BILLINGS, Mont. – Another challenging road trip awaits the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team this weekend, as it faces a pair of formidable opponents in neutral-site contests hosted by Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.
 
The Yellowjackets (1-1-1) face No. 16 Colorado Mesa University on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m., before squaring off against Westminster College on Saturday at noon. Both matches will feature live video available online here and live statistics available online here.
 
"We have another two games on the road against two RMAC opponents," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "Colorado Mesa will be a very good test for us, because they are ranked high, are well coached, and are a very difficult team to beat. They had two good results last week, and this will be a good test for us to see where we are at."
 
MSUB won its season-opener 3-2 in overtime against Texas A&M International University last Thursday, before a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday and a 0-0 double-overtime draw against UC Colorado Springs on Sunday. "Overall it was a positive trip, but it would have been nice to get second win," Chameraud commented on the team's opening weekend of the season. "We go back tomorrow to a  regular week with two games per week. We feel like the boys are well rested and ready for the challenge against these two opponents."
 
The Yellowjackets have one more week of non-conference play – with a single match on Sept. 15 against South Dakota Mines – before jumping into their 10-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule on Oct. 2 at Seattle Pacific University.
 
HALIL'S HEROIC HAT TRICK: Getting his Yellowjacket career started with a bang, junior striker Halil Yilmaz scored a hat trick in his very first performance last Thursday. Yilmaz was named the GNAC Player of the Week after scoring all three of MSUB's goals in its dramatic 3-2 overtime victory against Texas A&M International to start the season. His three goals and six points were the most among any player in the conference during the opening weekend of play, and it was MSUB's first hat trick since the 2018 season.
 
THEODOULIDIS STEPS UP: Also making his MSUB last week was freshman goalkeeper Georgios Theodoulidis, who played all 300 minutes between the posts in the three matches. Theodoulidis earned his first shutout in the double-overtime draw against UCCS, making seven important saves and commanding the aerial attack within the goal box with a dominating presence. Overall he faced 41 shots and made 11 saves in the team's first three matches of the season.
 
STELLAR ASSISTS FROM PUTU, BRIQUET: French midfielders Marvin Putu and Jeremie Briquet each contributed on the stat sheet in the team's season opener, setting up Yilmaz with a pair of perfect passes that led to goals. Putu found the striker's foot with a long, diagonal ball from the right side of the pitch, while Briquet perfectly timed a through ball past the defense with 10 seconds to go in overtime.
 
MAXWELL ROCK SOLID IN BACK: Junior defender Bryan Maxwell was the lone field player to see all 300 minutes over the first three matches, as he helped keep a solid back line together and earn the team's first shutout of the year. Also playing a key role in all three matches were Brad Lowes, Pascal Pisarek, Paul Cuevas, and Tybalt Thornberry, who each played upwards of 200 minutes.
 
BATTISTOTTI ECLIPSES 60 CAPS: Captain Luca Battistotti has played in 61 career matches after the opening three games of the season, as he continues to climb MSUB's all-time games played chart. He will reach the top-10 with six more matches played and entering the week he needs 11 more matches to tie the program record of 72 held jointly by Greg McKeever (2004-07) and Chris Andre (2007-10).
 
Colorado Mesa University Mavericks
Thursday, September 9 – 3 PM
2021 Record: 2-0
Head Coach: Jon Fridal (1st season)
 
The 16th-ranked team in the latest United Soccer Coaches top-25 poll started its season 2-0 with wins over University of Texas Permian Basin and Texas A&M International last weekend. The Mavericks took care of UTPB 3-0 before edging the Dust Devils 1-0 in overtime.
 
Alec Fronapfel scored two of the team's four goals – including the overtime winner – while Joey Joiner and Isa Trujillo each had a finish during opening weekend. Chris Boyd had a pair of assists in 63 efficient minutes off the bench, and the Maverick back line has yet to concede a goal behind goalkeeper Connor Durant.
 
The Series: The teams drew 1-1 on Sept. 14, 2014 in the only previous meeting between the Yellowjackets and Mavericks.
 
Westminster College Griffins
Saturday, September 11 – 12 PM
2021 Record: 0-2
Head Coach: Josh Pittman (6th season)
 
The Griffins are 0-2 on the young season after falling to Humboldt State 2-0 on Sept. 2 and San Francisco State 3-0 on Sept. 4. Westminster will take on host Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday evening before Saturday's match against the Yellowjackets.
 
Westminster went 3-3-1 during the modified 2020-21 campaign, and the team was 10-7-2 overall during its last full season on the pitch in the fall of 2019. Max Bingman, who led the team with eight goals and three assists during the 2019 campaign, is the top offensive returner to the roster in 2021. Adir Hazout and Skyler Kjellander tied for the team lead with five assists apiece in 2019 and are also back for the Griffins in 2021.
 
The Series: MSUB is 3-10 all-time against Westminster and the Griffins are 1-0 in neutral-site contests. The series dates back to the 1997 season, and the teams are an even 2-2 over the last four meetings.
 
Last Time Out: The Griffins topped the 'Jackets 2-1 in overtime on Aug. 31, 2017 when the teams last met in Salt Lake City, Utah.