LACEY, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings women's soccer team began their road trip with a victory over Saint Martin's University, taking down their opponents 2-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
A pair of goals in the first seven minutes of action by Liberty Palmer would put the Yellowjackets (3-6-3, 2-5-2 GNAC) ahead in the opening stages of the match, a lead the 'Jackets would hold for the rest of the game, holding the Saints (3-4-6, 1-3-5 GNAC) scoreless on their home field, giving the Yellowjackets their first clean sheet of the season.
 
"We brought a great energy to the start of the game," said Yellowjackets head coach Abiye Jack. "We did a good job taking advantage of our early chances, and the team did a great job of staying focused all the way through the game."
 
The Yellowjackets wasted no time finding their way onto the scoresheet, with Palmer grabbing her first goal in the fourth minute. Following a weak pass back to the goalie by a Saints defender, Palmer would battle for the ball, making a tackle in the box before firing the ball on one touch into the back of the net, capitalizing on a mistake by SMU's backline. It wouldn't take long for Palmer to strike again in similar fashion, this time intercepting a pass in the box by another Saint's defender directly in front of goal, facing little opposition as she tapped the ball in for her second goal of the match.
 
The 'Jackets continued to grow into the game, threatening to score multiple times as they put eight of their 12 shots in the match on goal. While they would be unable to find another goal, their defense held strong, allowing the Saints to put just three shots on target in the game, all of which were saved by goalkeeper Tuva Sallvin. The Saint's did manage to put a chance in the back of the net late in the match and looking to start a comeback, but the goal was disallowed due to offsides, and the 'Jackets were able to see out the rest of the match, grabbing their second conference win on the season.
 
Palmer finished with four shots in the game, three of them in the first ten minutes. All of her chances were shots on goal. Taylor Ingram and Jillian Hust each took two shots, putting one shot on goal. Meanwhile, Monica Brown and Vivien Guese put their lone shot attempts on goal, while Mackenzie Carnell and Jackie Sharpe each attempted one shot. Brown, along with Sunny Bennion and Megan Mendenhall, played a full 90 minutes in defense, helping the Yellowjackets earn the clean sheet.
 
THE BUZZ: Palmer was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… Her brace gave her three goals in her past two matches… The clean sheet was the third of Sallvin's career… The 'Jackets finished their regular season games against the Saints undefeated with a win and a tie, their first undefeated season against SMU since 2015.
 
UP NEXT: The 'Jackets conclude their week's slate of games with a matchup against Western Oregon University on Saturday, October 21 in Monmouth, OR. Kickoff is set for 11 AM PDT (12 PM MDT). Live video of the match will be available here, and live statistics will be available here.