BISMARCK, N.D. – Theo Lamare and Ignacio Crespo scored two minutes, 12 seconds apart in the first half and Montana State University Billings went on to defeat University of Mary 3-1 in non-conference men's soccer Monday afternoon at University of Mary Soccer Field. Christian Thode added his first tally of the season for insurance in the 85^th minute and Andres Perez continued to tally points with a pair of assists in the contest.
 
The Yellowjackets struck for 14 total shots, with eight landed on goal and allowed just five to the Marauders. Nearing the end of the first half, UMary's Adam Stringer scored to cut the deficit to 2-1, but goalkeeper Jessy Martin was perfect the rest of the way for MSUB.
 
"It's always difficult to play against Mary and today was no different," commented head coach Thomas Chameraud. "We started the game well, put our foot on the ball, and found some good combinations in the last 30 yards. We scored two great goals in the first half. I'm happy for Theo (Lamare) for scoring his first goal with MSUB and also Nacho for finding the score sheet again. The second half was a battle but I thought we stayed pretty solid. We would have liked that third goal to come about earlier but Austin did great work putting pressure on to force the turnover. Andres unselfishly gave the ball to Christian who buried it. Now we are going to rest and prepare for the rematch on Sunday."
 
MSU Billings (2-3-1) has a rematch against University of Mary (0-6-0) on September 29 at 2 p.m. at Yellowjackets Soccer Field before starting out the Great Northwest Athletic Conference campaign on October 3 against Northwest Nazarene. The 'Jackets have won two of their last three matchups, the only blemish being a 3-0 loss to No. 13 Eastern New Mexico University.
 
THE BUZZ: Ignacio Crespo was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the match for MSUB. Crespo had one goal and three shots on goal in 71 minutes on the pitch. Crespo leads the Yellowjackets with three goals and eight points.