BILLINGS, Mont. – Preparing for the toughest stretch of its 2018 season, the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team hits the road this week to take on a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents.
 
The Yellowjackets will challenge No. 18 Western Washington University on Thursday evening, before taking on Simon Fraser University on Saturday. The game against the Vikings will kick off at 7 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Mountain at Harrington Field in Bellingham, Washington, and the contest against the Clan is set for 1 p.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Mountain on Saturday at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, British Columbia. Both matches will feature live video and live statistics, available online through the MSUB Stretch Internet portal here.
 
It is the start of a four-game road stretch for MSUB, which will play at Central Washington and Seattle Pacific next week. Overall the 'Jackets have six games left on their 2018 schedule, five of which are against teams that are currently in the top-four in the GNAC standings.
 
MSUB (4-6-1, 1-5 GNAC) is coming off a pair of losses last week as it fell at home to Saint Martin's 2-0 and to Seattle Pacific 2-1. "Despite the results over the weekend I did feel that we finished the game against SPU on the front foot," said MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo. "We are looking to take that positive energy into the games this week. We know we are up against some of the best players in the entire country, who will really test our team. In these games, we always have individuals on the team who really step up and rise to the occasion. We will need this attitude from everybody to get something positive over the next two matches." 

DEVOTO SCORES HER SIXTH: Senior Jordan Devoto scored MSUB's lone goal last week, and it was the sixth goal of her career as a Yellowjacket. Her second finish of the season came in the match against SPU, as she took a stellar first touch inside the box and ripped a shot past the goalkeeper to help her team cut into a 2-0 deficit.
 
Since assuming a starting role midway through her sophomore season, Devoto has started 39 consecutive matches as a forward.
 
O'DELL AMONG TOP FRESHMEN IN THE GNAC: Providing the assist on Devoto's goal last week was freshman forward Cassidy O'Dell, who upped her team-leading total to four assists on the season. She now ranks fifth in the conference in assists, and has more than any other freshman in the league.
 
O'Dell has also scored once, and only two freshmen in the league have as many points as her total of six. Western Washington's Dayana Diaz leads all freshmen with 12 points, and NNU's Ashley Parton is even with O'Dell at six points. Among those three players, O'Dell is the only one who has contributed to her point total with both goals and assists, as the other two have been solely goal scorers.
 
GNAC Women's Soccer Top Freshmen

Player	School	Goals	Assists	Points
Dayana Diaz	WWU	6	0	12
Cassidy O'Dell	MSUB	1	4	6
Ashley Parton	NNU	3	0	6
Teagan Mackay	SFU	1	3	5
Gabrielle Brissette	SFU	2	0	4
Chandler Kauffman	NNU	1	2	4
Makinzie Packwood	CWU	2	0	4

 
TOTAL 90 EFFORT FOR SANDOW: Junior center back Kalin Sandow has played the full 90 minutes in each of the last three matches, and leads the team with 949 total minutes played this season. Starting all 11 matches on defense, Sandow is averaging just over 86 minutes per game. She is 1 of 8 Yellowjackets to have started all 11 games, as there has been a degree of consistency among MSUB's starting 11.
 
HEMMEN PILOTS DEFENSE: Junior captain Amanda Hemmen is close behind Sandow, with an average of 85.4 minutes per game and the second-highest total on the team at 939. Hemmen has also started all 11 contests and has one goal to her name on the year.
 
"The results in the GNAC have been tough for us, but with six matches to go we are really looking at the character of each individual within the group," Cavallo said. "In our group we have had many challenges this season in many different aspects, but we will keep fighting on, building this program brick-by-brick."
 
No. 18 Western Washington University Vikings
Thursday, October 11 – 7 PM Pacific – Harrington Field – Bellingham, Washington
2018 Record: 9-2-1, 4-1-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Travis Connell, 16th season
2017 Record: 18-2, 11-1 GNAC (2nd, NCAA D2 West Region Runners-Up)
 
Two years removed from winning the NCAA Division II national championship title, Western Washington remains a force among the nation's top women's soccer programs. After losing their opening GNAC game 1-0 to Concordia on September 15, the Vikings have gone unbeaten in their last six and have out-scored the opposition 15-2 in that time span. Last week, WWU topped Seattle Pacific 4-0 before a 1-1 double-overtime draw against Central Washington on the road.
 
Diaz, the Vikings' freshman phenom, is tied for second in the league with six goals and she has come off the bench in all 12 matches. Reigning first-team all-GNAC forward Gabriela Pelogi is second on the team with five goals and one assist, and she has started all 12 games this fall. Nine other Vikings have found the net, and the team has out-paced the opposition offensively by a margin of 25-6 on the season.
 
Defensively, Annaliese Laurila, Emily Nelson, and Taylor Hallquist have been the anchors as each has started every match of the season. The trio is rarely subbed off, as they rank second-through-fourth on the squad among field players in minutes played.
 
Natalie Dierickx has started all 12 games between the goal posts, and ranks second on the team with a 0.52 goals-against average. Dierickx and the back line have racked up three shutouts, and she has totaled 39 saves on the season.
 
The Series: WWU has dominated the one-sided series, with a record of 20-3-1 all-time against the 'Jackets. WWU is 9-1-1 in matches played in Bellingham, and has won 12 straight dating back to the 2012 season.
 
Last Time Out: The teams met just once a season ago, with WWU claiming a 1-0 victory in Billings on September 30, 2017. Ranked No. 1 in the country at the time, WWU's Talia Daigle scored in the 78th minute to help the Vikings escape with a narrow win at Yellowjacket Field.
 

Date	Location	H/A/N	Result	Score
11-7-98	Ellensburg, WA	N	L	8-0
10-30-00	Bellingham, WA	A	L	7-0
9-27-04	Bellingham, WA	A	L	2-0
9-20-07	Bellingham, WA	A	T (2 OT)	2-2
10-14-07	Billings, MT	H	L	2-0
10-9-08	Bellingham, WA	A	L	2-0
10-31-08	Billings, MT	H	L	2-1
10-24-09	Bellingham, WA	A	L	3-0
11-7-09	Billings, MT	H	L	2-1
9-25-10	Bellingham, WA	A	W	1-0 (WWU #20)
10-28-10	Billings, MT	H	W	1-0
9-24-11	Billings, MT	H	W	1-0
10-20-11	Bellingham, WA	A	T (2 OT)	0-0
9-29-12	Bellingham, WA	A	L	3-0
10-18-12	Billings, MT	H	L	2-0 (WWU #25)
11-3-12	Tukwila, WA	N	L	2-0
9-21-13	Billings, MT	H	L	4-1 (WWU #4)
10-24-13	Bellingham, WA	A	L	1-1 (WWU #12)
10-4-14	Billings, MT	H	L	1-0 (WWU #22)
10-16-14	Bellingham, WA	A	L (OT)	2-1
10-10-15	Bellingham, WA	A	L	2-0 (WWU #3)
11-5-15	Burnaby, BC	N	L	4-0 (WWU #2)
10-6-16	Bellingham, WA	A	L	3-0 (WWU #5)
10-29-16	Billings, MT	H	L	2-0 (WWU #1)
9-30-17	Billings, MT	H	L	1-0 (WWU #1)

Simon Fraser University Clan
Saturday, October 13 – 1 PM Pacific – Terry Fox Field – Burnaby, British Columbia
2018 Record: 6-3-1, 4-1-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Annie Hamel, 5th season
2017 Record: 7-9, 5-7 GNAC (5th place)
 
Poised for a return to the GNAC Championships after missing the event last year, SFU is positioned in a tie with Western Washington in second place in the conference standings. Since losing to the Vikings 1-0 on September 22, SFU has gone unbeaten in its last four games. The Clan are the only team to get a result against GNAC-leading Concordia this season, as they drew the Cavaliers 1-1 last Thursday in Portland, Oregon.
 
SFU will host Northwest Nazarene on Thursday evening before Saturday's tilt against the Yellowjackets.
 
Senior Jenna-lee Baxter leads the team and ranks second in the GNAC with 14 points, as she has scored four goals and has a conference-best six assists in 10 games played. Emma Pringle, the 2016 GNAC Freshman of the Year, is second on the team and in the GNAC with six goals scored, and SFU's 22 total goals are third-most in the GNAC.
 
Carli Grosso, Emma Lobo, and Hollis Roeske have started every game defensively, with the former leading all field players in minutes at 907.
 
Nicole Anderson has been the primary goalkeeper for SFU, with eight starts and a 1.12 goals-against average on the year. She has totaled 34 saves and has one shutout as well.
 
The Series: MSUB is 12-4 all-time against SFU and has a record of 6-2 in games played across the border. The 'Jackets have lost to the Clan just once in the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2011 season.
 
Last Time Out: The 'Jackets earned a dominant 4-1 victory at home on October 5, 2017. Devoto had an assist in the lone match between the teams a year ago.

Date	Location	H/A/N	Result	Score
10-30-99	Arcata, CA	N	L	1-0
9-29-02	Burnaby, BC	A	L	8-0
9-23-10	Burnaby, BC	A	W	1-0
10-30-10	Billings, MT	H	L	1-0
9-22-11	Billings, MT	H	W	4-1
10-22-11	Burnaby, BC	A	W	2-1
9-27-12	Burnaby, BC	A	W	2-0
10-20-12	Billings, MT	H	W	1-0
9-19-13	Billings, MT	H	W	2-0
10-26-13	Burnaby, BC	A	W	3-0
10-18-14	Burnaby, BC	A	W	4-0
10-30-14	Billings, MT	H	W	3-0
10-1-15	Burnaby, BC	A	L	1-0
10-8-16	Burnaby, BC	A	W (OT)	2-1
10-27-16	Billings, MT	H	W (OT)	2-1
10-5-17	Billings, MT	H	W	4-1