Lady Jackets Hit Road for Two Tough Games (Oct. 12, 2004)

BILLINGS, MT – With a school-record ten wins under its belt, the MSU Billings women’s soccer team takes to the road this week for games at Boise State and Northwest Nazarene.  The Lady Yellowjackets, again ranked tenth in the Far West Region this week by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, scored two shutout wins over the weekend to improve to 10-3-1. They play at Boise State on Thursday and at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

MSU Billings defeated Jamestown College, 5-0, on Saturday and Grand Canyon, 3-0, on Sunday.  Consistent with the way they have played all year, six different players scored the Yellowjackets’ eight goals over the weekend.  On the season, twelve different players have scored at least one goal, and eight have scored at least twice.

Margot Merrill-Johnson (Sr., Salt Lake City) leads the team with eight goals and 21 points.  Ally Taylor (So., Ojai, CA) is second on the team with seven goals and 19 points.  Both players scored two goals last weekend, and each has handed out five assists.

Brittney Sandau (Fr., Billings, MT) leads the team with six assists.  She also has three goals for 12 points.  Alyssa Wolfer (So., Longmont, CO) is third on the team with five goals and 13 points.

Goalkeeper Megan Plank (So., Phoenix, AZ) is on a 200-minute scoreless streak dating back to the Yellowjackets’ double-overtime win against Northern State.  She has made 68 saves this season against just 14 goals, posting a 0.96 goals against average.

Division I Boise State is having a solid season at 8-4-1.  The Broncos are 5-1-1 at home with the lone tie coming on Sunday against San Jose State.  Boise hasn’t lost since it dropped a 1-0 overtime decision to Idaho State on September 26.  Lisa Balsama leads the Broncos with five goals and 12 points.  Boise has outscored its opponents 15-11 in 13 games.

Far West Region foe Northwest Nazarene is 5-7-0 after knocking off Central Washington on Saturday.  The Crusaders will face top-ranked Seattle Pacific on Wednesday before hosting the Yellowjackets on Saturday.  Katy McNutt has scored 10 of the Crusaders’ 24 goals this season, including a hat trick in the 3-0 win over Central Washington last weekend.

The Yellowjackets’ only remaining home game will be October 31 when they host Carroll College.  MSUB is 8-0-1 at home this season.