Lady Jacket Soccer Faces Tough Road Test (10/19/05)

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings women’s soccer team will face its toughest road test of the season with three regional games in five days starting Friday.  Two of the three games will be against Heartland Conference opponents and will determine the seeding for the conference tournament.

MSU Billings will open the trip Friday against Heartland Conference opponent University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.  The Yellowjackets will wrap up the Heartland regular season Sunday at St. Edward’s in Austin before playing a non-conference regional game at Angelo State in San Antonio next Tuesday.

The Yellowjackets, 9-3-1 overall, were ranked seventh in Wednesday's NCAA Midwest Region poll and seventh in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America regional poll.  The NCAA regional poll, which will next be released on October 26, determines the 32 teams that qualify for the NCAA Tournament.  The top four teams in each of the NCAA’s eight regions qualify for the tournament.

The Jackets’ Ally Stroup (Jr., Ojai, CA) and Brittney Sandau (So., Billings, MT) are tied for second in the Heartland for scoring with nine goals apiece.  Stroup is also second in the league with five assists and 23 points while Sandau is third in the conference with 19 points.

While Stroup and Sandau have had solid seasons offensively, the Yellowjacket defense has carried the load.  They rank second in the Heartland with a 0.96 goals against average in 1,212 minutes.  Goalkeeper Megan Plank (Jr., Phoenix, AZ) is third in the league with a 1.05 GAA and leads the conference with 45 saves.

Incarnate Word is also 9-3-1 and unbeaten in conference play.  Ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA regional poll, the Cardinals have suffered two of their three losses to regional powerhouses Metro State and Regis University.  The Cardinals’ Barbara Butts is the frontrunner for conference player of the year honors.  She leads the league with 15 goals and 34 points.

Friday’s game between the Yellowjackets and Cardinals could very well determine the top seed in the November 3-5 conference tournament.  Both teams are unbeaten in conference play.  Incarnate Word, MSU Billings, and St. Mary’s have already qualified for the four-team tournament.

St. Edward’s will be fighting for a spot in the conference tournament when the Yellowjackets visit on Sunday.  The Hilltoppers are 4-9-1 overall and 0-0-1 in the conference.  Their final three conference games will be played in the next two weeks.  St. Edward’s is led offensively by Kristin Gascoyne, who has seven goals, and Megan Hedrick who has scored four.

Angelo State plays in the Lone Star Conference.  The Belles are 5-10-1 overall this season.  Brittany Tollison has scored four goals to lead the team.  Despite the losing record, Angelo State is only allowing 1.11 goals per game.

Following the three game road swing, the Yellowjackets will conclude the regular season on October 29 at Rocky Mountain College.