BILLINGS, Mont. – Entering the week tied for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team finishes its five game homestand this week against a pair of familiar opponents at Yellowjacket Field. The 'Jackets host Concordia University (7-5-0, 4-3-0) Thursday, October 31 at 12:30 p.m. followed by Saint Martin's University Saturday, November 2 at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will feature a recognition of three Yellowjacket senior players before kickoff.
 
Both home games this week will have live statistics and video available via MSUB's Stretch Internet Portal. Fans can purchase tickets at the gate for $5 and students and staff are free with a valid MSUB ID.
 
CURRENT FORM: Due to adverse weather conditions Saturday morning, the 'Jackets changed venues and beat Northwest Nazarene 1-0 at Herb Klindt Field, marking their fourth conference victory. Ignacio Crespo scored in the 73^rd minute on a fast break. Andres Perez and Theo Lamare assisted on the goal. The Yellowjackets limited NNU to six shot attempts, with just one landing on MSUB goalkeeper Jessy Martin, who picked up his GNAC leading fifth clean sheet. Thursday night, the 'Jackets were defeated by Western Washington University 2-1. Bryan Maxwell was the only MSUB goal scorer.

2019 GNAC Men's Soccer Standings (as of 10/30/19)

Team	Conf	PTS	Overall	PCT	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak
Western Washington	6-0-1	19	9-3-1	.731	3-2-1	6-1-0	0-0-0	Won 5
Simon Fraser	4-2-1	13	7-3-1	.682	2-3-0	4-0-1	1-0-0	Lost 1
Montana State Billings	4-2-1	13	7-5-2	.571	3-2-1	4-1-0	0-2-1	Won 1
Concordia	4-3-0	12	7-5-0	.583	5-1-0	2-4-0	0-0-0	Lost 1
Saint Martin's	2-4-1	7	7-5-2	.571	5-4-1	2-1-1	0-0-0	Lost 1
Seattle Pacific	2-5-0	6	3-8-1	.292	2-5-1	1-3-0	0-0-0	Lost 1
Northwest Nazarene	0-6-0	0	4-8-0	.333	1-4-0	3-4-0	0-0-0	Lost 6

 
GNAC RANKS: Forward Shantik Bedrosian ranks fourth with 2.54 shots per game (33 total shots). Bedrosian has started all 13 games and has three goals, four assists, and 10 points. Bedrosian leads the squad with 16 shots on goal. Pittsburgh, California native Andres Perez cracks the top-10 with 13 points. The sophomore has won GNAC player of the week and tallied four goals to tie for fifth in points with 14 games played. Freshman defender Yaniss Aka's four assists landed him fifth on the GNAC charts this week for the category. Aka has 12 starts and six points, playing more minutes than any other freshman, excluding goalkeeper Jessy Martin.
 
The Yellowjackets (7-5-2, 4-2-1) matched their win total from 2018 with five games to play and the team remains on pace to finish above .500 for the first time since 2016.
 
SENIOR DAY: Liam Knox, Ignacio Crespo, and Christian Thode play their final home game in a Yellowjacket uniform Saturday against Saint Martin's. Crespo gradually increased his midfield minutes from 2016 to 2019 and played a career high 90 minutes against South Dakota School of Mines on September 15.
 
This season, Crespo has six starts and eight points to go with three goals, two assists, and nine shots on goal. Thode played 14 matches as a junior midfielder and scored his first MSUB goal on September 13 against Oklahoma Baptist. In 14 games this season, Thode has seven points and three goals as well as 14 shots on goal and one game-winning goal against Saint Martin's on September 10.
 
"Our seniors are all great characters," commented MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "They are good students and we've been really fortunate to have them in our program. What's really been good to see is their improvement they've made. Nacho didn't start much in his first two years, but now he's a regular starter and scored some important goals for us this year. Christian has had a lot of ups and downs but he's much more consistent in his performance now. We knew he had potential when he came here, but his game has really come together. Liam has been very solid for us on the left side. He had some small injuries this year but he's given everything for the program, which is priceless for us."
 
 
Scouting Concordia University
Thursday, October 31 – 12:30 p.m. – Yellowjacket Field – Billings, Montana
2019 Record: 7-5-0, 4-3-0 GNAC, 5-1-0 home, 2-4-0 away, 0-0 neutral
2018 record: 7-9-1, 5-7-0 GNAC, 4-3-0 home, 2-6-1 away, 1-0 neutral
Head Coach: Dan Birkey (32^nd season)
 
For the second time this season, sophomore Nicholas Denley scored a dramatic, game-winning goal in overtime as he lifted the Concordia University men's soccer team to a wild 4-3 road win over Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe Seattle Pacific University Saturday night at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Cavaliers play the MSU Billings and Northwest Nazarene this week to close out their final road trip of the year. Sophomore midfielder Denley (McMinnville, Oregon) leads the team with eight goals and 17 points on 26 shot attempts. He won GNAC offensive player of the week for the first week of September and already has four more goals than in 2018, when he was named honorable mention all-GNAC.
 
Other offensive threats include junior defender/midfielder Brendan Laun (Elk Grove, California) who has five goals, three assists, and 13 points, as well as freshman forward Kyle Dearborn (Wasilla, Alaska) with five goals, one assist, 11 points for CU. Concordia ranks third in goals (1.92), sixth in shots (12.00), fourth in goals allowed (1.56), and seventh in corners (3.75).
 
Coach Chameraud on Concordia: "The first time we played Concordia we lost 4-1 so we know it's going to be a difficult game for us. Concordia is very competitive and difficult to play. They have had some good wins this year so we need to execute our game plan well in order to have a chance because if we don't, it will be a big disappointment for us. We'd like to avenge that first game against them, which I think was our worst loss of the season. We have to keep working hard."
 
The Series: MSUB fell 4-1 to the Cavaliers on October 5 at Tuominen Yard. Denley and Dearborn scored in the first half to force the 'Jackets to chase the rest of the way. Shantik Bedrosian scored on a penalty kick in the 53^rd minute after Andres Perez was hauled down inside the box.
 
All-Time: MSUB is 4-3-2 all-time against CU and has never lost (4-0) at Yellowjacket Field.
 
Scouting Saint Martin's University
Saturday, October 26 – 3 p.m. – Yellowjacket Field – Billings, Montana
2019 Record: 7-5-2, 2-4-1 GNAC, 5-4-1 home, 2-1-1 away, 0-0-0 neutral
2018 record: 9-9-0, 7-5-0 GNAC, 4-3-0 home, 5-4-0 away, 0-2-0 neutral
Head Coach: Rob Walker (13^th season)
 
Finding moderate GNAC success this season, the Saints are coming off a split decision at home last week, with a 3-2 win over Concordia, followed by a 3-1 loss to Seattle Pacific. Like the Yellowjackets, SMU plays Thursday night against NNU before travelling to Billings for a Saturday matinee.
 
Senior forward Brandon Madsen (Auburn, Washington) has been an offensive juggernaut and leads the conference with 12 goals in 14 games played, though a majority of goals have come in non-conference affairs. Madsen's 27 point total puts him seven points ahead of second place Matteo Polisi of Simon Fraser and tied for 10^th among NCAA Division II players. Madsen also ranks second in the GNAC in shots (41), tied for first for game-winning goals (three), and third in shots per game (2.93). Junior forward Jason Fairhurst (Snohomish, Washington) and sophomore forward Oscar Aguilar each have four goals for SMU.
 
Saint Martin's is first in the GNAC in shots (196), first in goals (30), second in assists (1.73), and fifth in goals against average (1.72). 
 
Coach Chameraud on Saint Martin's: "We have to reduce the space for their top players. We've gained some confidence with our four GNAC clean sheets. One of our main goals for this season has been to concede less goals and so far we've been able to do that."
 
The Series: The Yellowjackets put up an emphatic 5-1 road victory against Saint Martin's on October 10. Christian Thode and Andres Perez scored twice each, and Bryan Maxwell tallied one goal. MSUB broke up a string of three straight losses to the Saints.
 
All-Time: MSUB holds the 14-9-2 edge in matches dating back to 2007 between the two sides. The Yellowjackets are 8-3-1 at home and 5-6-1 on the road against the Saints.