BILLINGS, Mont. - The Saints struck fast and swift in the opening minutes of the match, with a free kick goal from
Sebastian Navarro, in the 4-1 road loss to Montana State Billings on Saturday.
The fastest goal of the goal of the season for the Saints (0-9-0, 0-4-0), came when SMU was awarded a free kick, and Navarro punched in his first goal of the season, 25 yards out after only 1:58 seconds had ticked off the clock.
JD Hauenstein sparked the Yellowjackets' (5-5-0, 3-1-0) offense with a goal in the 23rd and 28th minute to propell MSUB to a 2-1 lead. Montana State Billings added one goal in the closing minutes of the first half to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.
After being outshot 8-2 in the first half, the Saints put pressure on Montana State Billings, rattling off 8 shots to their 3. Despite the increased pressure on MSUB, the Yellowjackets broke through the Saints' offense and scored the final goal in the 79th minute to secure the 4-1 victory.
"Navarro's free kick and goal in the opening moments of the game was a sign of his quality as a player," said head coach
Rob Walker. "Unfortunately, we can't just be rewarded on one effort in a game. Except for the slip up for the goal in the second half, we turned the game on its' end. We had more shots and corners and much better possession as we rolled through the second half. We are looking forward to the stretch now where we can play on campus in front of our friends, family and fans. That will be a big pick up."
Brandon Madsen led the Saints with four shots, two landing on goal, while
Edgar Iniguez and
Kyle Witzel each recorded two shots and one on goal. Navarro recorded the one goal on his one shot, with McKray Kohn taking the Saints' final shot.
Griffin Small got the start at goalkeeper for SMU, playing all 90 minutes, making three saves on 11 shots faced.
The Saints return home for only their second home match all season and first of the conference schedule on October 5. SMU will match up against Concordia with first touch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.
