BILLINGS, Mont. – Great Northwest Athletic Conference play begins this week for the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team, which enters its league schedule unbeaten in its last four matches.
 
The Yellowjackets (3-1-1) open their conference slate against No. 23 Seattle Pacific University on Thursday at 3 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Mountain at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. Live video for Thursday's match will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here.
 
MSUB then returns to Billings to host Central Washington University on Saturday with a noon kickoff. Live video for the home match will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here. "SPU is an incredible first test, and they have been awesome," MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo said. "We are excited to start on the road, get one of the toughest matches out of the way, and set a standard for what it's like to play in this elite conference. We just want to continue to build on what we have been working on in these two matches, and I feel like this team is just growing with each practice and each match."
 
MSUB is coming off back-to-back shutout wins, defeating Minnesota State Moorhead 3-0 on Sept. 9 and topping the University of Mary 2-0 on Sept. 11 in its most recent two appearances. Thursday's match will be the first conference game for MSUB since Nov. 9, 2019 – a hiatus from league play of 683 days. "It has been kind of hard waiting, and it has been two years since I came to MSUB," second-year goalkeeper Clare Keenan said on preparing to make her GNAC debut. "It has really built up the excitement for me personally, and I am beyond excited to get into GNAC play and see what that is like."
 
After breaking into conference play this week, the 'Jackets will be on the road again next week with games at Saint Martin's on Sept. 30 in Lacey, Wash., and at Western Oregon on Oct. 2 in Monmouth, Ore. "We are excited to start GNAC play, and we have been talking about it all summer with the team," Cavallo said. "To play away at SPU is going to be a massive test for us, but we feel like we have been through a lot of tests this preseason with our trainings and the games we have played. We feel like we are ready for GNAC play."
 
'JACKETS REGIONALLY RANKED: MSUB's women's soccer team appeared in the United Soccer Coaches regional rankings for the first time this season, checking in at No. 10 on the list released on Tuesday. The 'Jackets were among four GNAC teams appearing in the regional poll, with Western Washington at No. 1, Seattle Pacific at No. 3, and Northwest Nazarene checking in at No. 7.
 
PALMER THE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Freshman forward Liberty Palmer scored twice and added an assist during MSUB's most recent three matches, and claimed her first-career GNAC Player of the Week honor after helping the 'Jacket go undefeated. After providing an assist in MSUB's lone goal in a 1-1, double-overtime draw against Mary, Palmer netted the game-winner against MSU Moorhead before scoring the team's insurance goal in the 2-0 triumph over the Marauders at the end of the week. Through the non-conference portion of the season, Palmer ranks third in the GNAC with five points and is 1 of 6 players in the league to have scored multiple goals thus far.
 
KEENAN, SALLVIN EXCEL IN GOAL: MSUB's goalkeeping tandem of Clare Keenan and Tuva Sallvin have combined to allow just two goals over the first five matches of the year, while making 24 total saves. Sallvin collected shutouts in both of the matches she played – against Nebraska Kearney and MSU Moorhead – while Keenan snagged her first collegiate shutout with last week's 2-0 triumph over Mary. "We have two great goalkeepers, and they have both bailed us out in games," Cavallo said. "It's going to take a special effort to beat either Clare or Tuva, and we are also just proud of our whole team defensively. It starts with our 9 and 10 up top setting the tone of how we want to defend, and we really feel like every player who steps on the field is committed to defense."
 
GERTSCH, ANDERSSON ANCHOR BACK LINE: Freshman center backs Hailee Gertsch and Vendela Andersson have been the key figures on the effective Yellowjacket back line, with the former leading all players with 414 minutes played for an average of 82.8 minutes per game. Gertsch has started all five matches and Andersson has started four, while Cassie Southwick and Lexie Bloyder have each started all five matches and Kiley Sandow has started four at the outside back positions. Bloyder also netted her first goal of the year – the winner against Mary – which was her sixth-career finish.
 
"We have a very strong back line, and people like Vendela and Hailee Gertsch have stepped up as returners," Keenan said. "One of my goals is being the go-to person for keeping the team calm, and that is one of the biggest roles of the goalkeeper. It has been really awesome to have Tuva come in. She is a fantastic goalkeeper and an even more fantastic person, and it has been really cool to get to work with her. She pushes me, and having someone around like that makes it enjoyable in practice."
 
TRANSFERS TORRES, SENA MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS: Newcomers Sydney Torres and Abby Sena have each provided a boost to the team in their first season as Yellowjackets, with Sena starting all five matches in the midfield and Torres earning four starts. Torres scored her first collegiate goal in the win over MSU Moorhead, while Sena has filled a key role in the midfield and was part of the creative buildup to Palmer's goal in the win over Mary.
 
GERTSCH A FACILITATOR IN THE MIDDLE: Second-year freshman midfielder Taylor Gertsch has been at the heart of the team's play, connecting the back line to the front evidenced by her two-assist game against MSU Moorhead. The two assists were the Billings native's first collegiate points, and she has started all five games for the team thus far.
 
MCGRAW TALLIES FIRST COLLEGIATE GOAL: True freshman Kendall McGraw scored her first collegiate goal in the win over MSU Moorhead, as she capped the game off with a powerful finish from the top of the goal box off of a corner kick. McGraw has earned time in all five of MSUB's games this fall, and has steadily increased her minute count over her last three appearances.
 
ROE ASSISTS IN FIRST START: Making her first start of the season in the match against Mary, Jordan Roe contributed an important touch with the pass that led to Palmer's goal. It was Roe's first assist of the year and second of her career, and she has had a goal or an assist in six out of her first 13 collegiate matches dating back to last spring.
 

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No. 23 Seattle Pacific University Falcons
Thursday, September 23 – 3 PM – Interbay Stadium – Seattle, WA
2021 Record: 3-0, 0-0 GNAC
2019 Record: 12-8, 9-3 GNAC (2nd place)
Head Coach: Arby Busey, 7th season
 
The Falcons, who checked into the latest United Soccer Coaches national rankings at No. 23, are off to a strong start with three wins and a scoring margin of 6-1 over their first three matches. The preseason GNAC favorites will host Northwest Nazarene on Saturday after Thursday's encounter with the Yellowjackets.
 
Five different Falcons have found the back of the net for seventh-year head coach Arby Busey, with AJ DePinto leading the way at two goals in her two games played. Reigning first-team all-GNAC selection Sophia Chilczuk has a goal and an assist and she, Sophie Beadle, and Madison Ibale have the team's three game-winners thus far.
 
Riley Travis has played every minute in goal for SPU, conceding just one goal and needing to make just six saves on her way to a pair of shutouts.
 
The Series: SPU owns a 22-4-2 all-time record against MSUB and is 11-1-2 in matches played at Interbay Stadium. The Falcons enter Thursday's match unbeaten in the last nine meetings between the teams, with seven wins and two draws dating back to the 2014 season.
 
Last Time Out: The teams met just once during the 2019 season, when the Falcons decisively claimed a 4-1 result in Billings on Oct. 26, 2019.
 

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Central Washington University Wildcats
Saturday, September 25 – 12 PM – Yellowjacket Field – Billings, MT
2021 Record: 1-3, 0-0 GNAC
2019 Record: 8-9-1, 6-5-1 GNAC (4th place)
Head Coach: TBD
 
Central Washington enters conference play on the heels of three straight defeats, after winning its season-opener 3-2 against College of Idaho on Sept. 2. Since then the Wildcats have fallen 2-1 against Chaminade, 4-1 against Humboldt State, and 6-1 against Point Loma Nazarene. CWU opens its conference slate at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday night, before traveling to Billings on Saturday.
 
Makinzie Packwood leads the team with two goals and two assists for six points, while four other CWU players have found the back of the net this fall. Sophia Keenan, who was a first-team all-conference selection in 2019, is back for the 'Cats and is among five players to have started all four matches.
 
CWU, which has been out-scored 14-6 this season, has used three different goalkeepers with Megan Fox playing the vast majority of the minutes in net and starting all four games.
 
The Series: CWU leads the all-time series 16-12-1, but the Yellowjackets have a slight 8-7 advantage in games played in Billings.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB snapped a five-game losing skid against the Wildcats, winning 2-1 on Halloween in 2019 in a home match. Haylee Gunter scored the game-winner in the 75th minute the last time the teams met.