ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings women's soccer would come up short in the team's first road game of conference play, falling 3-0 to Central Washington University in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
Hitting the road for the first of four consecutive road games, the Yellowjackets (2-7-0, 1-4-0 GNAC) would fall to the Wildcats (3-2-3, 1-2-2 GNAC) on enemy soil. Despite narrowly outshooting the Wildcats 14-13, and 9-6 in shots on goal, two goals in the opening six minutes of action would put the 'Jackets in an early hole, one they would be unable to climb out of as the Wildcats picked up their first conference win on the year.
 
Liberty Palmer led MSUB in both shots and shots on goal, putting four of her five attempts on frame. Behind her, sophomore midfielder Jamie Maas would attempt four shots, putting one shot on goal, while Kambryn Smith would put two of her three shots on goal. Erika Wilson and Kennedy Craig would each attempt a single shot, both putting their attempts on goal. Meanwhile in net, Emma Powell would make three saves.
 
Following the opening whistle, it wouldn't take long for Central Washington to jump on the scoresheet. About halfway through the third minute of the game, Emma Barrett would finish off a Wildcat counterattack by slotting a shot into the bottom right corner, putting MSUB behind early. Just three minutes later, the deficit would be doubled on another Wildcat goal, this time by Jaylee Reynolds. MSUB would create chances to begin to chip away at the lead throughout the opening half, attempting eight shots to Central Washington's nine, and matching the Wildcat's five shots on goal. But none of those attempts would find their way past the home team's defense, with the Wildcats maintaining a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
 
The Yellowjackets would push hard to find a way back into the game, and would outshoot the Wildcats 6-4 in the second half, and 4-1 in shots on goal. But the Wildcats would continue to stymie the Yellowjacket, with Central Washington finishing the match with nine total saves. A 74^th minute penalty would give Central Washington another goal, with Sadie Schaefer pushing the lead to 3-0. That result would stand until the final whistle, with MSUB falling on the road to kick off the team's road trip.
 
THE BUZZ: Palmer was named the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… Millie Bamer made her first career start for the Yellowjackets… MSUB's 14 shots and nine shots on goal were both season high marks.
 
UP NEXT: The 'Jackets will look to rebound in their next match on Saturday, October 11 in Nampa, Idaho against Northwest Nazarene University. The game will kick off at 10 AM MT at NNU Soccer Field, with live video available on the GNAC Network, and live statistics available here.