BILLINGS, Mont. – It looked like Taylor Gertsch was in trouble.
 
The Montana State University Billings central midfielder had just received a pass from the left side of the field and upon turning towards her right she was promptly met by a University of Mary forward. Another Marauder pressed towards Gertsch, as the duo of opposers had thoughts of pilfering the ball and turning it into a breakaway attack against the outnumbered Yellowjacket defense.
 
In a hectic moment that could have easily turned chaotic, there was never an instant of panic in Taylor's eyes. "I don't even know how she does it half of the time," said Hailee Gertsch, Taylor's twin sister who was watching the play develop from her position at center back. "When she gets the ball she is never frantic and doesn't try to force it anywhere. I don't know how she makes some of the passes she does."
 
From her perspective on the back line, Hailee had a front row seat at the events that unfolded next. Sensing hard pressure from her right shoulder, Taylor expertly cut the ball back with her right foot to both shake her immediate defender and create space from the second approaching Mary player. With the ball naturally leading momentum onto her left foot, Taylor picked out a left-footed long ball to Liberty Palmer to push possession into the Yellowjackets' attacking third down the left flank.
 
From there it was poetic: Palmer slotted a rolling ball across her body and through the back line, Maddie Smith took a one-touch, left-footed cross towards the back post at the top of the six-yard box, and Lexie Bloyder got just enough on a left-footed volley to beat the goalkeeper. It was a true team goal that proved to be the game-winner in the Yellowjackets' 2-0 triumph over Mary on Sept. 11 to cap off their non-conference schedule.
 
Watching from the sideline, head coach Stephen Cavallo wasn't surprised that the genesis of the play was at Taylor's feet. "She has a high soccer IQ, it is impossible to steal the ball from her, and she sees passes before she gets the ball," Cavallo commented on the central defensive midfielder. "The ball is like an extension of her foot."
 
Taylor didn't technically receive statistical credit for an assist on the play, nor did she on the team's second goal of the match which solidified the win in the 58th minute. Mary had just won possession and was pushing forward as a unit until a strong step with Taylor's right foot stopped the Marauders in their tracks. Taylor's attacking teammates were ready to pounce from there – Palmer playing square to Abby Sena, Sena with a one-touch pass to Jordan Roe, and Roe with a masterful one-touch, right-footed flick past the back line as if she were shrugging off her defender en route to leading Palmer into the back of the net.
 
"I see my role as sitting back and stopping the attack, and being able to switch the field and find gaps to play the ball into," Taylor described her position, commonly referred to in the soccer world as the 6. "Also it is to protect our center backs, and it is nice to have Hailee back there to cover for me."
 
Taylor had key touches on each of the Yellowjackets' goals, but it was Hailee who received the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game nod in the victory over Mary. Though less tangible to the average viewer, Hailee's contributions were just as important as the combination of passes that led to the scores. The Marauders were limited to just four shots on target during the match – all of which came from long distance and were of minimal stress to goalkeeper Clare Keenan. Hailee's smothering defense, in conjunction with fellow center back Vendela Andersson, disrupted their opponents' offensive flow and forced weak shot attempts from well outside of the box.
 
"Hailee has a physical presence on the field, is an excellent 1v1 defender, and is difficult to beat," Cavallo said. "She reads and understands the game well, and the explosiveness she shows when she wins the ball and gets it forward is energizing and fun to watch."
 
Hailee and the Yellowjacket defense boast an impressive line of just two goals conceded through the team's first five matches of the season, and MSUB has allowed no more than one goal in a game yet this fall. Now the Yellowjackets (3-1-1) are prepped for their biggest test yet as they kick off Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Mountain against No. 23 Seattle Pacific University. "We are really starting to get into a groove," Hailee said. "I am really impressed with the freshmen for learning how to play at the speed we are at now. We have a very young team, but I am proud of all of them for stepping up and playing well. We can only get better."
 
Although the Gertsches maintain freshman eligibility, they are veterans of sorts after spending the coronavirus-affected 2020-21 academic year on the roster and competing in the team's modified, nine-game spring schedule. Thursday will mark their first conference game, but having a year under their belt to get used to the speed of the college game and learn the Yellowjacket philosophy has made the hometown twins into fixtures in the starting lineup. "The best thing they learned was the speed of play," Cavallo commented on the Gertsches' debut during the 2021 spring season. "It allowed them to gain some independence, get integrated with the team, and get a proper feel for college soccer which is a big level increase from high school and club."
 
Graduates of Skyview High School along with Roe, the Gertsches have been competing on the pitch together since they first touched a soccer ball around the age of four. Their mother Cortnee played soccer through high school and the twins credit their father Steve's coaching throughout their life as shaping them into the players they are today.
 
The connection to MSUB's program was fostered well before the Gertsches had thoughts of competing collegiately, as they remember attending their first games at Yellowjacket Field during their middle school years. "Being that young, you watch the college girls and say, 'I want to be them, I want to play,'" Hailee commented on her early memories of watching MSUB compete.
 
For Cavallo, the allowable date to begin recruiting the Gertsches couldn't come soon enough. "I knew when June 15th hit – when we were allowed to recruit them – that we had to get on these players and keep them here," Cavallo said. "The first thing I noticed was their presence on the field – the communication from Hailee and the calmness on the ball from Taylor. They were atypical Montana players and just had a winning spirit about them."
 
The winning spirit Cavallo alluded to was built during the twins' junior year at Skyview, when they hoisted the Montana Class AA state championship trophy playing alongside Roe. "Our team culture was great, and it was a really good environment for us to get better within," Hailee commented on the state title run. "Jordan was the Gatorade Player of the Year and had the most goals, and defensively we only had five goals scored against us the whole season."
 
"We had a good feeling knowing that everyone on the field was strong and that we could count on one another," said Taylor, who watched her team take second her senior year while she was sidelined with a knee injury. "Our last game my senior year was hard to watch from the sideline, but it was nice to know there was more after that last game."
 
The winning mentality and championship culture immediately carried over to the Yellowjacket roster, both from the Skyview program as well as other local high schools. Bloyder played against the Gertsches during her career at Billings Senior, and Jillian Hust's Billings West Bears were the state champions defeating Skyview.
 
Now the quintet of local talent is stronger than ever and in many ways forms the glue of their hometown team's lineup. Bloyder, now in her fourth season, earned her way into the starting lineup and has scored six goals throughout playing a variety of roles in her MSUB career. "We got to know her when she played on our club team, and it was nice knowing she was in the program when we got here," Taylor said.
 
Although they were rivals on their high school teams, the Gertsches played alongside Hust in club soccer and had natural chemistry at the outset of their college career together. "It was always fun going against her in high school, and we always battled it out every single time we played each other," Hailee commented on Hust. "Jill is very fast, and she is the reason I learned how to play against people who are faster than me."
 
And then there is Roe, who has already scored four goals and added two assists through the first 13 matches of her young Yellowjacket career. "Jordan is awesome," said Hailee. "She can connect with anyone, and she calms down our attack which is very helpful. She is a very smart and creative player, and she makes things happen that are very difficult to do."
 
"We just have calm people on the ball at each level of the field," Taylor added, citing Roe's presence as one of the team's strikers. "The ball she played to Liberty – facing us and not turning – shows how creative of a player she is."
 
 
With chemistry stronger than ever, and the team holding momentum in the form of a four-match unbeaten streak and an appearance in the United Soccer Coaches west region rankings, the Yellowjackets have their sights set on competing for a spot in the GNAC Championships. "After every game we have gotten better," Taylor said. "We have improved overall as a team and as individuals."
 
After Thursday's match at Seattle Pacific, the Gertsches will play their first-ever home conference match when MSUB hosts Central Washington on Saturday at noon. The soccer community in the Magic City as grown exponentially over the past decade, evidenced by the Gertsches, Bloyder, Roe, and Hust all being key contributors in the Yellowjackets' lineup. "They have proven that soccer can be a major part of your college experience," Cavallo said. "When young players come to an MSUB game and see our players who went to Skyview or West, it only inspires them and shows them and the local clubs that there is a pathway here for players who really commit to the game."
 
The Gertsches agreed that the local talent currently featured on the Yellowjacket roster only inspires them to elevate the program to a higher level. "Having Billings girls definitely brings more support to the game in general, and we are definitely thankful for the community," Hailee said. "We have lots of community members who don't even have kids on the team who are still coming out and watching games and helping support us. It is awesome."
 
The best news for MSUB is that the Gertsch twins have four years of NCAA eligibility, and their rapid ascent into starters only marks the beginning of what promises to be two memorable careers. "Individually I just hope to help the team both on and off the field," said Taylor, who is a human services major. "I want to help others in school, getting extra touches in, and just having that kind of culture where everyone can make a difference for the team."
 
Hailee, also a human services major, agreed with her sister's sentiments. "As a team we are young, so I just hope we stay together, keep connecting well, and keep improving," she said.
 
Everyone stands to learn something from watching the Gertsches play soccer. Interested in a comprehensive display of the role of the 6? Train your eyes to Taylor for 90 minutes. Need a reminder of what strong, physical defending combined with technical counter-attack ability looks like? Look no further than Hailee, who cited Liverpool star Virgil Van Dijk as her top soccer influence.
 
"I have always described them saying they are not meant to be high-school players – they were meant for college soccer," Cavallo said. "The reason they are so good is the work they have put in. They have shown that if you can play year round, be creative, and fine-tune your foot skills, that when you comet to college you can be an impact player right away as a freshman."