Lady Jackets Face Bears in Season Finale (10/27/05)

BILLINGS, MT – Pride and bragging rights will be on the line Saturday when the Montana State-Billings women’s soccer team takes the short trip down Poly Drive to face Rocky Mountain College.  The Yellowjackets and Bears will kickoff at 1:00 p.m. in the second game of the 2005 Rimrock Cup.

Rocky won the first game of the year on October 12, defeating the Yellowjackets 2-1 in double overtime.  The defeat snapped the Yellowjackets’ 16-game home unbeaten streak.  It also gave the Bears the upper hand toward regaining the Rimrock Cup.  The Yellowjackets took the Cup for the first time last season, but a draw or Rocky win on Saturday will return it to the Bears, who won in the first two years.

MSU Billings enters the game at 10-4-2 overall after a 1-1-1 trip to Texas last week.  The Yellowjackets fell out of this week’s NCAA Midwest Region poll and are now long shots to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

MSU Billings will play in the Heartland Conference Championship Tournament November 3 and 5.  Their first round opponent will be St. Mary’s, whom the Jackets defeated 1-0 on September 5.  The five Heartland Conference women’s soccer teams faced each other once each during the regular season to determine seeding for the tournament.  In those games, Incarnate Word was 3-0-1, MSU Billings was 2-1-1, St. Mary’s was 2-2-0, and St. Edward’s was 1-1-2.  The No. 1 and No. 4 seeds will meet in the first round of the tournament as will the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.  Winners will play November 5 for the league championship.  St. Edward’s is the defending Heartland Conference champion and will host the tournament in Austin, TX. 

Notes: The Yellowjackets are two wins shy of their school-record 12 victories set last season.  They potentially have three games remaining on the schedule if they win their first round game at the conference tournament….Rocky will enter Saturday’s contest at 9-5-1 overall after last weekend’s 3-1 win over Jamestown.  The Bears will hold Senior Day when they host the Yellowjackets Saturday despite having a home game against Great Falls on Sunday….The all-time record between MSU Billings and Rocky Mountain is knotted at 6-6-1.