2007-2008 Weekly Release #9 (October 16)

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This Week's Schedule

Sun., Oct. 21 - at Western Oregon

Click HERE for this week's Yellowjacket Women's Soccer Show featuring head coach Don Trentham and sophomore defender Dani Ritter

Week in Review

The Yellowjackets split a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference games last weekend.  They defeated Central Washington 2-1 on Friday and lost to Western Washington 2-0 on Sunday.  The split moved them to 8-6-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the conference.  Western Washington's win moved the Vikings into a tie for third place in the GNAC with MSU Billings.  This week, the Yellowjackets will be trying to lock down a 10-win season.  If they do it, this year's seniors will become the first class in school history to record at least 10 wins in each of their four seasons.

MSU Billings scored two second half goals to defeat Central Washington 2-1 Friday.  In a match up that promised to be hard-fought and evenly matched, the teams played to a 0-0 halftime score with just five combined shots.  Central Washington controlled portions of the first half and out-shot the Jackets 4-1, but neither team really threatened in the opening stanza.

The Yellowjackets got on the board at 67:39 after Kari Foreman was tackled in the box.  Mandy Ploskonka converted the penalty kick for her seventh goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.

Almost 12 minutes later, the Yellowjackets notched a much-needed insurance goal.  Wearing No. 7 to honor her sister Brittney who suffered a career-ending injury last week, freshman Samantha Sandau netted the eventual game-winner at 79:15.  She picked up an entry pass from Jelisa Guy after it bounced off a defender’s head and lobbed it over Wildcat goalkeeper Amber Easterbrook.  The goal was Sandau’s fifth of the season.

“I thought it was an important goal at the time,” said Yellowjacket head coach Don Trentham.  “It was a 1-0 game, and it was still really tight.  Sara (Gress) played a great ball in, and Jelisa flicked it in perfectly.  It was a great goal.  It was obviously an important goal, but I think it was more special for Sami to get the game winner in the first game after her sister got hurt.”

The Wildcats made things interesting down the stretch after Chelsea Lovin took a short cross from the right side from Kaycie Hutchins and drilled it into the lower left corner of the net while spinning to the ground.  Lovin’s fourth goal of the season, coming at 81:05, put the Wildcats back in the game.  However, Central managed just one more shot in the final nine minutes, an attempt from Lovin that sailed high.

Yellowjacket keeper Jordan Fenwick had three saves in the game.

Western Washington scored a goal in each half Sunday to down Montana State Billings in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer. 

“I thought it was a really good game,” said Yellowjacket head coach Don Trentham.  “Both teams worked hard and played well.  That’s what you like to see in a key match up in the conference.  It was two teams working hard to beat each other, and we just came up on the short end today.  I really thought we played a good game.  Nobody can fault our players’ effort today.  It just didn’t go our way.”

The Vikings dodged a bullet in the first 50 seconds when MSUB’s Dani Ritter beat WWU goalkeeper Teresa Fish to a high-bouncing ball in the box.  Ritter headed a soft lob over Fish, but it was kicked away by a Vikings defender just before it bounced over the goal line.

Western broke the scoreless tie at 23:47 when Claire Morgan sent a free kick from about 40 yards over the head of Yellowjacket keeper Jordan Fenwick.  The ball skipped off Fenwick’s hands just below the crossbar for a 1-0 Vikings lead.

The Vikings added an insurance goal in the 61st minute when Morgan and Lucy Miller broke free behind the defense.  Morgan set up Miller, who fired from the left side off the hands of a diving Fenwick and inside the right post.

Fenwick finished the day with four saves while Fish had one.  The Vikings out-shot the Yellowjackets 15-12, including 6-2 shots on goal. 

The Yellowjackets hit the road for their next two games, both GNAC counters.  They play at Saint Martin’s next Friday and at Western Oregon on Sunday.  The Jackets’ next home game will be against Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 25.

“The next game is a big game because it’s the next game,” said Trentham.  “Our goal is to win every game we play, so we’re going to be excited to play in our next game Friday.”

From the GNAC:
LAST WEEK: Monday – CSU Monterey Bay 2 at Saint Martin’s 3. Wednesday – Saint Martin's 0 at Northwest Nazarene 3; Western Oregon 0 at Seattle Pacific 1; Western Washington 2 at Seattle 4. Friday – Central Washington 1 at MSU Billings 2. Saturday – Western Oregon 1 at Northwest Nazarene 0; Saint Martin's 0 at Seattle Pacific 3.  Sunday – Central Washington 0 at Seattle 1; Western Washington 2 at MSU Billings 0.

UPCOMING: Wednesday – Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7 p.m.  Thursday – Northwest Nazarene at Central Washington, 3 p.m. Friday – MSU Billings at Saint Martin's, 3 p.m.; Seattle at Western Oregon, 3 p.m.  Saturday – Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 1 p.m.; Northwest Nazarene at Western Washington, noon.  Sunday – MSU Billings at Western Oregon, noon; Seattle at Saint Martin's, 2:30.

NSCAA National (Oct. 9) -  2. Seattle Pacific, 16. Seattle. NSCAA Far West Regional (Oct. 9) -   1. Seattle Pacific, 3. Seattle, 6. Western Washington. NCAA Division II Far West Region (Oct. 10) - 1. Seattle Pacific (13-0); 2. UC San Diego (10-0-1); 3. Seattle (11-2); 4. Cal State Dominguez Hills (8-1-2); 5. Chico State (8-4-1); 6. Western Washington (7-4-1); 7. Cal Poly Pomona (6-4); 8. Cal State Stanislaus (8-6-1); 9. Hawaii Hilo (5-2); 10. BYU-Hawaii (7-3-1). Note: Records listed are versus NCAA Division II opponents through Oct. 7. Polls will also be released on Oct. 17, Oct. 24, Oct. 31 and Nov. 5.

NCAA National Statistics (Oct. 7): Individuals: Points - 15. Sarah Martinez, SPU, 2.46; 22. Leah Wymer, SU, 2.23. Goals - 9. Sarah Martinez, SPU, 1.08; 15. Leah Wymer, SU, 1.00. Assists - 1. Ashley Porter, SU, 1.00; 5. Meredith Teague, SPU, 0.85; 40. Claire Morgan, WWU, 0.54. Goals Against - 6. Kaitlyn Jackson, SU, 0.38; 10. Jesslyn Rahm, SPU, 0.50; 24. Amber Easterbrook, CWU, 0.67; 34. Teresa Fish, WWU, 0.75. Save PCT. - 10. Amber Easterbrook, CWU, .886; 23. Kaitlyn Jackson, SU, .857; 34. Teresa Fish, WWU, .749. Saves - 33. Breanna Klasen, SMU, 6.91.  Team: Scoring - 20. Seattle Pacific 2.85; 33. Seattle 2.62. Goals Against - 7. Seattle 0.38; 15. Seattle Pacific 0.61; 27. Western Washington 0.75. Shutout Percentage - 4. Seattle .692; 20. Western Washington and Seattle Pacific .538. Save Percentage - 18. Seattle .861; 33. Western Washington .839.

GNAC PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK: Sarah Martinez, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-6, Sr., Bothell, WA – Cedar Park Christian). Leah Wymer, Seattle (F, 5-6, Sr., Bothell, WA) and Erica Hibbard, Western Oregon (D, 5-6, Sr., Vancouver, WA – Hudson’s Bay). . .Martinez became the GNAC’s all-time point producer, scoring the game’s only goal in a 1-0 shutout of Western Oregon Wednesday.  The Falcons established a GNAC record for most consecutive wins in the game with their 14^th straight victory, breaking the old record of 13 they set in 2004.  Martinez is also the GNAC career leader with 47 goals. . .Wymer had two goals, including the game-winner in a 1-0 shutout of Central Washington, as she became the fourth member of the GNAC 100-point club, joining Martinez, Lovejoy and Seattle’s Nichole Savaugeau (1999-02), who have 113, 111 and 110, respectively.  She is also the fourth player in Redhawk history to reach the 100-point level. . .Hibbard has had four sensational games in a row as the Wolves have won three of their last four to rebound from a 0-9-2 start. In a 1-0 loss to nationally second-ranked Seattle Pacific, she caught players from behind at least half a dozen times and in a shutout win over Northwest Nazarene she never got beat and helped prevent the Crusaders from getting off a threatening shot off all day.  “Erica has played an amazing role in helping this young team come together,” WOU coach Rod Fretz said.  “She is a leader on and off the field and will do what is necessary to bring success to our team.”

HONORABLE MENTION:     Kelsie Blachly, Western Oregon (GK, 5-7, Fr., Gresham, OR) had 14 saves while allowing only one goal as the Wolves split two 1-0 decisions, losing at SPU before beating Northwest Nazarene.

AROUND THE GNAC:  Martinez and Wymer are tied for the GNAC goal scoring lead with 15 each.  Martinez has one more point (34 to 33) and one more game-winning goal (6-5) than her Redhawk counterpart. . . Seattle’s Maryann Boddy had two goals, including the game-winner in Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Western Washington, and an assist in a pair of wins. . .Sunday’s shutout was the 10^th of the season for SU’s Kaitlyn Jackson, two short of the GNAC single-season record of 12 set by SPU’s Jennifer Hull in 2003. . .Kara Hamby had a goal and assist and helped anchor a Seattle Pacific defense which limited two opponents to a grand total of four shots. . .Naomi Shimabuku scored Western Oregon’s goal in their 1-0 win at NNU.  The Wolves have won three of four since opening 0-9-2. . .Claire Morgan had a goal and an assist in Western Washington’s 2-0 win at MSU-Billings.  Morgan leads the Vikings this fall in both goals (5) and assists (8).  Teresa Fish had one save in recording her 28^th career shutout, eight this season, extending her own GNAC career record. . .Senior Brittney Sandau, who will miss the remainder of the season with an injury, is Montana State Billings’ leading scorer with 19 points (7 goals, 5 assists).  With Brittney out, her freshman sister Samantha took over Brittney’s old uniform number (7) to honor her and scored the winning goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over CWU. . .Carlee Stinton earned two assists in Northwest Nazarene’s 3-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s.  Amanda Peters had 10 saves and allowed just one goal as the Crusaders’ split two home games. . .Saint Martin’s was out shot 42-11 in a pair of 3-0 losses, extending its losing streak to 11.

WON-LOSS RECORDS: Seattle Pacific extended its new consecutive win record to 15 with Saturday’s 3-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s.  The GNAC record for most consecutives games without a loss is 24 by the Falcons in 2005. Saint Martin’s 11-game losing streak is four short of the GNAC record of 15 set by Northwest Nazarene in 2002. . .GNAC teams are 27-16-5 against outside competition, including 22-13-1 against Division II schools.  Conference teams are 19-11-1 against the Far West Region, 11-8 versus the CCAA and 8-3-1 against the PacWest.

Upcoming Opponents

Saint Martin's goalkeepers Breanna Klasen and Michelle Donachie have been busy as the Saints have been out-shot a combined 315-97 on the season.  Klasen has been the primary keeper and has a 3.27 goals against average. 

Trisha Halvorson leads the team with four goals and eight points.  Ashley Biral has three goals, and Jessica Wilson has recorded three of the team's four assists this year.

All-time Series:  MSUB leads series 1-0-0
Last Meeting:  MSUB def. SMU 6-2 on Sept. 16, 2007 in Billings

Western Oregon Wolves (webpage) - The Wolves did not win a game in their first 11 games of the season, but entering this week they have won three of their last four.  All three wins were against GNAC teams.  They are 3-10-2 overall and 3-6-0 in the conference.

Half of WOU's goals this season came in the three wins.  Entering the week they had scored just eight times while allowing 24 goals.  Kristie Adkins is the only player with multiple goals, finding the net twice.  Cori Young has a pair of assists.

Goalkeepers Kelsie Blachly and Ally Meyer have split time.  Blachly was in goal for all three wins and has a 1.22 goals against average.  Meyer has posted a 2.04 GAA in 528 minutes.

All-time Series:  Series is tied 1-1-0
Last Meeting:  MSUB def. WOU 3-0 on Sept. 13, 2007 in Billings  

The Stats

Click HERE for current MSU Billings 2007 season statistics

The Standings

2007 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Standings
(Through games of Oct. 14, 2007)

The GNAC Stats Leaders

Click HERE for GNAC Stats Leaders

The Polls

The Players

The Last Time in Yellowjacket Women's Soccer

The School Records (records that include 2007-2008 in bold)

Points
Game – 1. Jelisa Guy (14); 2. Brittney Sandau (9); 5. Mandy Ploskonka (7)
Season – 1. Ally Stroup (39); 3. Brittney Sandau/Jelisa Guy (26)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (109); 2. Brittney Sandau (76); 5. Mandy Ploskonka (36); 6. Jelisa Guy (31)

Goals
Game – 1. Jelisa Guy (5); 3. Brittney Sandua (3); 3. Samantha Sandau (3)
Season – 1. Ally Stroup (16)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (40); 4. Brittney Sandau (27); 5. Mandy Ploskonka (13)

Game Winning Goals
Season – 1. Ally Stroup/Margot Merrill-Johnson (4); 4. Brittney Sandau/Melissa Carlson (3)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (12); 3. Brittney Sandau (8)

Assists
Game – 1. Jelisa Guy (4); 3. Mandy Ploskonka/Brittney Sandau (3)
Season – 1. Brittney Sandau (10); 2. Jelisa Guy (8); 8. Mandy Ploskonka (6)
Career – 1. Ally Stroup (29); 2. Brittney Sandau (22);  6. Jelisa Guy (11); 7. Mandy Ploskonka (10)

GK Wins
Season – 1. Megan Plank (13)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (41) 

Saves
Game – 1. Jenny Bunnell (23); 4. Jordan Fenwick (17)
Season – 1. Jenny Bunnell (151)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (336) 

Shutouts
Season – 1. Megan Plank (10)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (23) 

Goals Against Average
Season – 1. Megan Plank (0.77)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (0.95) 

Minutes in Goal
Season – 1. Megan Plank (1868:15)
Career – 1. Megan Plank (6376:53) 

Fastest Goal from Start of Game
1. Kelly Bryn – 0:27 

Games Played
1. Ally Stroup (74); 4. Brittney Sandau (70); Amy Stephens (70)

Games Started
1. Ally Stroup (74); 5. Brittney Sandau (69)

Schedule & Results

The Coaches

Don Trentham, Head Coach
Don Trentham enters his sixth year as head women’s soccer coach at MSU Billings in 2007.  Under Trentham’s direction the program has gone 44-39-7.  He is the winningest coach in the history of the program in terms of both total wins and winning percentage, and his teams have posted the only three winning season in team history.  

Trentham attended Columbia College (Missouri) and played for head coach Dan Hogan, who is now head coach at University of Southern Indiana.  At Columbia he was part of an NAIA program that was consistently ranked in the top-20, won two conference tournament championships and twice advanced to the regional tournament.  In his senior year, the team finished 17-5 and was ranked ninth in the nation.

It was during his playing days at Columbia when Trentham began coaching.  He was head coach of two teams for the Columbia Pride Soccer Club and was assistant camp director for Columbia College Soccer Camps during the summer.  In 1998 the Missouri Youth Soccer Association honored Trentham as the Boys’ Coach of the Year.

Trentham began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Florida where he had the chance to work two seasons with one of the finest soccer tacticians in the country – David Gregson.  At Embry-Riddle he assisted in guiding the team to a #16 NAIA National Ranking in the final poll of 1999 season, two NAIA Regional Tournament appearances and a Florida Sun Conference regular season championship.

"I've been very fortunate to have played for and coached with two great people," says Trentham.  "Much of what I learned about the game came from Coach Hogan and David Gregson.  Had it not been for those guys, I don't know if I'd be coaching today."

Aside from his head coaching duties with the team at MSU Billings, Trentham also plays an active role in developing players throughout the state and the region.  Over the past two years he has served as the u13 and u14 girls head coach for the Magic City Soccer Club, guiding each team he has coached to Montana State Championships.  In the past he has also coached in the Olympic Development Program serving as the ODP girl's head coach for Montana, as well as an ODP staff coach for Region IV.  Furthermore, he holds many camps, clinics, tournaments, and leagues during the course of the year for both adult and youth players throughout the state.

Trentham earned his bachelor of arts in education from Columbia College and a master's of education in sport management from East Stroudsburg University.  He holds an "A" license from the United States Soccer Federation, as well as an Advanced National license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. 

Ally Stroup, Assistant Coach

The 2007 season will be Stroup’s first as the Yellowjackets’ women’s assistant soccer coach.  She is a 2007 graduate from MSU Billings, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in psychology with a minor in coaching and graduating cum laude.  

“Ally is a great addition to the coaching staff here at MSUB,” said Director of Soccer and Head Women’s Coach Don Trentham.  “She had a terrific career and a major impact here as a player, and I am confident she will have as big an impact, if not bigger, on our program as a coach.  She knows the game very well and has a tremendous passion for MSUB soccer, and it will be exciting to see her pass on her knowledge and passion to the players in the program.”

As a player, Stroup was a four year starter and two-time captain for the Yellowjackets.  Her freshmen season she was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-West Region Second Team.  As a junior, she received the following honors: MSU Billings Most Valuable Student-Athlete, Heartland All-Conference Team, Scholar-Athlete by her teammates, and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Second Team.  For her senior season, she received the following honors:  ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Second Team, Dakrtonics All-Midwest Region Team, Scholar-Athlete and MVP by her teammates, NSCAA/adidas College Scholar All-West Region Team, NSCAA/adidas Women’s Soccer Scholar All-America College Division First Team. 

At one point during her senior season, the team was ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region and ranked nationally in the top 10.  Stroup finished her MSU Billings career as the school record holder for career goals, assists, points, game winning goals, and games started. 

Stroup plans to begin her Masters of Science in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling at MSU Billings in the spring of 2008.  She is married to Garret Stroup, a 2006 graduate of MSU Billings.