(MATCH NOTES)

Dixie State (8-1-2/6-0-2 PacWest) will look to regain the top spot in the Pacific West Conference standings this week as the Storm closes its four-match road swing with a pair of matches in southern California. DSU opens the trip on Thursday, Oct. 22, with a match at California Baptist (5-6-1/4-3-0 PacWest) at 3 p.m. (PT), at Lancer Soccer Field on the CBU campus in Riverside. The Storm will then take on league newcomer Concordia (4-7-0/4-3-0 PacWest) Saturday at 1:30 p.m., (PT) at Eagles Field in Irvine. Live stats links for both matches can be found at www.dixieathletics.com.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 1-4-0 all-time vs. CBU and has lost four-straight to the Lancers after winning the first ever meeting between the two schools on the pitch in 2011 (2-1) in St. George. Meanwhile Saturday's match between DSU and Concordia will be the first-ever meeting between the Storm and Eagles on the soccer field. 

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Josh Pittman (8-1-2 at DSU/63-63-17 overall; East Stroudsburg, 1999) is in his first season at the helm of the Storm men's soccer program. Prior to his arrival to St. George, Pittman spent seven seasons as head coach at Colorado Mesa, where he led the Mavericks to the 2013 RMAC tournament title and league tournament appearances (2010, 2012-13). He also served on the coaching staffs at Metro State and Adams State, and spent a year with the MLS Colorado Rapids as a development academy coach. Pittman is joined on the DSU sideline by first-year assistant Joe Hickman.

DSU RANKED SIXTH IN WEST REGION: For the first time in the program's history, Dixie State is ranked in the NCAA West Region. The first regional poll of the season, which was released Wednesday, has the Storm ranked sixth-overall as the lone representative from the PacWest. Cal State Dominguez Hills (11-1-2) is rated #1 in the region, followed by Cal Poly Pomona (8-1-3), Seattle Pacific (10-1-2), CS Los Angeles (9-2-2) and Stanislaus State (9-2-1) are the top-five in the poll. Sonoma State (8-4-2) and Northwest Nazarene (9-4-1) round out the rankings in seventh and eighth, respectively.

STORM CONTINUES RECORD-SETTING START: Dixie State is off to its best start in program history this season as the Storm has played to a 8-1-2 overall record through 10 matches. Seven of DSU's eight wins this season have come via shutout, while the eight wins this season is tied for the most in the program's brief seven-plus year history. DSU needs just one victory to break the school record which was set in 2010 and first tied in 2011.

DSU has done a lot of this on the defensive side of the pitch as the Storm back field is currently riding an impressive shutout streak that has reached 720:05, which is a span of just over 7.5 matches since DSU has surrendered a goal. The Storm posted its school-record seventh-straight shutout result in last Saturday's win at Academy of Art, 1-0, this after posting a shutout in the 0-0 double OT draw at NDNU last Thursday. The previous school record for consecutive shutout victories was two set in 2010 and matched in 2011. In fact, six of DSU's eight wins this season have been 1-0 results, while seven of the eight victories overall are via shutout.

Dixie State enters this week ranked #1 in the nation in goals against average (0.35) and save percentage (.929), and is currently ranked second nationally in shutout percentage (0.73). Junior goalkeeper Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS), who has played every minute in goal for the Storm this season, is also ranked #1 in NCAA Division II in three categories, including GAA (0.35), save percentage (.923) and goals allowed (4). Trella, who was named PacWest Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 28, has made 51 saves and has seven shutout victories to his credit in 2015.

QUICK KICKS: Senior Santiago Alejandro (Oakley, Calif./Alhambra HS) padded his team lead in points with his fourth assist of the season in the Storm's win at AAU ... Alejandro has 12 points on team-highs of four goals and four assists ... Alejandro also leads the team in shots (26) and SOG (12), and is now alone in second place on the Storm's career assist list with seven, needing just four more dimes to become DSU's career leader ... junior defender Jason Arollo (Glendale, Ariz./Apollo HS) tallied his third goal of the year in the 1-0 win vs. BYU-H ... in fact all three of Arollo's goals are game-winners as he struck for goals vs. Point Loma (9/26) and at Biola (9/12) ... sophomore forward Frankie Mallek (Yuma, Ariz./Kofa HS) also got into the GW goal act as he tallied his third goal of the season and second career gamewinner at AAU last Saturday ... Mallek also scored Dixie State's 400th-point in school history with a goal vs. APU Sept. 24 ... Dixie State played its 100th PacWest match last Saturday at AAU ... the Storm has a 35-55-10 (.400) overall record in seven-plus years of conference play ... DSU is averaging 9.0 shots per game through its first 11 matches, including 3.6 shots on goal.

HEAD COACH JOSH PITTMAN ON THE STORM: "We are excited to be in this position and know that each game is like a playoff game. We are doing our best to be prepared and are really looking forward to playing this weekend. We know we have two strong opponents this weekend and some obstacles to overcome but I'm confident in my team and their preparation so it should be a fun and competitive weekend."

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns home for its final two home matches of the 2015 regular season. The Storm will play host to Hawai'i Pacific on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., at Hansen Stadium. DSU will then close its home slate on Halloween Saturday, Oct. 31, vs. Chaminade at 12:30 p.m., in a match that will be played at nearby Dixie High School.