WEEK 6 MSOC GAME NOTES

Two more matches in Hawaii: The Dixie State men's soccer closes its longest road trip of the season with matches against Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo. DSU heads to the windward side of Oahu on Thursday, Oct. 9, against the Sharks. A short plane ride takes the Storm to the Big Island for a Saturday, Oct. 11 matchup with the Vulcans. Live stats courtesy of the host school are available on the main and men's soccer schedule pages on DixieAthletics.com.

Last week in DSU men's soccer: Dixie State's trip to Hawaii did not start well. The Storm dropped a 5-0 decision to BYU-Hawaii last Saturday, but it did not crush the club's spirits. On Monday, DSU trailed in the final minute of regulation against Chaminade. Jorge Echavarria (Las Vegas, NV/Sierra Vista) headed in the equalizer with 40 seconds before full time and Frank Mallek (Yuma, AZ/Kofa) scored on a breakaway 24 seconds into the extra period to give Dixie State a 2-1 win over the Silverswords. 

Scouting the Sharks, Vulcans: Hawaii Pacific lurks near the top of the Pacific West Conference standing after winning three of the first four matches in league play. The Sharks are ranked No. 8 in this week's NSCAA Division II West Region Poll. On the other hand, UH Hilo has scuffled to a 1-4 record in the PacWest and a 3-6-1 overall mark.

Looking ahead to a return home: DSU returns to Hansen Stadium for a pair of PacWest matches beginning Thursday, Oct. 16 when the Argos of Notre Dame de Namur visit Utah. On Saturday, Oct. 18, Holy Names makes its first appearance in St. George since joining the PacWest to battle the Red Storm.

Ortiz at the helm: Danny Ortiz (Las Vegas, NV/Cimarron) is in year seven as head coach. He is 35-65-10 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.