BILLINGS, Mont. – Liberty Palmer nodded home her first collegiate goal in the 44th minute and Montana State University Billings kept a clean sheet in its 1-0 women's soccer win over host Rocky Mountain College in exhibition play Saturday evening at Herb Klindt Field.
 
Palmer's header goal came amid a flurry of corner kicks in the waning minutes of the first half, with Leila Clark persistently peppering dangerous crosses into the box until her fourth strike connected with her fellow freshman. "It was exhilarating," Palmer said after her first collegiate match. "The feeling of having my teammates support me after the goal was unlike any other. I saw the ball was going in towards the PK spot, so I backed up a little bit, tried to confuse the defender, made my run, and got up as high as I could to get my head on the ball."
 
Center backs Vendela Andersson and Hailee Gertsch highlighted a strong performance by the back line, and goalkeeper Tuva Sallvin made a pair of saves while using her 6-foot-3 height advantage to handle several long crosses on corner kicks. in her MSUB debut to complete the win. Both teams' official record remains at 0-0 after Saturday's exhibition action.
 
"It was a great atmosphere tonight, and it was a great opportunity for our team to play in this kind of environment," MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo commented on the bleachers packed with fans. "We had a nervy start, but I thought we did a really good job of taking control of the game. We know we can play better, but our first game is not meant to be our best game of the season."
 
The Bears kept the Yellowjackets' center backs busy early on, with Gertsch and Andersson holding strong under a barrage of pressure in the opening 10 minutes of the match.
 
The Yellowjackets' first promising chance came in the 18th minute, when Gertsch pressed forward with the ball into the attacking third. Lexie Bloyder then sent a dangerous cross towards the middle of the box, but freshman Maddie Smith was tightly marked as her defender prevented what would have been a shot from point-blank range.
 
MSUB newcomer Sydney Torres landed the first shot on frame of the match, curling a right-footed attempt towards the near post that was handled by RMC goalkeeper Atlanta Kisbaugh in the 24th minute. Moments later, Haylee Gunter placed the ball on Torres' foot after beating a pair of defenders, and watched as Kisbaugh this time had to make a sliding stop on another attempt on frame.
 
The Yellowjackets won their first corner kick of the evening with four minutes to go before halftime, and the Bears breathed a sigh of relief as a dangerous cross from Clark rattled around the box before rolling wide for a goal kick. After Clark blasted a shot towards the near post that was narrowly knocked away by Kisbaugh, she served up what proved to be the game-winning assist. "They are both really skilled, and we have a really good team right now," Cavallo commented on Clark and Palmer connecting on the winning goal. "I am happy to see freshmen come in right away and contribute. The whole team did well to combine and get a shutout for us."
 
Clark nearly doubled MSUB's tally four minutes into the second half, when her right-footed shot from 25 yards out carried just over the crossbar. Andersson was positioned perfectly to deal with a push by the Bears late in the second half, as she knocked away a cross from Brynn Klinefelter that was headed towards an open Morgan Maack on the far post.
 
It proved to be the final dangerous threat created by the Bears, as the 'Jackets held tough through the final whistle to make Palmer's goal stand as the winner. "Having my teammates jump up on me and playing in front of the fans, it was unlike any other," said Palmer. "This was a great start for us, and it's just the beginning."
 
THE BUZZ: Andersson was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the Yellowjackets out shot the Bears 10-4 in the match and limited RMC to just two attempts on target…Clark led MSUB with three shots while Torres' two on target were the most on the team.
 
COMING UP: The Yellowjackets host the University of Providence in another exhibition match on Wednesday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. with live coverage available online here.