BILLINGS, Mont. – Solid defense was the deciding factor Saturday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field as Montana State University Billings men's soccer tied Simon Fraser University 0-0 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest in Billings after two 10-minute overtime halves. With both teams vying for a top-3 position in the conference standings, neither gave way in the scoreless draw, though both created chances to score.
 
"I think it's a good result for us," commented MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "If you said before the season that we were going to tie SFU at home, we would have taken it. I think we had a good first half and tried to find solutions between the lines. We didn't create a lot of high quality chances on offense and then in the second half, it was really a tactical battle. The fact that we did not concede any big chances was a positive for us. The guys worked really hard respecting the game plan. Sometimes when you are struggling to find ways to win a game, it's important to not lose it as well."
 
Simon Fraser dropped out of the NCAA Division II National rankings for the first time this season on Tuesday. The Clan (6-2-1, 3-1-1) ranked as high as No. 1 in the country last season.
 
While shots on goal were difficult to generate for both sides (7-3 in favor of SFU), MSU Billings managed eight corner kicks while Simon Fraser recorded seven. MSUB freshman goalkeeper Jessy Martin made seven saves to pick up his fourth clean sheet. Aidan Bain was perfect in goal for SFU and made three saves in 110 minutes.
 
"Jessy (Martin) and the guys worked hard on set pieces in the game," said Chameraud. "We defended well this afternoon and I'm happy for the team to get our fourth clean sheet, already one more than last year. It was one of our goals of the season to be better defensively and now we are seeing it happen out on the field."
 
Defenders Samuele Folla, Andrew Rivera, and Luca Battistotti played all 90 minutes of regulation and another 20 minutes in the extra session at the defender position. Theo Lamare led the team with two shots on goal. Rivera recorded the other.
 
Matteo Polisi and Mark Talisuna marked three shot attempts each for the Clan but Talisuna was the only player to put multiple shots on frame with two. The game was physical throughout, with 23 fouls called and six yellow cards assigned in total. The game was played in mid-50's weather with a breeze and advancing cloud cover.
 
The Yellowjackets (6-4-1, 3-1-1 GNAC) maintained their tie for second place in the GNAC standings along with Simon Fraser (6-2-1, 3-1-1) and Concordia (6-3-0, 3-1-1). First place Western Washington (7-3-1, 4-0-1) will play Saturday night. With no conference tournament, teams in the GNAC must qualify for the NCAA regional tournament to extend their regular season.
 
UP NEXT: MSU Billings continues its five-game homestand Thursday, October 24 at 3:30 p.m. against Western Washington. They play Northwest Nazarene at Yellowjacket Field for MSUB Kicks Cancer Day Saturday, October 26 at 12:30 p.m.
 
"The goal before the game was to make sure Simon Fraser didn't get three points ahead of us," Chameraud said. "With Western Washington coming up on Thursday, we are looking forward to being home. Our players will have to be ready for another battle."
 
THE BUZZ: Samuele Folla was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game for MSUB. Folla played all 110 minutes on the 'Jacket defensive line.