BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's soccer team would collect a hard-fought point Saturday against Seattle Pacific University, finishing with a 0-0 tie in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The Yellowjackets (2-5-5, 2-4-2 GNAC) would be outshot by the Falcons (7-3-2, 4-2-2 GNAC) 15-5 overall in the match, and 8-1 in shots on goal, but despite the visitors having more chances, the MSUB defense would hold strong, never letting the Falcons get the ball into the back of the net, holding the second leading offense in goals per game scoreless, and collecting the team's third shutout of the season.
Tenley Leffler would make seven saves in goal, extending her GNAC leading total to 71 saves on the season. In front of her, the backline of
Ava Curtright,
Ava Gibbs, and
Alaina Asan would each play a full 90 minutes, with the back three making a number of key tackles and interceptions.
Kolbi Kiblen would attempt a pair of shots, while
Kennedy Craig,
Peyton Tarabokija, and
Amaya Lorash would each shoot once. Craig's shot would be the Yellowjackets lone shot on goal in the match.
The Falcons would waste little time before testing Leffler, putting a pair of shots on goal in the opening seven minutes of the match. Seattle Pacific would outshoot MSUB 6-1 in the first half, putting four chances on goal, but Leffler would answer the call each time to deny the Falcons, while the Yellowjacket defense stood tall to take the game into halftime tied.
The Falcons would continue to push MSUB hard, including an impressive triple effort in the waning seconds of the 53
rd minute that would require a pair of huge blocks by defenders and a save by Leffler to keep the visitors off the scoresheet. The 'Jackets would begin to find their opportunities in the counterattack though, with Craig testing the goalkeeper on a longshot in the 55
th minute, before another long-range effort from Tarabokija seconds later would just find the side netting. The 'Jackets defense would continue to handle the pressure put on by the Falcons as the half wore on, with Leffler making three more saves in the second half.
The 'Jackets would get their best look in the box on their last shot of the game, with Kiblen finding space on the turn to test SPU with a strong shot to the top right corner. But that effort would also catch the side netting, and with neither team finding a shot in the final 12 minutes of the half, the final whistle would sound with nothing separating the two sides, with the 'Jackets and Falcons splitting the points.
THE BUZZ: Leffler was named Player of the Game… The Yellowjacket defense is holding opponents to an average of 1.08 goals per game, ranking third best in the GNAC.
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets hit the road for their next two games, beginning the week's action on Thursday, October 15 in Nampa, ID against Northwest Nazarene University. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 PM at NNU Soccer Field. Live video can be found on the
GNAC Network, and live statistics are
available here.
