BILLINGS, Mont. – Facing a pair of opponents this weekend at the University of Mary Marauder Invite, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team wraps up the non-conference portion of its 2018 schedule on the road.
The Yellowjackets (1-3-1) will play Oklahoma Baptist University on Thursday with a 2 p.m. Central time kickoff. On Saturday, MSUB will challenge host University of Mary, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. Central. Both matches will feature live video and live statistics,
available online here.
MSUB is coming off a 6-0 triumph over Colorado Christian University and a hard-fought, 1-1 double-overtime draw against Sonoma State University last week at the 2018 Rimrock Classic in memory of
Trevor Wildberger. The win over the Cougars was the Yellowjackets' first victory of the season.
"We had a decent weekend against Colorado Christian and Sonoma State, and we'd like to build on that," said MSUB head coach
Alex Balog. "Two good opponents await us in Oklahoma Baptist and Mary. I'm expecting two big battles this weekend, and I know our guys are up for it. This is our final test before we go into GNAC play, and I want two good performances starting on Thursday."
While the Yellowjackets last played Mary in September of 2017, the teams got to see one another at last week's tournament in Billings as UM played both CCU and Sonoma State as well. The Marauders lost to SSU 2-0 before emerging with a 2-0 win over Colorado Christian.
After this week's matches, MSUB dives right into perhaps the most competitive part of its 12-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule, facing No. 3 Simon Fraser University and No. 24 Western Washington University on the road Sept. 20-22.
HARDWARE FOR LUDO: Senior goalkeeper
Ludvig Rhodin was singled out after his performance last week, being named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week. The shot-stopper had a stellar seven-save
performance to help the 'Jackets salvage a result against Sonoma State, and his 24 total saves are the second most in the GNAC this season. Rhodin has played all 487 minutes in goal for MSUB, and carries a 1.48 goals-against average in his first five matches.
PALOMINO BREAKS THROUGH: After going scoreless in his first three matches of the year, senior striker
Ricardo Palomino got to work quickly against CCU with a pair of goals in the first 20 minutes of action. He moved up one spot to No. 3 in MSUB history with 24 goals scored, surpassing Thomas Pertuit (2001-04). He needs three more goals to match Dave Austin's total of 27 from 1997-01 for No. 2 on the list.
It was also Palomino's eighth career multi-goal game, and his 45 minutes played were the fewest of his career during a game in which he found the net multiple times. The only player to exceed Palomino's multi-goal achievement is MSUB Hall of Famer Sam Charles, who posted 21 multi-goal games in his illustrious career that yielded an MSUB-record 69 goals.
Ricardo Palomino's 24 career goals are third-most in MSUB history.
Ricardo Palomino Career Multi-Goal Games
*8 Total; Blue: 2015 (Sophomore, 6); Yellow: 2016 (Junior, 1); Red: 2018 (Senior, 1).
KREMER SCORES ONE FOR TREVOR: Though senior Guillaume Kremer's first goal of the year was crucial in that it evened the score at 1-1 against Sonoma State, it carried an even bigger meaning. With the parents of the late Trevor Wildberger, Jon and Tami Wildberger, in attendance for the tournament dedicated to the memory of their son, Kremer scored his cracking goal in the 16th minute to Trevor. After blasting an unstoppable right-footed shot into the far-upper corner of the net, Kremer took off directly towards the sideline where he embraced the Wildbergers in an emotional goal celebration.
In just his third season with the 'Jackets, Kremer has rapidly ascended the scoring charts as he now has 11 career goals to his name. He needs just three more goals to break into the MSUB all-time top-10, and he also has 12 career assists to give him 34 points which is No. 10 in school history.
Guillaume Kremer (8) and Dana Kowachek celebrate after the former's equalizer in the 16th minute of Sunday's 1-1 draw against Sonoma State.
BATTISTOTTI AN ANCHOR: Continuing a theme he began to establish as a freshman in 2017, defender Luca Battistotti has once again displayed effectiveness both on the back line and in MSUB's attack early on this fall. The Italian got his name on the score sheet against CCU, scoring the second goal of his career to make the score 3-0 in the 31st minute. No field player has more minutes than Battistotti's 453 through the first five games, and he figures to be a work horse once again after ranking third on the team with 1,473 minutes played last fall.
BALANCED ATTACK: Through just five matches, 12 of MSUB's 19 field players who have seen the pitch have either a goal or an assist to their name. Having the entire roster involved in the attack was a strong suit of the 'Jackets last year, as 15 of 18 field players had either a goal or an assist among the 36 goals scored in the campaign. MSUB figures to be on pace for a similar offensive spread, with an average of just under two goals per game through their first two weeks of play.
Among the variety of goal scorers, a pair of freshmen netted their first collegiate finishes in the CCU match as Austin Shafer and Andres Perez bolstered the big lead for the 'Jackets. Additionally, newcomers Samuele Folla, Brady Tesch, and Marvin Putu have each contributed an assist, while junior Ignacio Crespo scored his second career goal as well.
Oklahoma Baptist University Bison
Thursday, September 13 – 2 PM Central – Bismarck, N.D.
2018 Record: 1-4
Head Coach: Anthony Yousey, 6th season
2017 Record: 7-9-1, 3-3 GAC
After winning their first match of the year 3-2 against Adams State University, Oklahoma Baptist has dropped four in-a-row with just three goals scored in that span. The Bison are coming off a tough week, being out-scored 9-0 in losses to Midwestern State University and Oklahoma City University.
Jesus Andrade is the lone OBU player to have multiple goals on the year, as he found the net in each of his team's first two matches. Bruno Ferreira, Alejandro Castillo, Italo Vichiatto, and Felipe Robertson have each scored once for the Bison, who have been out-scored 16-6 through their first five matches.
Defensively, the team is led by senior Abdoulaye Bah, who is the lone back-line player to have started all five matches. In goal, Parker Lawter and Bronson Wise have split the first five matches of the season. Lawter has played in 4 of 5 games and made 18 saves, while Wise played in the most recent contest and logged seven stops.
The Series: Thursday's game will be the first-ever contest between MSUB and OKB.
University of Mary Marauders
Saturday, September 15 – 3 PM Central – Bismarck, N.D.
2018 Record: 2-2
Head Coach: Dave Cook, 11th season
2017 Record: 6-8-1
The University of Mary has split its first four matches of the year, each of which has been decided by a score of 2-0. MSUB will be the third GNAC team Mary faces this season, as it lost to Concordia 2-0 on Aug. 30 and will play No. 3 Simon Fraser on Thursday in the first match of the week.
Adam Stringer leads the team with a pair of goals early on, and Mitch Carter and Gabriel Carvalho have each also scored for the Marauders.
Joel McIlroy is one of the team's leaders defensively, as he earned Rimrock Classic all-tournament honors after helping the team to a split in Billings last week. Blake Palmquist and Andre Almqvist are a pair of key starting midfielders for Mary, and Alberto Asencio, Nathan Clifford, and Steven Hutzenbiler have each started all four games this fall.
In goal, Lukas Billhardt has started 3 of 4 games and has made eight saves while surrendering just two goals. The senior has posted a shutout in two of his three performances thus far.
The Series: MSUB holds an all-time record of 28-7-2 against Mary, and is 14-4-1 in matches played in Bismarck. MSUB is unbeaten in the last four meetings between the teams, and has a mark of 23-1-2 over the last 26 games dating back to the 2003 season.
Last Time Out: The 'Jackets notched a 4-2 win in Bismarck last September, after taking a 3-0 lead in the first 22 minutes. Kremer had one of his top games, with a goal and two assists, and senior Dana Kowachek had his first collegiate goal in the match. McIlroy and Clifford scored the two goals for Mary.
