BILLINGS, Mont. – Completing the first half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this weekend, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team faces a pair of conference opponents on the road.
 
The Yellowjackets (3-5-1, 1-2 GNAC) cross the border Thursday night to take on Simon Fraser University at 7 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Mountain in Burnaby, B.C. Live video for the match will be available online here with live statistics available online here.
 
MSUB will return to the States on Saturday with another 7 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Mountain kickoff against Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. Live video for the match against the Vikings will be available online here with live statistics available online here. "We want to bounce back after the tough loss on Saturday," said senior defender Pascal Pisarek. "We had a good game against NNU, but we couldn't bring the result back home. We are looking forward to the next game. We have never won at SFU, so that is something we want to change for this trip."
 
The Yellowjackets picked up their first GNAC win of the season last week, shutting out Saint Martin's 3-0 in a dominant performance at home. MSUB then endured a tough 2-1 setback at the hands of Northwest Nazarene, which scored twice in the final six minutes of Saturday's match. "We have to rebound from the tough loss on Saturday, and we have to move on to try to get good results at SFU and Western Washington," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "I think in both games that we played well, and against NNU we deserved better. We had a lot of chances, but unfortunately we didn't put them away."
 
The 'Jackets return to Billings for their final three home matches after this week's games, but will have a week off in between as the next contest is on Oct. 30 against No. 7 Seattle Pacific. "The team played good and we created a lot of chances, but we have to put them away," Pisarek said. "We worked on finishing this week, and I hope we can use our chances better to get more goals."
 
THREE MORE FOR IBO: Halil Yilmaz scored three more goals last week, giving him nine total in his nine games played this season. Yilmaz found the net twice in the match against the Saints, before curling in a stunning free-kick finish for the team's lone goal against the Nighthawks.
 
Entering this week's action, Yilmaz ranks second in the conference in scoring behind Seattle Pacific's Alex Mejia, who leads the way with 11 goals. Yilmaz is also tied for second in the NCAA D2 west region with Gustavo Ferrari of San Francisco State, and is tied for 11th overall in the country in total goals scored this season.
 
GNAC Men's Soccer Scoring Leaders (as of Oct. 13, 2021)

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
1	Alex Mejia	Seattle Pacific	11
2	Halil Yilmaz	MSU Billings	9
3	Alden Massey	Seattle Pacific	6
4	Drew Farnsworth	Western Washington	5
5	Gilbert De La Luz	Western Washington	4
6	8 players with	--	3

CUEVAS SCORES AGAIN: Senior Paul Cuevas scored his third goal of the season last week, making his way into the top-10 among the conference's scoring leaders as well. After netting a pair of goals against South Dakota Mines on Sept. 15, Cuevas added the third and final tally with seconds left on the clock to seal the win over Saint Martin's.
 
BRIQUET, PUTU REMAIN AMONG ASSIST LEADERS: While neither had an assist last week, Frenchmen Jeremie Briquet and Marvin Putu remained among the GNAC's leaders in assists tied for second with four apiece. Only Tyler Speer of Seattle Pacific has more than the Yellowjacket duo, with five so far.
 
GNAC Men's Soccer Assist Leaders (as of Oct. 13, 2021)

Rank	Player	Team	Assists
1	Tyler Speer	Seattle Pacific	5
2	Marvin Putu	MSU Billings	4
	Jeremie Briquet	MSU Billings	4
4	Alden Massey	Seattle Pacific	3
	Jimmy Koufidakis	Northwest Nazarene	3
	Nik Reierson	Seattle Pacific	3
7	11 with	--	3

TESCH HAS BEST SHOWING OF SEASON: Earning the start in both matches at outside back last week, senior Brady Tesch had his best performance of the year with 74 strong minutes against Saint Martin's. In addition to playing solid defense, Tesch also supplied the assist on Yilmaz's first goal of the match against the Saints. Overall on the season Tesch has seen action in six matches, and the assist was the fifth of his career.
 
PISAREK AMONG VETERAN BACK LINE: In addition to Tesch, MSUB's seasoned back line features fifth year senior Luca Battistotti and fourth-year players Bryan Maxwell and Pascal Pisarek. Battistotti leads the way with 66 matches played and 65 starts, and on Thursday he will move into the top-10 in program history in games played. Maxwell meanwhile has played in 42 matches with 35 starts, Pisarek has played in 35 matches with 22 starts, and Tesch has 35 matches under his belt with eight starts. "We all know each other pretty well and we all know how to play with each other," Pisarek commented on MSUB's veteran-heavy back line. "We have good communication on the field and we know that we can rely on each other."
 
"He has been great this season," Chameraud commented on Pisarek. "He is healthy which helps, and he has been having good performances for us in the back. It is always helpful to have someone who is left footed on the left side, and we have been excited with his performance."
 
KJØLNER SUPPLIES SECOND ASSIST: Second-year freshman outside back Mathias Kjølner contributed his second assist of the season, playing a through ball to Yilmaz for the second goal last Thursday. Kjølner has started 8 of 9 matches this fall and is averaging 70 minutes per game with effective play defensively. "It's important to lead by example for the young guys," said Pisarek. "Soccer isn't all about technical ability; it's also about mental things. You always have to be focused and you always have to put the work in, and I think we are doing a great job of that this year."
 

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Simon Fraser University
Thursday, October 14, 2021 – 7 PM (Pacific) – Terry Fox Field – Burnaby, British Columbia
2021 Record: 4-5, 1-2 GNAC
Head Coach: Clint Schneider, 7th season
2019 Record: 11-4-1, 8-3-1 GNAC (2nd place)
 
SFU enters this week coming off back-to-back losses and has been shut out in four of its last five games dating back to the middle of September. After picking up a 2-0 win over Saint Martin's on Sept. 30, SFU fell 1-0 at Northwest Nazarene and 1-0 in overtime at Western Washington last week on the road. After squaring off against MSUB Thursday, SFU will host Seattle Pacific on Saturday night.
 
Brady Thomas leads SFU with three of the team's seven goals scored this season. Connor Glennon has a team-best two assists while adding a goal for four total points. Ali Zohar, Simone Masi, and Joey Mijaljevic are the three SFU field players who have started all nine matches this fall.
 
In goal, Aidan Bain has played every minute, totaling 34 saves and a 1.30 goals-against average with three shutouts.
 
The Series: MSUB is 1-21-4 all-time against SFU and is 0-11-2 in matches played in Canada.
 
Last Time Out: The teams drew 0-0 in the first meeting during the 2019 season, before SFU claimed a 1-0 win in Burnaby in the most recent match on Nov. 7, 2019.
 

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Western Washington University Vikings
Saturday, October 16, 2021 – 7 PM (Pacific) – Harrington Field – Bellingham, Washington
2021 Record: 4-6, 2-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Greg Brisbon, 9th season
2019 Record: 13-5-1, 10-1-1 GNAC (1st place, GNAC regular-season champion, NCAA regional qualifier)
 
The reigning GNAC champions from 2019 enter the week coming off consecutive victories, emerging over Saint Martin's 4-3 on Oct. 2 before a 1-0 overtime win against Simon Fraser last Saturday. The Vikings will face a stern test in hosting No. 7 Seattle Pacific on Thursday, before the match against MSUB on Saturday.
 
WWU leading scorer Drew Farnsworth netted his fifth goal of the year in the 95th minute against SFU, upping his point total on the year to 12 to rank him fourth in the GNAC. Gilbert De La Luz is second on the team with four goals, and WWU has netted 16 total in its 10 matches this season.
 
Defensively, Theo Steinmetz and Teagan Eldridge have started all 10 matches, while Gus Diehl and Dakota Stamnes have been the models of consistency in the midfield with 10 starts each as well. WWU has utilized three different goalkeepers, with veteran Brandon Wolter playing the majority of the minutes with six starts, 26 saves, and one shutout to his name.
 
The Series: MSUB is 11-20-2 all-time against WWU and is 6-13 in matches played in Bellingham. MSUB holds a slight 5-4-1 edge in the last 10 games between the teams dating back to the start of the 2015 season.
 
Last Time Out: WWU claimed both matches during its championship-winning 2019 season, beating MSUB 2-1 in Billings on Oct. 24 before a 1-0 win in Bellingham on Nov. 9.