LACEY, Wash. – On the road at the SMU Soccer Field on Saturday, the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team came up just short against the Saint Martin's University Saints 1-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The Yellowjackets (2-11-4, 2-8-2 GNAC) and Saints (5-8-1, 3-7-1 GNAC) played each other close. The teams were identical in terms of shots, with the 'Jackets putting up more in the first while Saint Martin's had more in the second half. It would be the Saints who managed to break the deadlock though, with a goal in the 70th minute being the deciding factor in the match.
"I cannot fault the effort of our team today," said MSUB head coach
Stephen Cavallo. "They really showed incredible grit having to play their second game in just over 24 hours. It's such a frustrating result, because we created enough clear-cut chances to be up 3-0 by the time we conceded our goal. At this level, you have to put away clear-cut chances. We did not do that today and paid the price."
After hitting the Yellowjackets on the counterattack, the Saints moved the ball to the right side of the field. Deep in the right corner of the field, forward Ellison Kephart sent the ball towards the middle of the box. Yellowjacket goalkeeper Claire Keenan tried to throw a punch at the ball, but deflected it into the net, giving Kephart the game's deciding goal. Mia Fleming was credited with the assist by the Saints.
The Yellowjackets pushed to get a late equalizer, with five shots in the last 10 minutes, but were unable to get past Saints goalkeeper Soph Mendoza, who finished with four saves. Keenan finished with five saves for the Yellowjackets.
Taylor Gertsch had three shots, two on goal for the 'Jackets, with the other shots on goal coming from
Jillian Hust and
Sydney Torres.
"This team has shown a lot of resilience, especially on the road," said Cavallo. "We get back to Billings for our final two home matches. I want to see our team continue to fight to get our first home win of the season on Thursday against NNU."
THE BUZZ: Gertsch was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Keenan upped her GNAC-leading saves total to 102 on the season, which moved her to No. 4 in MSUB single-season history…the Yellowjackets finished the season 0-2 against Saint Martin's.
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets return home to face No. 25 Northwest Nazarene University at Yellowjacket Soccer Field on Thursday, October 27 at noon.
