BILLINGS, Mont. – Four different Montana State University Billings men's soccer players found the back of the net on Wednesday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field, as the hosts put together a 4-1 rout of visiting South Dakota School of Mines.
 
After a sluggish first 10 minutes, MSUB (2-3) held command the rest of the game and played its way to its second straight victory in its final non-conference match of the fall. "It was great to come back home and get our first home win and make it two on the bounce," said MSUB head coach Aaron Champenoy. "It is always good to get a win at home. I felt that we definitely had the better of the play, and created a lot of very good chances."
 
Jeremie Briquet scored his first goal in a Yellowjacket uniform, and added a pair of assists to lead MSUB on the stat sheet. Ryan Hanley made it three straight games with a goal, Valdemar Fogt scored his first goal of the season, and Callum Bryan netted his first in an MSUB uniform. "Some of the intricate combination play in the final third was of really high quality," Champenoy said. "Jeremie was definitely a difference-maker with a goal and two assists."
 
The Hardrockers fell to 1-4-1 with the defeat on Wednesday, which was also their final non-conference match before jumping into Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Friday against Colorado Christian University.
 
Hanley continued his torrid string of offense in the 21st minute, benefitting from a well-paced through ball off the foot of Briquet into the box. From there, the sophomore curled a right-footed strike towards the far post that SDM goalkeeper Daniel Freitas had no chance to reach.
 
MSUB avoided disaster moments after taking the lead, when a miscue led forward Jayden Roque to an unobstructed path into the goal box. Jeremi Campagnolo stood his ground, and Roque's right-footed attempt towards the post missed wide.
 
The Yellowjackets doubled their lead in the 34th minute, building their second goal from the back in the defensive third. Bryan Maxwell and Briquet connected well down the left flank, before the latter curled a cross towards the near goal post. Fogt battled for positioning past his defender, and nodded a clean finish beyond the reach of Freitas.
 
Capitalizing on its halftime lead right away, MSUB scored again in the opening five minutes of the second half. This time it was Hanley providing his first collegiate assist as he found Bryan at the back post for a tap-in goal from point-blank range.
 
The Hardrockers took advantage of a defensive mistake to break up the clean sheet in the 52nd minute, with Brady Cork scoring his second goal of the season on an assist from Hayden Jaramillo. "We got a little sloppy on the goal we conceded," said Champenoy. "I'm always a little disappointed when we let in a goal, and felt like a complete performance today would've been to see the shutout through. But we can continue to work on things as we move into GNAC play next week."
 
Briquet helped put the game out of reach for good in the 63rd minute with the final finish of the day. The play was generated from a crafty touch by Bjarne Fedkenhauer in the midfield, who fed a perfect ball through to Briquet for an easy finish from within the goal box.
 
In total, the Yellowjackets out-shot the Hardrockers 12-5 and landed five attempts on target. Campagnolo made one save while facing just two shots on frame, and Kolten Unrein finished the game between the posts over the final 13 minutes.
 
Maxwell continued his minutes played streak with his fifth-straight 90-minute effort on the back line, and Fedkenhauer also played the full 90 minutes in the midfield. Bryan led all players with six shots, including two that landed on frame.
 
Jaramillo was the lone Hardrocker with two shots, landing one of them on frame. SD Mines also won a pair of corner kicks, while the Yellowjackets had three in the match.
 
THE BUZZ: Briquet was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was Briquet's second-career multi-assist game, with his other coming on Sept. 15, 2021 against SD Mines…Hanley's three points in the match were a career high…MSUB remained undefeated against SD Mines, improving to 9-0-1 all-time and holding a 6-0 record in games played at Yellowjacket Field.
 
NEXT WEEK: The Yellowjackets begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at home, taking on Simon Fraser University on Sept. 22 and Seattle Pacific University on Sept. 24 at Yellowjacket Field. Live coverage for next week's games can be found online here.