BILLINGS, Mont. – Coming off a 3-3-1 non-conference mark, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team begins play in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference on the road this week. The Yellowjackets play Northwest Nazarene University (4-2-0, 0-0-0) Thursday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m. LT followed by Concordia University (3-2-0, 0-0-0) Saturday, October 5 at 2 p.m. LT.
 
This week's opponents pose varying challenges. The Nighthawks ride a three-match win streak and arrive, armed with one of the top scorers in the conference. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will have a full-week to prepare to host MSUB Saturday and have never been beaten by the 'Jackets on their home field.
 
"We had the goal of getting four wins in non-conference so we were a little under our expectations there, which is a slight disappointment," commented head coach Thomas Chameraud. "But then I think given all the new players we brought in as well as new coaching staff members, we are still in good shape. Now we have to raise our game because we know there are no easy games in the GNAC. It is wide open this year."
 
Simon Fraser University earned unanimous first place consent in the 2019 GNAC Preseason Men's Soccer Coaches Poll, but the Clan has shown early signs they may not be as dominant as they were last season. MSUB has its first four GNAC games away from the Magic City and is hoping to improve on a 4-7-1 GNAC record last fall.
 
LAST TIME OUT: University of Mary pushed Sunday afternoon's game to overtime after scoring with 16 seconds left in regulation, but MSUB's Austin Shafer scored his first goal of the year just two minutes, eight seconds into the extra session to give the 'Jackets a 2-1 win. Theo Lamare also scored in the 65^th minute and helped MSUB sweep the home-and-home series with the Marauders.
 
TOP SCORERS: Andres Perez continues to lead the Yellowjackets with seven points (two goals, three assists). Perez has one multi-goal game (South Dakota Mines) and one multi-assist game (UMary) and has made the most of three total shots on goal this fall. Ignacio Crespo has six points (two goals, two assists) after starting four of five games. Crespo ranks second in shots on goal with seven.
 
 
LEADERS EMERGE: Captain Luca Battisotti has 110 minutes this year and is a two-time all-GNAC honorable mention at defender for MSUB. In six starts, Battistotti has played all 90 minutes on five occasions.
 
"Luca has been tremendous to the team," said Chameraud. "He's a very good player who leads by example on and off the field. He is definitely someone we can rely on. I think Shantik (Bedrosian) has also made a very positive impact in the group leadership with the guys, compared to last year. Now we can give him the keys to be a big impact player for us."
 
Veterans Battistotti and Bedrosian are joined by fellow senior Samuele Folla, who plays on the back line. Folla is one of seven players to appear in every regular season game so far and has 449 minutes of playing time. Folla (Udine, Italy) and Battistotti are in their second season together as starting defenders, trying to establish themselves as a top-end defensive pair in the GNAC.
 
 
"Samuele is a real natural leader," said Chameraud. "There are a lot of other guys as well that still make an impact in multiple ways. Cole (Hage) works hard every day out on the field and leads by example. Callan (Martin) hasn't seen the field as much as he would have liked but he's contributed when needed and really done a great job supporting all the guys which shows good leadership. Bryan (Maxwell) gave us some leaderships as well."
 
BENCH SUPPORT: The Yellowjackets have shown good depth amongst their non-starters. Ignacio Crespo and Theo Lamare rank second and third in points with six and five respectively. Each has started four games. Christian Thode has been another reliable option with three points, despite just one start. Austin Shafer came off the bench to score the overtime game-winning goal at home against University of Mary and has 74 minutes played and four total appearances.
 
"The guys coming off the bench are doing a great job so far," commented Chameraud. "We told them before the season that everybody has a role to play and even if you only get into the game for 10-15 minutes, that is your chance to make an impact on the outcome. Last game Austin (Shafer) was a good example of that. The guys understand that we can only have 11 guys on the field at a time, but everybody has to be ready at any moment."
 
 
FRESHMAN IMPRESSION: Jessy Martin emerged as the best option to replace graduating goalkeeper Ludvig Rhodin and had big shoes to fill. There were question marks as to whether the freshman would be able to rise to the challenge after he earned the starting job. Through seven games, many of those questions have now been answered.
 
Martin earned back-to-back GNAC defensive player of the week awards with one clean sheet against South Dakota Mines and a 1.24 goals against average. Perhaps his best game came against No. 2 ranked Cal Poly Pomona. The Chateauroux, France native made 11 saves to help the Yellowjackets preserve a 1-1 tie against one of the top teams in the nation.
 
"Jessy has been doing well," Chameraud said of the young keeper. "There is always room to improve from the couple of mistakes he has made but he's had some big performances and kept us in games. We expect a lot from him and he knows that and is pretty used to it at this point but we know he can do even more. The coaches are working very hard to help him get better every day."
 
Another stand out newcomer is freshman midfielder Cole Hage. The Missoula native is up to 458 minutes played and has two shots on goal.
 
"Cole has been the guy that we were happy with right from the start of the year," said Chameraud. "He came to us in shape and ready to go and has really surprised us with how good he has been. Now we just need to find more consistency in his game. He still thinks he has a lot of room to get better when he has the ball but overall, he has been a nice addition this fall."
 
 
Hage's hustle and heart has been noticeable on the field as has been the case with several MSUB players. It fits in to the model coach Chameraud is trying to create; a culture of winning.
 
"I think we have a ways to go to get to the winning mentality that we talk about," said Chameraud. "It might take one or two years to get the guys to buy into it completely. If we can get the mindset of never giving up and sacrificing yourself from your teammates, that is what we want. You really want see that show up late in close games."
 
The Yellowjackets finished 4-7-1 in the GNAC last season. The last time MSUB men's soccer had a winning conference record was 2016, a year in which they defeated Concordia 4-1 and Northwest Nazarene 3-0.
 
Scouting Northwest Nazarene University
Thursday, October 3 – 7:30 p.m. – NNU Soccer Field – Nampa, Idaho
2019 Record: 4-2-0, 0-0-0 GNAC, 1-1-0 home, 3-1-0 away, 0-0-0 neutral
2018 record: 3-14-1, 3-9-0 GNAC, 1-7-0 home, 2-7-0 away, 0-0-1 neutral
Head Coach: Adam Pearce (1^st season)
 
Like the Yellowjackets, Northwest Nazarene is coming off a win over University of Mary, 3-0 on September 27. The result lifted NNU to its third straight shutout. The other two came in 2-0 fashion over Notre Dame De Namur and Dominican University of California. Alex Nadermann has a 1.50 goals against average in six non-conference outings with 17 saves and a .654 save percentage. Nadermann won the starting job as a sophomore after appearing in five games last season.
 
The Nighthawks were selected to finish seventh in the GNAC pre-season coaches poll. Adam Pearce is in his first years at the helm of the program and has junior forward Jake Levine, a second team all-GNAC selection as his top returner. Last season, Levine scored five goals and had 15 points. In six games, he has already matched his sophomore goal total and tallied 12 points. He leads the GNAC with three game winning goals and ranks second in goals per game (0.83), behind only SMU's Brandon Madsen, who leads all of NCAA Division II in the category.
 
Though Levine is the only player to score multiple goals for the Nighthawks, Skyler Munroe (Jr., Forward, Boise, Idaho), Aoci Watambela (Jr., Forward, Portland, Oregon) Cameron Natvig (Fr., Midfielder, Lake Forest, California), Lorenzo Valentini (Fr., Defender, Saarbrucken, Germany), Danny Cuevas (Jr., Defender, Caldwell, Idaho), and Garrison Lee (Jr., Defender, Kapolei, Hawaii) all have single markers.
 
Northwest Nazarene ranks third in the GNAC with 14.17 shots per game and second with 1.83 goals per game. NNU has surrendered nine goals and scored 11. The Nighthawks and Saint Martin's University are the only two schools to record three shutouts this fall. NNU is currently on a three-game unbeaten streak.
 
The Series: Last season the Yellowjackets lost to NNU 4-2 at Yellowjacket Field on September 29, then rebounded to beat the Nighthawks in Nampa by the same score. In the October 18 game, Pascal Pisarek scored while Christian Thode and Brady Tesch collected assists. MSUB outshot NNU 17-11 with eight shots on goal. The 'Jackets hold a 12-15-2 all-time record against the Nighthawks in games dating back to 1997.
 
Coach Chameraud on Northwest Nazarene: "NNU will be tough I think. They have a new coach which I believe is doing a very good job with the team. They've already won more games this year than they did all last season. It will be a challenge for us. On defense we have to be aware of Lavine, who is one of the best strikers in the league. They have some strengths and also some weaknesses, which we will try to take advantage of on Thursday."
 
Scouting Concordia University
Saturday, October 1 – 2 p.m. – Tuominen Yard – Portland, Oregon
2019 Record: 3-2-0, 0-0-0 GNAC, 3-0-0 home, 0-2-0 away, 0-0-0 neutral
2018 record: 7-9-1, 5-7-0 GNAC, 4-3-0 home, 2-6-1 away, 1-0-0 neutral
Head Coach: Dan Birkey (32^nd season)
 
The Cavaliers feature eight returning starters in 2019, four of whom earned All-GNAC honors last fall. CU has been limited to 6.00 shots per game but has been efficient with eight goals in five games. Concordia also ranks fourth in the conference with a 1.40 goals against average and two shutouts.
 
The Cavs have a multitude of point contributors. Sophomore midfielder Nicholas Denley (McMinnville, Oregon) leads the squad with five points (2 goals, 1 assist) and one game winning goal. Junior defender/midfielder Brendan Laun (Elk Grove, California) has two goals for four points, as does freshman forward Kyle Dearborn (Wasilla, Alaska).
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Kenneth Symmes (Sammamish, Washington) has four starts and seven goals allowed on 20 shots on goal (1.40 goals against average). Eight players on the roster are from Oregon with international representation from Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, England, and Denmark.
 
Head coach Dan Birkey entered the fall with 386 collegiate wins and a .661 overall winning percentage in his 31 years with the team. Concordia men's soccer transitioned from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 2015 but the 'Jackets have yet to record a win at Tuominen Yard.
 
The Series: MSU Billings and Concordia each won on their home pitch last season. On October 6, the Yellowjackets picked up a 2-0 win. Andres Perez picked up an assist on Dana Kowachek's second goal. The Cavaliers won 3-1 on October 25 at Tuominen Yard. MSUB was outshot 22-19 in the contest.
 
Coach Chameraud on Concordia: We've been to Concordia several times since they moved to Division II and never won over there so we hope we can find the recipe this year. They have the entire week to prepare for us so they will have the advantage physically. It will be an uphill battle for us but NNU will be the first challenge and then we'll start to focus on Concordia beginning Friday."
 
HOW TO FOLLOW: Thursday's game will be available to stream live with statistics via NNU's Stretch Internet Portal. MSUB versus Concordia on Saturday can be watched on CU's Stretch Internet Portal.