BILLINGS, Mont. – Making its 2021 regular-season home debut this week, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team will host a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents at Yellowjacket Field.
 
The Yellowjackets (2-4-1, 0-1 GNAC) host Saint Martin's University (1-7, 0-2) on Thursday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, before taking on Northwest Nazarene University (5-3, 2-0) on Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. Live video for both matches will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here. "These are our first home games in a while for GNAC play, and our last one was in 2019," said senior midfielder Paul Cuevas. "Being at home in front of the fans – it's going to be nice to see everyone out there. Hopefully we get some wins this weekend."
 
This weekend's matches are both part of doubleheaders with the Yellowjacket women's soccer team, which takes on No. 6 Western Washington on Thursday at 1 p.m. and Simon Fraser University on Saturday at 11 a.m. Saturday's doubleheader will represent the annual MSUB Kicks Cancer tradition, as the Yellowjacket soccer teams contribute towards the battle to end the disease. The teams will wear pink during Saturday's action and all ticket proceeds from the game will be donated to the American Cancer Society. "It has been more than six weeks since the last game we played at home, so we are really excited," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud, referring to the team's preseason win over Carroll College on Aug. 29. "We have been traveling a lot in September, and having a normal week where we can rest will hopefully be helpful."
 
MSUB opened conference play last week at No. 16 Seattle Pacific University, and endured a tough 4-3 double-overtime defeat. After the home matches this weekend, MSUB hits the road to square off against Simon Fraser University on Oct. 14 and Western Washington University on Oct. 16. "We are very disappointed we didn't get the win being up three times, and when we have opportunities to go two goals up against those kinds of teams we have to put those away," Chameraud commented on the loss to the Falcons. "Being more efficient in the offensive box and defensive box will be key in order for us to be successful in the GNAC."
 
YILMAZ PROVIDES ANOTHER HAT TRICK: Junior striker Halil Yilmaz was the standout performer in the defeat at Seattle Pacific, scoring a hat trick for the second time this season. Yilmaz netted goals in the 14th, 39th, and 59th minutes, each time putting the Yellowjackets ahead in the match.
 
Yilmaz is the first MSUB player to have multiple hat tricks in the same season since Ricardo Palomino had two during the 2015 campaign. His six total goals this fall are the second-most of any player in the GNAC, as he trails only SPU's Alex Mejia who has eight finishes. Yilmaz also ranks second in the league in points with 13 and shots with an average of 3.57 per game.
 
GNAC Men's Soccer Scoring Leaders (as of Oct. 6, 2021)

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

Yilmaz sat down with athletic department intern and former Yellowjacket men's basketball player Sven Jeuschede for an interview conducted in his native tongue of German.


 
FRENCHMEN LEAD GNAC IN ASSISTS: Setting the stage on two-thirds of MSUB's goals scored this season has been the French combination of Marvin Putu and Jeremie Briquet in the midfield. The duo is tied at the top of the GNAC leaderboard with four assists apiece – each with three in the last two matches played. Putu had his first-career multi-assist game in the Seattle Pacific match, while Briquet had the other after a two-assist performance two weeks ago against South Dakota Mines.
 
GNAC Men's Soccer Assist Leaders (as of Oct. 6, 2021)

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

'JACKETS RELY ON CUEVAS' VETERAN PRESENCE: Senior Paul Cuevas has contributed on both ends of the ball this season, and has started 5 of 7 matches including a 105-minute performance against Seattle Pacific last week. That came on the heels of his collegiate-best five-point effort against South Dakota Mines, as he scored a pair of goals and added an assist. In his third season overall and second full year with the team, Cuevas has started 18 matches for the 'Jackets. "It has been amazing," Cuevas commented on his career at MSUB, which began in the fall of 2019 after transferring from Skagit Valley College. "Getting two goals on the sheet was amazing, and everyone was contributing – Austin, Edgar, Bryan. It was really good."
 
"Paul had a good game against SPU, and he was very active defensively and offensively," Chameraud commented on the senior. "Last week's practice for him was very good, and he showed it again in the game last Saturday. He knows it's his last season with us and he doesn't want to leave our program with any regrets. He is giving everything in practice and on the field during games, and we are very happy with his performance so far."
 

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Saint Martin's University Saints
Thursday, October 7, 2021 – 3:30 PM – Yellowjacket Field – Billings, Montana
2021 Record: 1-7, 0-2 GNAC
Head Coach: Rob Walker, 15th season
2019 Record: 9-8-2, 4-7-1 GNAC (5th place)
 
The Saints started their conference slate with a pair of defeats last week, falling 2-0 at the hands of Simon Fraser before a 4-3 loss to Western Washington. SMU enters this week on a five-game losing skid, with its lone victory of the season being a 2-1 result over Chico State on Sept. 9 at home.
 
Jason Fairhurst leads the way offensively for SMU, with three goals and a pair of assists for eight total points through the first eight games of the season. He, Stephen Murray, and goalkeeper Hunter Askland are the only three SMU players to have started all eight matches under veteran head coach Rob Walker. Askland's 32 saves this season rank him third-most in the GNAC, and he is averaging 4.0 saves per game.
 
The Series: MSUB is 14-10-2 all-time against SMU and holds an 8-4-1 record in home matches against the Saints. SMU has won four of the last five meetings between the teams dating back to the 2017 season.
 
Last Time Out: SMU collected a 2-1 overtime victory over the Yellowjackets on Nov. 2, 2019 at Yellowjacket Field, with former star Brandon Madsen netting both goals including the golden goal in the 99th minute.
 

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Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks
Saturday, October 9, 2021 – 2:30 PM – Yellowjacket Field – Billings, Montana
2021 Record: 5-3, 2-0 GNAC
Head Coach: John Powell, 1st season
2019 Record: 7-11, 3-9 GNAC (7th place)
 
First-year head coach John Powell has the Nighthawks off on the right foot in conference play, as the team picked up victories over Western Washington and Simon Fraser on opening weekend. NNU will play at No. 8 Seattle Pacific University on Thursday night before Saturday's encounter with the Yellowjackets.
 
NNU's strong offense is averaging 1.5 goals per game, with Lukas Juodkunaitis leading the way with three goals and an assist for seven points. Sebastian Cotrau has also scored three times and Jimmy Koufidakis leads the team with three assists.
 
The quartet of Lorenzo Valentini, Brandon Parsio, Grady Thurman, and Ethan Atterberry have each started all eight matches in the defense and midfield, while goalkeeper Sawyer Price has played every minute and ranks fourth in the GNAC with 31 total saves on the season.
 
The Series: The Nighthawks hold a 15-14-2 edge in the very even all-time series between the teams, including a mark of 6-4-2 in games played in Billings. The Yellowjackets have won three straight head-to-head matches and six of the last nine dating back to the 2015 campaign.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB won both matches between the teams in 2019 each by the score of 1-0.