BILLINGS, Mont. – With just one game on tap this week, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team hosts Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe Saint Martin's University on Thursday afternoon.
 
Kickoff against the Saints is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Yellowjacket Field, and live video and live statistics will be available online through the MSUB Stretch Internet portal here.
 
MSUB (5-6-2, 2-3-1 GNAC) had a productive week at home, earning four points with a 1-1 double-overtime draw against Western Washington last Thursday and a 2-0 triumph over Concordia last Saturday. The Yellowjackets enter this week's game in a tie for third place in the GNAC standings with seven points, along with Western Washington. MSUB trails second-place Northwest Nazarene by two points and leads Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's each by one point.
 
"We want to build on the momentum we created by beating Concordia," said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "There was quality and realism in the way we played, and we need to replicate that against Saint Martin's on Thursday. Our players are starting to get healthy again, which will allow for more competition and depth. We have been in need of that for a few weeks. Saint Martin's will be dangerous offensively, but so will we. Coach Walker always sets his teams up well, and I look forward to the competition."
 
Only one home match remains on the schedule for MSUB after this week, as it will host No. 1 Simon Fraser University on November 3. Between now and then, the team will have a stretch of four straight road contests from October 18-27.
 
KOWACHEK SCORES A PAIR: Senior Dana Kowachek kept pace with the top offensive players in the conference last week, as he scored both of MSUB's goals in the 2-0 win over Concordia. His first-career multi-goal game upped his season total to six, and he now ranks No. 6 in the league in both goals and total points (14). Among the players surrounding him in the rankings is Saint Martin's forward Brandon Madsen, who also has six goals and 14 points this fall.
 
GNAC Men's Soccer Points Leaders (as of Oct. 9, 2018)

Rank	Player	School	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Avg./Game
1	Matteo Polisi	SFU	11	13	10	36	3.27
2	Connor Glennon	SFU	11	12	7	31	2.82
3	Mamadi Camara	SFU	11	7	10	24	2.18
4	Titus Grant	SPU	10	7	3	17	1.70
	Georg Cholewa	WWU	11	7	3	17	1.55
6	Brandon Madsen	SMU	11	6	2	14	1.27
	Dana Kowachek	MSUB	13	6	2	14	1.08
8	Guillaume Kremer	MSUB	13	4	5	13	1.00
9	Sebastian Navarro	SMU	11	4	4	12	1.09
	Rafael Junqueira	NNU	11	6	0	12	1.09
	Alden Massey	SPU	12	5	2	12	1.00

TESCH NETS FIRST-CAREER GOAL: The first-career goal for freshman forward Brady Tesch came at a crucial time, as he helped the 'Jackets secure a point in the draw against Western Washington. Tesch has seen action in 11 of 13 matches in his first year with the 'Jackets, and his 49 minutes played on Saturday against the Cavaliers were his most this season. Tesch became the ninth different player to score for MSUB this fall, and he is 1 of 5 players with at least one goal and one assist to his name. 
 
MARNEAU THE MONSTER MIDFIELDER: Playing an accelerated role in the midfield last week, sophomore Guillaume Marneau impacted both matches in his starting role. He threaded the needle with a perfect pass on Kowachek's first goal, collecting his second assist of the season. He also played a season and career-high 77 minutes in the match against the Cavaliers. Overall he has started 10 matches and played in all 13.
 
ITALIAN STALLIONS: Defensively MSUB has been anchored by Italian backs Luca Battistotti and Samuele Folla. The duo ranks first and second on the team among field players in minutes played, with 1,180 and 1,111, respectively. Battistotti has started all 13 games and has played every minute over the last four contests. He had the assist on Tesch's goal against WWU, his second helper of the 2018 season. Folla meanwhile has not been subbed off since September 7 against Colorado Christian, as he has a streak of 850 consecutive minutes played entering Thursday's match.
 
HEPBURN COMMANDING THE MIDFIELD: The presence of senior Adam Hepburn has been another major positive for the 'Jackets as of late, as he played all 200 minutes last week in the two matches. The four-year veteran has filled a crucial role as a central midfielder, and the 110-minute effort against the Vikings marked the third time in his career he played 110 minutes in a match.
 
GK LOOKS TO GET BACK ON SCORE SHEET: Going without a point for the first week this season, senior Guillaume Kremer still played his part in impacting both matches by playing all 200 minutes. Against Concordia on Saturday, he matched his season high with five shots. He is now one point behind Kowachek with 13 on the season, as he has scored four goals and added five assists to rank eighth in the GNAC in total points.
 
RHODIN COMES UP BIG: The 'Jackets had senior goalkeeper Ludvig Rhodin to thank for the point they earned on Thursday, as he came up with a season-high nine saves while facing a steady supply of shots by the WWU attack. It was MSUB's second overtime draw of the year, and he faced a season-high 25 shots in the match. Rhodin followed by earning his second shutout of the season on Saturday, as he stopped both of the Cavaliers' shots that landed on frame.
 
Entering this week, Rhodin leads the GNAC with 54 saves, and his average of 4.50 per game ranks fourth in the league. He is 1 of 4 GNAC goalkeepers to have multiple shutouts on the season
 
GNAC Saves Leaders (as of Oct. 9, 2018)

Rank	Player	School	Games	Saves	Avg./Game
1	Ludvig Rhodin	MSUB	13	54	4.50
2	Griffin Small	SMU	11	51	4.64
3	Grant Alcorn	CU	10	50	5.00
4	Lars Helleren	SPU	9	44	4.89
5	Brandon Wolter	WWU	10	30	3.00
6	Jacob Hillyer	NNU	8	29	3.62
7	Luciano Trasolini	SFU	11	22	2.00

 
Saint Martin's University Saints
2018 Record: 4-7, 2-3 GNAC
Head Coach: Rob Walker, 12th season
2017 Record: 2-14-1, 2-9-1 GNAC (7th place)
 
The Saints had just one match last week, and, like MSUB, beat up on Concordia with a 3-1 victory on the road. SMU will face the Cavaliers again on Saturday, this time on its home field in Lacey, Washington.
 
Madsen has proven that last year's GNAC Newcomer of the Year award was no fluke, as he is among the conference's leaders with six goals and two assists. The Saints' top goal scorer is 1 of 8 players to have started all 11 matches, and he ranks fourth on the team with 982 minutes played.
 
Also in double digits in points is Sebastian Navarro, who has scored four goals and added a team-high four assists for a dozen points. Alexis Lopez, Cayman John, Jason Fairhurst, and Will Eldred are the other Saints who have scored this season, as just six SMU players have combined to score all 17 of the team's goals.
 
Collin LaBranche and Nick Phillips have been two of the top defenders for SMU, earning starts in all 11 matches and each averaging more than 88 minutes per match.
 
In goal, Griffin Small has started every game and ranks second behind Rhodin with 51 total saves. He holds a 1.66 goals-against average and has one shutout on the year.
 
The Series: MSUB leads the all-time series 13-7-2, and has a record of 8-2-1 in home matches. MSUB is 6-3-1 over the last 10 games dating back to the 2013 season.
 
Last Time Out: SMU out-slugged MSUB 5-3 in a wild game in Lacey, Washington last November, as Madsen recorded a hat trick within 24 minutes of the opening whistle. The 'Jackets took care of business at home on September 30, 2017, with a 4-1 victory despite allowing a goal in the opening two minutes to Navarro.