#DixieMSOC Week 9 Game Notes

Dixie State to host Dominican, Academy of Art: The Dixie State men's soccer team opens a three-match homestand this week hosting Dominican and Academy of Art at Hansen Stadium. The Storm battles the Penguins on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 4:30 p.m. MT. Then on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. MT, DSU will play the Urban Knights in a Pacific West Conference matinee. Both matches will be broadcast by SouthernUtahLive.com online and have live stats available on the main and men's soccer schedule pages on DixieAthletics.com.

Last week in DSU men's soccer: It was a week of heartbreak in Southern California for DSU soccer. Last Thursday, the Storm fought through a scoreless regulation period against conference leading Azusa Pacific. Early in overtime, a handball call against Dixie State gave the Cougars a penalty kick that proved to be the difference in a 1-0 loss. APU outshot the Storm 21-4; Jorge Echavarria (Las Vegas, NV/Sierra Vista) was the only DSU player with multiple shot opportunities, netting an equalizing goal in the 53rd minute. On Saturday, a physical match ended late in double overtime when PLNU converted a corner kick into a goal off a header for a 1-0 win. The match was even with both teams firing 14 shots. For DSU, three shots came from Frank Mallek (Yuma, AZ/Kofa) and Bryan Baugh (Henderson, NV/Green Valley). Freshman goalkeeper Eddie Ortiz (Las Vegas, NV/Cimarron) made five saves in 107 minutes. 

A peek at the Penguins, Urban Knights: Dominican enters the week on a two-game win streak after going winless in their first 13 matches. The Penguins are 2-12-1 overall and one spot ahead of DSU in the PacWest standings with a 2-7 league record. Last week at home, Dominican defeated Hawaii Pacific 2-1 and UH Hilo 1-0 in San Rafael. Kolby Mitnick leads the Penguins with three goals. Vini Enriquez netted both game-winners last week to earn Player of the Week honors in the PacWest. Dominican currently ranks last in the PacWest in scoring (.60) and seventh in goals allowed (1.67). DSU has a loss and a draw in its last two against Dominican, but the Storm did win the last meeting in St. George – 1-0 in double OT on Oct. 8, 2011. Academy of Art enters play this week with a 5-9 overall record. Last week, the Urban Knights split two home matches – a 3-0 loss to BYU-Hawaii and a 5-0 blowout win over Chaminade. The win broke a four-game skid in emphatic fashion. Kristof Urbanyi leads ART U with four goals and three assists in 10 games. ART U is seventh in the PacWest scoring 1.643 goals per game and ninth in goals allowed (1.93). The Knights won last year's matchup with Dixie State in San Francisco, 4-1. Last time in St. George (2011), DSU picked up a 4-1 win behind a game winner from then freshman Erik Shallenberger (Las Vegas, NV/Arbor View). 

Senior Day on the horizon: Next week, Dixie State closes out the 2014 regular season hosting Fresno Pacific on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Storm will honor five seniors prior to the match – Spencer Anderson (Glendale, AZ/Mountain View), Erik Shallenberger (Las Vegas, NV/Arbor View), Nadav Elimelech (Las Vegas, NV/Spring Valley), Dominic Torres (Mountain Home, ID/Mountain Home), and David Stirland (Hurricane, UT/Hurricane). 

Ortiz at the helm: Danny Ortiz is in year seven as head coach. He is 35-72-10 in his tenure at Dixie State since the program's reinstatement in 2008. Ortiz also leads as Director of the Southern Utah Soccer Association and continues to work with Utah Youth Soccer Association on the State Coaching Education staff and as the Southern Utah Olympic Development Program Director.