August 23, 2007
Lady Jackets Kick Off ’07 with 3-1 Win
Box Score
ALAMOSA, Colo. – Three first half goals
propelled Montana State Billings to a 3-1 season-opening win at
Adams State on Thursday. The Yellowjackets won their third
season opener in the last four years.
“The bottom line is we got a result on the
road,” said Yellowjacket head coach Don Trentham. “That’s
always a good accomplishment. Playing at this altitude was
definitely a challenge. We talked about dictating the pace, and
we did a great job scoring a goal in the first five minutes.”
Mandy
Ploskonka (Federal Way, Wash.) scored the first goal of the
season when she knocked home a free kick from the top of the box
at 4:18. Just 22 minutes later, Brittney Sandau (Billings, Mont.) curled a shot past
Grizzlies keeper Brooke Sorrell after taking a pass from Danielle Ritter (Great Falls, Mont.). The goal was Sandau’s
21st of her career.
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Mandy Ploskonka |
Senior Amy
Stephens (Colorado Springs) closed out the Jackets’ scoring
with an unassisted goal at 41:41. Her chip shot from the top of
the box gave the MSUB defense a comfortable cushion. The
Yellowjackets out-shot the Grizzlies 25-10 on the day.
Goalkeeper Brittany Knudtzon (Kent, Wash.), playing her first
collegiate game, made two saves for her first career victory.
She is the first Yellowjacket goalkeeper not named Megan Plank
to win a game since 2002. Knudtzon played 75:23 and allowed the
Grizzlies’ only goal to Ashley Grover at 40:09. Freshman Jordan
Fenwick (Boise, Idaho) was in goal for the final 14:36 and
made two saves.
“Brittany made a couple good saves, and
Jordan did a good job coming off the bench,” said Trentham.
“They got the job done. We were able to get 19 players in the
game, so a lot of freshmen were able to get a positive
experience. We’ll enjoy this win tonight and then start
focusing on our next game against Eastern New Mexico.”
The Yellowjackets will have a travel day on
Friday before taking on Eastern New Mexico in a neutral site
game on Saturday. The Jackets and Zias will meet at Fort Lewis
College in Durango, Colo. MSUB will face Fort Lewis on Sunday.
Fort Lewis and Eastern New Mexico are playing late Thursday in
the season opener for both. |
