BILLINGS, Mont. – Despite playing down a man for more than 80 minutes on Thursday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team salvaged a 1-1, double-overtime draw against visiting Western Washington University in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Yellowjackets' Valdemar Fogt was shown a red card in the 29th minute, but the team managed to hold off the first-place Vikings until an 84th-minute equalizer as the teams settled for a point apiece. MSUB moved to 3-7-3 overall and is 1-4-2 in conference play with its second straight draw, while WWU's record moved to 7-7-1 overall and 5-2-1 in league action. "I though the team did really well, considering we were a man down pretty early," said junior defender Tybalt Thornberry. "We really showed grit, and showed what we were made of to pull out a tie against a top team in the GNAC."
 
Senior Marvin Putu scored his first collegiate goal in the 12th minute, giving the 'Jackets an advantage they held until the waning minutes of the match. Thornberry, Bryan Maxwell, and Luca Battistotti were instrumental in the defensive effort, each playing the full 110 minutes. "He's so key in our back line," Thornberry commented on the senior captain Battistotti. "He's the one who commands everything, the one who tells us to step, to drop off, and to press. We all listen to him and look up to him, and he did really well today."
 
Battistotti played in his 70th career match on Thursday, moving him into a tie for fourth-most games played in school history. It was the sixth time in his career he has played the full 110 minutes in a double-overtime match, and he nearly got on the scoresheet as well with a pair of close-range header shot attempts on Thursday.
 
Putu's finish started in the defensive third of the field on the foot of Pascal Pisarek, who sent a towering, high ball into the swirling wind towards the WWU goal box. Viking goalkeeper Brandon Locke came out of his box and attempted to clear the ball with his head, while simultaneously colliding with MSUB striker Halil Yilmaz. The tie up left Locke on the turf and the Viking net unguarded, and Putu kept his curling, left-footed strike from 32 yards out just under the crossbar to push the 'Jackets ahead 1-0.
 
An entanglement between players shortly after Putu's goal led to Fogt's send off, as the 'Jackets had to quickly adapt their formation preparing to spend the rest of the match short a player. "We fought adversity very early in the game, being a man down less than 30 minutes in," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "The guys fought hard and we can't fault them for that. It's a little frustrating giving up a goal like that on a set piece in the last five minutes, but they really battled today."
 
Facing constant pressure throughout the afternoon, MSUB withstood being out-shot 23-8 in the match and limited the Vikings to just four attempts on target. Thornberry had numerous, crucial touches within the goal box, Maxwell commanded the aerial game with multiple header clearances, and Battistotti orchestrated the defensive effort with a well-kept back line and countless important tackles. Behind the back line was freshman goalkeeper Connor Trapp, who had four key saves to help his team stay even. None was bigger than his 94th-minute denial of a shot by Alex Whiting, as he reacted quickly to his right to tip clear a strong attempt from close range that was headed for the upper-corner of the net.
 
"They handled the long balls very well, and we knew those were going to come as well as a lot of crosses," said Chameraud on the defensive effort. "The guys fought really hard today, and also give credit to the center mids and forwards who covered a lot of ground."
 
A set piece with six minutes left on the clock did in the Yellowjackets' hopes at a win, as WWU created a dangerous chance deep in MSUB territory on the left side of the pitch. Gus Diehl whipped a cross into the box, Theo Steinmetz flicked a header to Whiting, and the latter had enough room to push home the late equalizer from 12 yards out.
 
Brad Lowes contributed an exceptional performance in the middle of the pitch, pushing through a gutsy 101 minutes and bouncing back up from numerous hard challenges throughout the game.
 
Whiting and Drew Farnsworth led all players with five shots apiece, while Whiting landed three of WWU's four on-target attempts. Locke made just one save in the match – on an attempt from Yilmaz – as the 'Jackets were hindered offensively having to deal with being down a player.
 
"Credit to the guys since returning from the break," said Chameraud. "We had a tie against SPU who was nationally ranked, and a tie against Western who was in first place in the conference. Today was a good summary of our season, because I think we deserve a little bit more than our record shows."
 
THE BUZZ: Thornberry was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the Vikings claimed the season series after winning 3-1 in Bellingham, Wash., on Oct. 16…MSUB is now 11-21-3 all-time against WWU and is 5-6-3 in home matches against the Vikings.
 
COMING UP: The home regular-season finale kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with MSUB hosting Simon Fraser University. Live video will be available online here -with the Senior Day ceremony beginning at approximately 1:45 p.m. – and live statistics will be available online here.