BILLINGS, Mont. – With six games left on the regular-season schedule, the race towards the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships heats up this week for the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-5-3, 2-4-2 GNAC) are on the road with key conference matches against Simon Fraser University (3-7-1, 4-4) on Thursday in Burnaby, B.C., before facing No. 12 Western Washington University (10-2-1, 7-1) on Saturday in Bellingham, Wash. Thursday's game against SFU kicks off at 5 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Mountain with live video available online here and live statistics available online here. Saturday's game against the Vikings starts at 1 p.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Mountain, with live video available online here and live statistics available online here.
 
"We are just very excited, especially after a tie against SPU," said freshman midfielder Leila Clark. "Everyone is very excited to get on the road and hopefully get some wins."
 
The Yellowjackets enter the week in sixth place in the conference standings with eight points, and are four points behind fourth-place Simon Fraser University. The Vikings are the conference leader with 21 points, holding a two-point edge over second-place Seattle Pacific. The top-four teams in the regular-season standings earn spots in the conference tournament, which runs Nov. 11-13 at Western Washington University. "This is what we train for, and we haven't felt this way in two years since the 2019 season," MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo commented on the playoff race taking shape. "We are coming off a great result against SPU, and we know going on the road this week we are going to need that same sort of grit."
 
After this week's road games, the 'Jackets have their final home matches of the season hosting Western Oregon on Oct. 28 and Saint Martin's on Oct. 30. "We know that in these next six games, essentially every game is a playoff game for us," Cavallo said. "We have got to have that mentality. If we perform well and have a great mentality, then we will be playing in the playoffs in a few weeks' time in Bellingham which is the goal for us."
 
The 'Jackets are coming off arguably their biggest result of the season, playing then-No. 8 Seattle Pacific University to a 1-1 double-overtime draw to earn a point against a top-10 nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday at Yellowjacket Field. "We went into the game with a game plan, and ultimately it worked out," Clark said on the result against the Falcons. "We came out with high energy and we weren't intimidated. It was very fun playing against such a good team."
 
PALMER DELIVERS CLUTCH GOAL: Freshman Liberty Palmer came through with her team-leading fourth goal of the season in the draw against the Falcons, as she put MSUB ahead 1-0 in the 25th minute of the match. Palmer remained among GNAC scoring leaders with the finish, as she is tied with three other players for fourth most goals in the conference.
 
Palmer also maintained her status as one of the most accurate shooters in the league, placing 21 of her 38 attempts on target for a shots-on-goal percentage of .553. Among players who are averaging at least 2.0 shots per game, Palmer's SOG percentage ranks second in the conference behind Seattle Pacific's Lauren Forster (.682).
 
"It has just been easy to connect with our team, and we have great chemistry," Clark said. "I just want to better my positioning as a winger, since it is my first year playing that. I really want to make sure I help the team out, and we really want to get to playoffs this year. I think we are on track for that."
 
CLARK EXCELLING IN STARTING ROLE: Palmer's finish against the Falcons came on the second assist of the season from true freshman Leila Clark, who has started each of the last seven matches. Since featuring in the starting lineup, Clark has averaged 64.0 minutes per game including a season-high 90-minute performance on Saturday against the Falcons.
 
"She has been fantastic this year," Cavallo commented on Clark. "If you start to go through the positions she hasn't played, there aren't many. She has been versatile for us, and she works hard, is super positive, and is super encouraging of her teammates and herself. She is someone you want to root for, and she is playing great soccer right now."
 
KEENAN THE DIFFERENCE IN GOAL: No player had a bigger impact in Saturday's result against the Falcons than goalkeeper Clare Keenan, who made six total saves and helped limit SPU to just one goal in the match. No moment was bigger than her double-save in the 88th minute, when she made a pair of diving stops on close-range shots to keep the score level and force overtime.
 
Keenan enters the week with 52 saves on the season, with her mark of 5.20 saves per game ranking her third in the conference. Keenan needs 12 more saves to break into the MSUB top-10 single-season saves leader list, and she already ranks seventh in school history with 87 saves through her first two seasons in a Yellowjacket uniform.
 
BLOYDER KEEPS START STREAK INTACT: Senior captain Lexie Bloyder has started all 13 matches this year and has made 22 consecutive starts including last spring's outings during the shortened season. Bloyder joins Hailee Gertsch as the only two Yellowjacket Field players to have started every match this fall, and she has contributed one goal and one assist while holding down the back line as an outside back. Bloyder has twice reached her career high of 110 minutes played in a match, including on Saturday in the draw against the Falcons.
 
GUNTER FINDING STRIDE: After missing six matches with an injury, senior captain Haylee Gunter has started each of the last five games and is regaining confidence in her role as a midfielder. Since returning to the pitch, Gunter is averaging 73.7 minutes per match and is coming off a 110-minute effort against the Falcons. Saturday marked the second time in Gunter's career she has played every minute of a double-overtime affair.
 

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Simon Fraser University
Thursday, October 21 – 5 PM (Pacific) – Terry Fox Field – Burnaby, British Columbia
2021 Record: 3-7-1, 3-4 GNAC
Head Coach: Annie Hamel, 8th season
2019 Record: 2-13-1, 2-10 GNAC (9th place)
First Meeting: MSUB 2, SFU 1 (OT) (Oct. 9 at Billings)
 
Since falling to the 'Jackets two weeks ago, SFU dominated Western Oregon 3-0 before losing 2-0 at the hands of then-No. 23 Western Washington last week. SFU will host Seattle Pacific on Saturday after Thursday's match against MSUB.
 
Giuliana Zaurrini leads SFU in scoring with three goals and two assists for eight points, while Kate Cartier has found the back of the net twice. The team has scored 10 goals in its 10 games played for an average of 1.0 goals per game, and the defense has done its part allowing just 13 goals in 10 matches.
 
Kelsey Fisher is SFU's primary goalkeeper, making 29 saves and holding a 1.24 goals-against average while starting six matches. Zaurrini is joined by Kiara Buono and Danae Robillard as the three SFU players to have started all 10 games this fall.
 
The Series: MSUB is 13-7 all-time against SFU and is 6-4 in matches played in Burnaby. SFU has won three of the last four home matches against MSUB, and the series is even at 4-4 over the last eight meetings dating back to the 2015 campaign.
 
Last Time Out: Ally Findlay scored her first goal in an MSUB uniform, before Sydney Torres netted the game-winner in the 93rd minute of a dramatic overtime win for the 'Jackets at home.
 

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No. 12 Western Washington University Vikings
Saturday, October 23 – 1 PM (Pacific) – Harrington Field – Bellingham, Washington
2021 Record: 10-1-2, 7-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Travis Connell, 19th season
2019 Record: 23-3, 12-0 GNAC (1st place, GNAC Regular Season Champion, GNAC Tournament Champion, NCAA D2 West Region Champion, NCAA D2 National Runner-Up)
First Meeting: No. 6 WWU 4, MSUB 0 (Oct. 7 at Billings)
 
The Vikings climbed back to the top of the GNAC standings thanks to MSUB's draw against SPU, as WWU's lone loss this season was to the Falcons on Oct. 9. That came after a 4-0 win over MSUB, and last week the Vikings collected two more shutouts with a 1-0 triumph over Saint Martin's and a 2-0 result over Simon Fraser.
 
The GNAC's second-ranked offense, with 24 goals in 13 games, is led by Tera Ziemer who has five goals and a pair of assists for a dozen points. Jenna Killman has scored four times, while Darby Doyle and Grace Eversaul have each scored three goals for the Vikings.
 
Eversaul is joined by midfielder Makenzie Burks in starting all 13 matches for the Vikings, while veteran goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has started all 13 games as well. Dierickx owns a 0.39 goals-against average, ranking her 11th in the NCAA.
 
The Series: MSUB is 3-24-1 all-time against WWU and is 1-11-1 in matches played in Bellingham. WWU's winning streak against MSUB is at 16 straight matches.
 
Last Time Out: Doyle scored in the 10th minute and WWU added two goals in the final six minutes to run away with a 4-0 result at Yellowjacket Field two weeks ago.