,300 minutes on the season.
 
Griffin Small has been the primary goalkeeper for the Saints, with a goals-against average of 1.59 in 14 matches. He has logged two shutouts, and ranks third in the GNAC with 63 saves on the year.
 
The Series: MSUB is 13-8-2 all-time against SMU and is 5-5-1 in games played in Lacey. The Saints have won the last two games and the series is even at 3-3-1 over the last seven dating back to the 2015 campaign.
 
Last Time Out: The 'Jackets led 2-1 with as little as six minutes left on the clock, but SMU stunned MSUB with two goals in the final minutes. John scored his second of the day to equalize the score at 2-2, before Navarro bent home a game-winning free kick in the 87th minute.
 

Date	Location	H/A/N	Result	Score
9-16-07	Billings, MT	H	W	2-0
10-4-07	Lacey, WA	A	W	6-0
10-2-08	Billings, MT	H	W	2-1
11-8-08	Lacey, WA	A	L	4-2
9-26-09	Lacey, WA	A	W	1-0
10-29-09	Billings, MT	H	L (2 OT)	2-1
10-2-10	Billings, MT	H	L	2-0
10-21-10	Lacey, WA	A	W	2-0
9-15-11	Lacey, WA	A	L (OT)	2-1
10-15-11	Billings, MT	H	T (2 OT)	2-2
9-20-12	Billings, MT	H	W	3-0
10-13-12	Lacey, WA	A	W	3-1
9-26-13	Lacey, WA	A	L	2-1
10-17-13	Billings, MT	H	W	4-0
10-11-14	Lacey, WA	A	W	2-1
10-30-14	Billings, MT	H	W	2-0
10-10-15	Billings, MT	H	W	5-1
10-29-15	Lacey, WA	A	L	2-0
10-1-16	Lacey, WA	A	T (2 OT)	2-2
11-3-16	Billings, MT	H	W	7-1
9-30-17	Billings, MT	H	W	4-1
11-2-17	Lacey, WA	A	L	5-3
10-11-18	Billings, MT	H	L	3-2