SEATTLE – After two weeks away from the pitch, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team returns to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday night against No. 16 Seattle Pacific University.
 
The prime-time match kicks off at 7 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Mountain at Interbay Stadium, with live video available online here and live statistics available online here. "We are really excited to be back on the field and finally play our first GNAC game," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud, whose team has not played a conference contest since facing the Falcons on Nov. 14, 2019. "We have been waiting for this moment since November 2019, and we are just impatient to play our first GNAC game. We are lucky to play SPU who has been playing really good this season. They are ranked 16th in the country so it will be a massive challenge for us but a challenge that we feel we will be up for."
 
Saturday's match marks the beginning of the 10-game GNAC schedule, as the race to the 2021 postseason begins. The winner of the GNAC regular season will earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA D2 West Region Championships, set for Nov. 18-21.
 
MSUB (2-3-1) was last in action on Sept. 15, putting together a thorough 5-2 defeat of South Dakota School of Mines to wrap up its non-conference schedule and snap a four-match winless skid. After Saturday's road match, MSUB will make its home regular-season debut on Oct. 7 against Saint Martin's and Oct. 9 against Northwest Nazarene.
 
"After a much needed break for everyone, the team has been working really hard and has been studious throughout these two weeks," said Chameraud. "We had to correct some things defensively and offensively to be more efficient. Saturday will be a great test and hopefully we will execute the game plan. Everybody is at 0-0-0, and a new race begins for everyone in the GNAC. It's a very competitive conference where anyone can beat anyone. We will have to be consistent in our performances, play at a high level during every game, and have all of our players ready to make the difference for the team at any point during the season."

CUEVAS DELIVERS BIG PERFORMANCE: Fifth-year senior Paul Cuevas turned in the top effort of his MSUB career to date, scoring a pair of goals and providing an assist for five total points in the lopsided win over South Dakota Mines. Cuevas has started 4 of 6 matches so far this fall, and is averaging 76.2 minutes per game in the lineup.

SHAFER STRIKES AGAIN: Junior forward Austin Shafer netted his second goal of the season and the sixth of his MSUB career, as he has found the back of the net in each of his four seasons in the program. Shafer's finish against the Hardrockers gives him two goals in his last three games, and his four points rank him third on the team offensively.

RAMIREZ COMING INTO FORM: After debuting for the 'Jackets during the 2021 spring season, junior midfielder Edgar Ramirez scored his first goal of the fall in the win over SD Mines. Ramirez has seen action in all six matches, and worked his way into MSUB's starting lineup over the last two games. Ramirez's six shots on goal rank him second on the team, and he holds a stellar shots-on-goal percentage of 75.0 on the season.

BRIQUET FACILITATING WELL FROM MIDFIELD: Newcomer Jeremie Briquet has played a key role since being inserted into the Yellowjacket lineup in the midfield, and his three assists through the first six games are tied for the most by any player in the GNAC along with Northwest Nazarene's Jimmy Koufidakis. Two of Briquet's assists came in the SD Mines game, with the other coming on Halil Yilmaz's game-winning golden goal in the season opener against Texas A&M International.

MAXWELL PUSHES FORWARD FOR FIRST GOAL: Junior defender Bryan Maxwell got on the end of his first goal of the fall in the win over the Hardrockers, scoring on Cuevas's assist in the 33rd minute. It was the fourth-career goal for the Yellowjacket defender, who will play the 40th match of his MSUB career on Saturday night.

PUTU BACK IN LINEUP: After sitting out one match with a minor injury, junior forward Marvin Putu returned against the Hardrockers and made a noticeable difference with his second assist of the season. After leading the Yellowjackets with three goals during the 2021 preseason, Putu has been a steady presence with a pair of assists and solid minutes in five of the team's six games so far.

BATTISTOTTI SET FOR 64TH CAP: Fifth-year senior captain Luca Battistotti will make the 64th appearance of his MSUB career on Saturday, as he approaches the program's top-10 list for games played. The steadfast defender needs three more appearances to tie for the 10th place slot with 67 games, with the all-time record of 72 being held jointly by Greg McKeever (2004-07) and Chris Andre (2007-10). Throughout his five-year tenure, Battistotti has totaled 5,403 minutes played for an average of 85.8 minutes per match.

SALLING FINDING HIS WAY ON BACK LINE: True freshman Oscar Salling has been paired alongside the veteran Battistotti at the center back role and has made strong headway towards becoming a fixture on the team's back line. The Dane has earned four starts with his 6-foot-1 presence being a welcome addition to the Yellowjacket defense.

LOWES CONTINUES TO HOLD MIDFILED TOGETHER: Senior midfielder Brad Lowes is the only Yellowjacket besides Yilmaz to have started all six matches this season, providing the team with a steady presence at the center of the pitch. Lowes is averaging 78.3 minutes per match in his first full campaign for the 'Jackets.

MSUB RELIES ON PISAREK'S VETERAN PRESENCE: Only Battistotti has a career that spans longer than fourth-year veteran Pascal Pisarek, who debuted in 2018 along with Putu, Maxwell, Shafer, and Brady Tesch. Pisarek's 474 minutes played are second-most behind only Maxwell among field players, including a career-high 110-minute effort in the team's double-over time draw at UC Coloardo Springs. Pisarek has earned four starts, and overall in his career he has experience in 17 GNAC matches.

YILMAZ REMAINS AMONG GNAC POINTS LEADERS: Thanks in large part to his season-opening hat trick, Yilmaz has accumulated seven total points this fall and ranks tied for fifth among all GNAC players in that category. His first-career assist in an MSUB uniform came in the win over South Dakota Mines, and he is averaging 1.17 points per game this fall.

No. 16 Seattle Pacific University Falcons
Saturday, October 2, 2021 – 7 PM (Pacific) – Interbay Stadium – Seattle, Washington
2021 Record: 6-1
Head Coach: Kevin Sakuda (1st season)
2019 Record: 7-9-1, 6-6 GNAC (3rd place)
 
The Falcons have ascended to No. 16 in the latest United Soccer Coaches top-25 rankings, after getting off to a high-powered 6-1 start to the season. SPU has scored multiple goals in all but one match – its 1-0 overtime triumph over Chico State. Saturday's GNAC-opener against MSUB is the Falcons' lone match this week, as they kick off a three-game home stand with Northwest Nazarene coming up on Oct. 7 and Saint Martin's following on Oct. 9.
 
Alex Mejia has gotten off to a red-hot start this fall, leading all GNAC players with seven goals through the team's first seven matches of the season. Titus Grant and Alden Massey have each contributed three goals and a pair of assists, while Travis Swallow has scored twice and Nik Reierson has added one finish to a lineup that is averaging 2.3 goals per game.
 
Defensively, SPU is conceding just 1.0 goals per game, with Ed Weise and Aidan Thrall having started all seven matches to key the Falcons' defense. In goal, the team relies on seasoned veteran Lars Helleren who has started all seven matches and carries a 0.96 goals-against average with three shutouts.
 
The Series: MSUB is 7-19-5 all-time against SPU and holds a record of 4-13-3 in matches played at Interbay Stadium. MSUB has emerged triumphant in four of the last seven meetings dating back to the 2016 season, and the 'Jackets have won three consecutive games in the Emerald City.
 
Last Time Out: The Falcons claimed a 4-1 victory on Nov. 14, 2019 to close out the regular season in what proved to be the final match before the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.