BILLINGS, Mont. – Playing at Yellowjacket Field for the first time this season, Montana State University Billings' women's soccer team picked up a 1-0 exhibition victory over visiting University of Providence on Wednesday afternoon.
Hometown freshman
Jillian Hust scored the game's only goal within the first 10 minutes of play, and the Yellowjacket defense posted its second straight exhibition shutout to start off the 2021 fall season strong. Both teams' records remained at 0-0 after the exhibition contest.
"Jillian has been training really well, and she had a great week," MSUB head coach
Stephen Cavallo commented on the forward's performance. "I was really happy to see her score."
Clare Keenan made the only save required of her in 90 minutes between the posts, and she kept a well-organized back line en route to the shutout. "The clean sheets are definitely a good thing – we want to make sure we are setting a good foundation defensively and I thought we did a good job with that," said Cavallo. "We were able to get everyone involved today, so everyone was getting minutes and looks which was good. It was a good game to try different approaches lineup and formation wise. We wish we would have put more than one in the back of the net, but we started to play better in the second half which helped."
It didn't take the 'Jackets long to strike first, as MSUB took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute.
Liberty Palmer fed a through ball along the left side of the pitch, where
Haylee Gunter ran on and switched the ball across the top of the goal box. Hust worked around a defender and tucked a high shot just over the glove of UP goalkeeper Justine Humphry and under the crossbar.
"I just knew that a through ball was coming, so I just went onto it and shot it quick," Hust commented on her goal-scoring play. "I just tried to get the shot off before the defender could get to me."
It was the first of three on-target shots for Hust in the match, as she set the pace for MSUB during a game in which it out-shot the Argos 13-6 overall and held a 10-1 mark in strikes on frame. "We went really well throughout the back, from our defenders to the middle," Hust commented on the back line's performance. "We have really high energy, so I think if we just keep pushing with that and are positive in our next few practices we can definitely play good against the Griz."
Freshmen
Jackie Sharpe and
Maddie Smith had a strong performance off the bench, each placing a pair of shots on target, while junior
Sydney Torres was effective in the attack and had two shots as well.
Newcomer
Abby Sena had a notable performance on the back line in 57 minutes off the bench, helping slot into the center back role and keep the shutout intact. Her most important challenge came in the closing minutes of the match, when she stood tough to fend off an Argonaut attacker who was facing an otherwise open net inside the goal box.
Humphrey had eight saves throughout the match, helping keep her team in it for the full 90 minutes of action.
THE BUZZ: Hust was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB made it back-to-back 1-0 wins after topping rival Rocky Mountain College by the same score in the preseason opener last Saturday at Herb Klindt Field.
AHEAD: The Yellowjackets close out their preseason on Sunday afternoon, with a big test in the form of NCAA DI opponent University of Montana. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at South Campus Stadium in Missoula, with live coverage available online here.
"Montana is going to test us certainly more than Rocky or Providence, and we are looking forward to that game," Cavallo commented on the upcoming contest. "We feel it is good prep for teams like SPU and Western Washington in our conference, and hopefully our team will show up with a bunch of urgency."
2021 REGULAR SEASON A WEEK AWAY: The official 2021 campaign kicks off next Thursday, with a road match against Northern State University. The 'Jackets have five non-conference matches in September, before kicking off the 14-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule on Sept. 23 against Seattle Pacific.
