(Editor's note: Carroll College athletics release)
HELENA -- While down in California over the past weekend, the Carroll College women’s soccer team generated a lot of goals.
Friday, against NCAA Division II Montana State Billings, the Saints needed just one, as senior forward Makayla Welch took a pass from Ally Cleverly to finish a goal and give the Saints a 1-0 win over the Yellowjackets.
Welch, who leads the Saints in goals scored at four (all coming during the California road trip), won’t be credited with her fifth goal this season, as the game counted as an exhibition, but in just over a few weeks, the Saints will have another go at MSUB -- only this time it will count.
Whoever does the scoring is a welcome sight for the Saints, who started the season with a 2-0 loss, but have since scored 11 goals in countable matches, and another goal in Friday’s exhibition.
“Our front three, regardless what group was in, really put a lot of pressure on (Billings’) backlineand caused some issues,” Thorvilson told the Independent Record. “You always want multiple scorers but, in big games, you want to know who that one person will be to make the difference for you. We have a lot of kids scoring goals, but I’m still waiting to see who wants to be the kid.”
The Saints outshot the Yellowjackets 11-5.
Carroll’s defense shutout an opposing offense for the first time this season.
Carroll junior goalkeeper Sydney Green kept the clean sheet and recorded five saves on the day.
Carroll (2-1) faces the Yellowjackets in a regular-season game on Sept. 12 in Billings.
The men's contest saw the Yellowjackets win 3-2 in a last-minute goal from MSUB’s Christian Thode in overtime.
Carroll’s coach Doug Melo was pleased with his team's resilience and effort throughout the game.
“We fought very hard as a team with 10 players,” Mello said. “It’s very disappointing to not be able to walk away with at least a draw, but we will learn from this.”
With only four combined shots in the first half, MSUB and Carroll went into halftime tied 0-0. Both teams came out of the break rested and ready to get after it. Tensions and tempers were rising after six yellow cards had been given out during regulation.
Carroll defender Leo Georgiades picked up a red card in the 56th minute. Leaving the Saints with only 10 players to try and break the 0-0 tie. The first goal came in the 63rd minute with a shot from Thode that hit the crossbar and bounced down and in.
With the Saints down a man, they held off any more goals until the 81st minute when Andes Perez of MSUB scored. The Saints were now down 2-0, and all the pressure was on them to make something happen with only 10 minutes left in regulation.
MSUB committed a foul in the box during the 82nd minute giving Carroll freshman, Rory Bloy, in his debut game a penalty kick. Off of a deflection from MSUB’s goalie, Carroll’s Jack Bentson struck in Carroll’s first goal shrinking MSUB’s lead to just one with seven minutes remaining.
Just four minutes later Bloy got his redemption as he fired in a rocket off of Paolo Georgiades’s cross tying the game 2-2. Both teams remained scoreless the rest of regulation and through the first overtime period.
With under two minutes left in the second overtime period Carroll’s goalie Melle de Reuver was knocked to the ground while deflecting the ball. With de Reuver down, Thode used this opportunity to fire in the game-winning goal in the 108th minute defeating the Fighting Saints 3-2.
When asked about his goalie getting knocked to the ground in the final minutes Mello said, “It's one of those things that is out of our control… What happened at the end, we have to accept it, and we will. But when you fight that hard, you're incredibly disappointed to have the game end in a controversial call like that.”
Looking forward to there two games next week Mello was very positive with where the Saints will be.
“We will pick our heads up, get a good practice in next week and get ready to play Whitworth and Whitman up in Spokane and try and rebound from this, which we will.”
