BILLINGS, Mont. – Announcing its schedule for the 2019 fall season on Thursday, the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team released its 17-game slate of matches.
 
"We are all looking forward to getting back on the field together for this upcoming fall season," said MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo, who will begin his third season in charge of the Yellowjackets. "We enter the 2019 season with a strong group of players returning, and I am excited to see everything the incoming players will add to our program. It will be up to everyone now to work hard over the summer so we can hit the ground running in August."
 
The Yellowjackets have four exhibition contests on their schedule, in addition to the 17-game regular season set of games. Action starts on August 23 at Rocky Mountain College, and the 'Jackets will play their first home scrimmage with the annual alumni game on August 25 at Yellowjacket Field. MSUB also plays at Carroll College on August 30 and at home against the University of Providence on September 1 to close out the preseason.
 
The first regular-season weekend is September 6-8, when the 'Jackets play a pair of games in Salt Lake City, Utah, against California State University Dominguez Hills and at Westminster. It will be the first-ever meeting between MSUB and both CSUDH and Westminster. The Griffins are coming off a stellar 2018 season, going 14-4-2 overall before falling to Dallas Baptist 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. 

MSUB will then make its regular-season home debut on September 12-14 with the Sixth Annual Rimrock Classic in Memory of Trevor Wildberger. This year's weekend tournament will feature games against Carroll on September 12 and the University of Mary on September 14, while each of those teams will face Black Hills State University as well.
 
The 'Jackets will also have their inaugural meeting against Minot State University on September 17. The game against the Beavers will be MSUB's final non-conference affair before the 12-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule begins. Minot State poses a tough opponent for the 'Jackets, after going 13-6-3 last year and falling to Bemidji State 3-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Championships.
 
"Our non-conference schedule will really prepare us for the rigors of the GNAC season," Cavallo said. "We will face two NCAA tournament opponents in Westminster and Minot State, both on the road, which will be a stern test for our group. Our goal is to compete in the GNAC playoffs in November, and we know we will only get there through improvement in each passing practice and game."
 
MSUB will begin its pursuit of a GNAC Championships berth at home, with matches against Western Oregon on September 26 and Concordia on September 28. The Wolves and Cavaliers are among four GNAC teams that MSUB will play both at home and on the road, with the 'Jackets also facing Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's twice in the 2019 season.
 
The Yellowjackets will get one crack at reigning GNAC champion Western Washington University, on the road in Bellingham, Washington, on October 5. MSUB's only games against Seattle Pacific University and Central Washington University will be at home on October 26 and 31, respectively, and the only regular-season affair against Simon Fraser will be the penultimate date of the year on November 7 in Burnaby, British Columbia.
 
MSUB's longest home stand during the 2019 fall season will be from October 24-31 for a stretch of three straight conference games. The 'Jackets have no more than two consecutive road contests at any point during the season.
 
The top-four teams in the GNAC standings earn a berth into the conference tournament, which is scheduled for November 14-16 at Interbay Stadium at Seattle Pacific University. The winner of the conference tournament earns an automatic berth into the NCAA D2 West Region Championships, which will run November 21-24 at the site of the top seeded teams.
 
All home games during the 2019 season will feature live video and live statistics, available through the MSUB Stretch Internet portal online here. Tickets for all MSUB home games are $5 for the general public, $3 for seniors (ages 65 and up) and students in grades 7-through-12, and free admission for all MSUB students and faculty, and children in grades six and under. Season ticket packages will also be available, and more information on Yellowjacket tickets can be found online here. Live coverage links and ticket information for all road matches can be accessed through the women's soccer schedule page online here.
 
The Yellowjackets went 4-12-1 during the 2018 season, and were 1-11 in conference play to finish the season in ninth place.
 

Date(s)	Opponent	2018 Record	In 2018	All-Time Record	Last Meeting
9-6	Cal State Dominguez Hills	3-10-4, 2-7-3 CCAA	0-0	0-0	None
9-8	at Westminster	14-4-2, 10-2-1 RMAC	0-0	0-0	None
9-12	Carroll College	10-6-3, 9-2-1 FRONTIER	0-0	11-9	9-14-17; CC 3, MSUB 0
9-14	University of Mary	8-8-3, 7-6-2 NSIC	0-0	10-10-3	9-10-16; UM 2, MSUB 2
9-17	at Minot State	13-6-3, 9-4-2 NSIC	0-0	0-0	None
9-26; 10-17	Western Oregon*	5-9-3, 3-7-2 GNAC	0-1	10-9-4	9-20-18; WOU 1, MSUB 0
9-28; 10-19	Concordia*	16-1-3, 9-1-2 GNAC	0-1	0-4-2	9-22-18; #10 CU 4, MSUB 0
10-3; 10-12	Northwest Nazarene*	8-8-1, 4-8-0 GNAC	1-0	18-7-2	9-27-18; MSUB 2, NNU 1
10-5	at Western Washington*	18-3-2, 10-1-1 GNAC	0-2	3-22-1	10-27-18; #15 WWU 2, MSUB 1
10-24; 11-9	Saint Martin's*	5-12-1, 1-10-1 GNAC	0-1	12-8-2	10-4-18; SMU 2, MSUB 0
10-26	Seattle Pacific*	12-6-2, 8-3-1 GNAC	0-2	4-21-2	10-20-18; SPU 4, MSUB 0
10-31	Central Washington*	5-8-4, 5-5-2 GNAC	0-2	11-16-1	10-18-18; CWU 1, MSUB 0
11-7	at Simon Fraser*	10-6-1, 8-3-1 GNAC	0-2	12-6	10-25-18; SFU 5, MSUB 0

 *-GNAC opponent