BILLINGS, Mont. – After allowing two goals in the first 20 minutes of the contest, Montana State University Billings men's soccer never recovered and fell 2-0 to Humboldt State University in their home opener Friday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field. The Yellowjackets (1-2-0) were playing in their first scheduled game of the sixth annual Rimrock Classic, presented by Granite Health and Fitness in memory of Trevor Wildberger.
 
Marco Silveira intercepted an MSUB pass inside the box and slid it past goalkeeper Jessy Martin to give the Lumberjacks a 1-0 lead, just 2 minutes, 16 seconds in. Then in the 20^th minute, Gus Baxter looped a pass in to Isaiah Dairo who chipped it through traffic to his left and scored to make it 2-0.
 
The Yellowjackets played better in the second half and generated more offensive opportunities but still failed to score before the final horn.
 
"I think if we don't show up from the start, then any team in the country can beat us," said head coach Thomas Chameraud after the game. "Give credit to Humboldt State for taking advantage of our mistakes. I think today we gave two assists to Humboldt and then it became really hard for us to try and come back. We played better in the second half, but we need to make sure we start the game on the right foot. It's hard to come from behind against a quality team like Humboldt State. We created some chances to score in the second half but we lost our home opener so it's obviously a disappointment.
 
The Lumberjacks (2-1-0) narrowly out-shot the 'Jackets 14-12. Goalkeeper Robert Quintero made four saves to earn a shutout for Humboldt State. Jessy Martin allowed two goals and made five saves in the losing effort for MSUB.
 
The second half began with a solid defensive stop by MSUB captain Luca Battistotti with 36 minutes remaining. In the final 10 minutes, Shantik Bedrosian took a pair of free kicks near the top of the box but MSUB did not convert.
 
With more players in the attacking half in the final minutes, Martin made an excellent save against Silveira to give the Yellowjackets one last chance.
 
"The guys showed some pride in the second half which was good," Chameraud said. "Now we need to see that in the start as well."
 
MSU Billings earned six corner kicks versus two for Humboldt State. The game was physical on both sides with four yellow cards being issued to the 'Jackets and two handed out to HSU.
 
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets have a quick turnaround and play again Sunday, September 15 against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (2-1-0) at 4 p.m. at Yellowjacket Field in the Rimrock Classic. The Hardrockers are coming off a 1-1 draw against University of Mary at home.
 
"We know it's going to be a physical game on Sunday," Chameraud said. "What we would expect is to have 24 guys ready to play. South Dakota Mines is a physical team and a good team that will never give up. They fight for every ball so we have to come ready for that game."
 
THE BUZZ: Luca Battistotti was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game for MSUB.