BILLINGS, Mont. – Holding tough for 90 minutes on Tuesday afternoon at Amend Park, the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team played its way to a hard fought 1-1 draw against Minot State University.
The Yellowjackets (0-3-1) earned their first draw on the season, ending a three-game losing streak to begin the year. The Beavers (0-1-2) recorded their second tie of the young season.
The 'Jackets found themselves playing on the defensive for the majority of the game, as they were outshot by the Beavers 17-4. It was MSUB however that scored first in the game to receive an early lead. A corner kick in the first minutes of the game for the Yellowjackets was driven into the box, where it struck a Minot State defender before making its way into the goal.
The Beavers responded by throwing everything they had at the Yellowjackets, putting eight shots through in the first half and dominating possession. The 'Jackets went into halftime holding onto the 1-0 advantage due to a great team defensive effort, and a number of impressive saves from 'Jackets starting goalie
Tuva Sallvin.
It was more of the same to begin the second half as Minot State continued to pour pressure on the Yellowjackets. The Beavers were finally rewarded for their efforts in the 49th minute when a foul gave the Beavers a free kick a few yards in front of midfield. Defender Daisy de Boer drilled the ball straight on goal, where it snuck between the crossbar and the hand of a jumping Sallvin to bring the game back to level.
After that the Beavers put eight more shots on the 'Jackets in the half, while MSUB failed to get a shot on target until the last five minutes of the game. Some more phenomenal defending and a few more saves from Sallvin were enough for the Yellowjackets to see out the draw.
The 11 saves from Sallvin were instrumental in the result for the Yellowjackets. Midfielder
Taylor Gertsch led the 'Jackets in shots with two (one on target), and
Emilyn Krans contributed with another shot on goal. Chloe Allan had three shots on target for Minot State, while three other players had multiple shots on target. Goalie Maddie Kindred had two saves.
THE BUZZ: Sallvin was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the 'Jackets now own a 2-1-1 record all time against the Beavers.
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets will get another opportunity to pick up their first win of the season when they travel to South Dakota to face Black Hills State University this Thursday at 2 p.m.
