Lady Jackets Suffer First Loss of Season (Sept. 22, 2004)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings women’s soccer team couldn’t withstand a 2-0 halftime deficit Tuesday night, losing 3-0 at fourth-ranked Seattle Pacific.  The loss ended the Yellowjackets’ school record unbeaten streak at seven games, dropping them to 6-1-1 for the season.  The Falcons remained unbeaten at 7-0-1.

The Yellowjackets lost starting midfielder Stephanie Clark (Sr., Tualatin, OR) 10 minutes into the game with what most likely will be a season-ending injury.  Freshman Abby Bennett (Livingston, MT) filled in for Clark in the midfield. 

"Seattle Pacific is definitely a great team," said Yellowjacket coach Don Trentham.  "But the scope of the game changed when Steph went out of the game.  When you lose the quarterback of the midfield 10 minutes into the game, that changes things." 

Seattle Pacific Sarah Martinez scored 21:50 into the game to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.  The goal was assisted by Katie Lim and Megan Lienhard.  SPU added its second goal nine minutes before the half when Heidi Jacobson beat Yellowjacket goalkeeper Megan Plank (So., Phoenix, AZ) from 20 yards out.  That goal was assisted by Theresa Morelli and Shannon Lovejoy.

The Yellowjackets were out shot 7-2 in the first half and 14-5 in the game.  Plank made two saves and played all 90 minutes allowing three goals.  Falcons keeper Jennifer Hull recorded her fifth shutout of the season.  Five different Yellowjackets managed one shot each in the game.

Seattle Pacific closed out its scoring at 82:07 when Michelle Sanders scored on a through ball from Martinez.  Martinez had a goal and an assist to lead the Falcons to their twentieth-straight victory at Interbay Stadium.

"Facing the adversity our team did tonight, they responded well," added Trentham.  "I'm proud of their effort, but it just wasn't enough to get the win tonight.  One player I'm really proud of is Abbey Bennett.  She stepped in a did a great job replacing Steph even though she hadn't played that position all year.  We're disappointed with the loss, but we're also excited about the opportunity to play another top team on Saturday."

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Yellowjackets.  They will have Thursday and Friday to recover before facing seventh-ranked Seattle University on Saturday afternoon.  Seattle is 7-1-2 after losing at Cal State-Stanislaus on Monday and winning at Cal State-Monterey Bay on Wednesday.  Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 1:00 PDT, is part of a double header that includes the MSU Billings and Seattle men’s teams.