BILLINGS, Mont. – Ripping victory away from the home team in overtime, Saint Martin's University scored two late goals to win 2-1 over Montana State University Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference soccer game Saturday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field. The 'Jackets, minus two top players in the contest maintained strong possession and a goal by Andres Perez in the first half, but SMU dominated the second half, leading to an 86^th minute equalizer by Brandon Madsen. Nine minutes into overtime, Madsen struck again to dagger the Yellowjackets.
 
MSU Billings (8-6-2, 5-3-1 GNAC) entered the day ranked second in the conference standings behind Western Washington (10-3-1, 7-0-1), but a failure to register any points against Saint Martin's (8-6-2,3-5-1) Saturday may prove costly in their quest for the post-season.
 
"I thought the first half was good," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "We started the game fairly well and were able to create some chances. Then in the last 10 minutes of the half, Samuele left the field and that hurt us really bad because he has been the leader of the back line all season long. After that, Saint Martin's completely outplayed us in the second half and scored. At the same time, we did not produce anything and completely lost our identity. When that happens, you get beat. Credit to Saint Martin's, it was a well-deserved win for them today. We just have to get back to work because we have two important games next week to prepare for."
 
After keeping the ball in the offensive half for a majority of time in the first 45, Andres Perez scored for MSUB in the 26^th minute. Yaniss Aka streaked down the right sideline and crossed the ball to the middle of the box, where Perez one-timed it in. The momentum slowly began to swing in the direction of the Saints and a long scoring drought was finally broken when Madsen received a long pass from behind the centerline. After settling down the pass, Madsen looped the ball up and over goalkeeper Jessy Martin, who came out to the top of the box and it trickled in to the center of the net.
 
The 'Jackets appeared to take back control of the game in overtime with play in the offensive half, but did not register a shot despite two promising crosses. With 27 seconds remaining, Madsen took a crossing pass from Isaac Hernandez and flicked it against the grain, just inside the right post.
 
Saint Martin's outshot the Yellowjackets 14-4 in the game, including 10-1 in the second half. Hunter Askland made one save and assisted on an SMU goal to pick up the win at goalkeeper. Jessy Martin allowed two goals and had five saves in the loss for MSUB. Defenders Luca Battistotti, Andrew Rivera, and Yaniss Aka played the full 100 minutes for the Yellowjackets. Seniors Liam Knox (45 minutes), Christian Thode (63 minutes), and Ignacio Crespo (63) all contributed on Senior Day in Billings.
 
A physical affair, the 'Jackets were issued two yellow cards and fouls narrowly favored SMU 14-12. The Yellowjackets have 16 points in the GNAC standings with three games left in the regular season (two road, one home). Western Washington has won each of its previous six contests and has 22 points heading into Saturday.
 
UP NEXT: MSU Billings flies west to play Thursday, November 7 against Simon Fraser, then Saturday, November 9 versus Western Washington. The team wraps up with a home game against Seattle Pacific University Thursday, November 14 at Yellowjacket Field.
 
THE BUZZ: MSUB seniors Liam Knox, Christian Thode, and Ignacio Crespo were collectively named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game.