(MATCH NOTES)

Dixie State (10-1-4/8-0-4 [28 pts] PacWest) will play for its first-ever Pacific West Conference championship as the Storm squares off against league-leading #15 Fresno Pacific (13-2-2/10-1-1 [31 pts]) Saturday night in the regular season finale for both teams. The match will kick-off at 7:30 p.m. (PT), at Ramirez Field on the FPU campus.

The Storm remained in second place in the PacWest standings after sweeping both ends of a two-game homestand last week vs. Hawai'i Pacific (3-1) and Chaminade (1-0), while the Sunbirds kept pace with a 7-3 road result at Holy Names, followed by a 9-2 home win over Concordia. Live stats/video links for Saturday's match can be found at www.dixieathletics.com.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: Dixie State is 1-1-0 in its two previous matches vs. Fresno Pacific, including a 4-1 result last season in St. George, while the Sunbirds claimed a 3-1 victory in the first-ever meeting between the two programs in Fresno in 2013.

DSU RANKED SEVENTH IN WEST REGION: As if Saturday's "Winner Take All" match was not dramatic enough, the winner of the DSU/FPU match may also clinch a berth into the NCAA West Regionals. Dixie State currently stands seventh-overall in the West Region, one spot behind FPU, which is ranked #6. Cal State Dominguez Hills (13-2-2) is ranked No. 1 in the region, followed by No. 2 Seattle Pacific (13-1-2), No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona (11-2-3), No. 4 Cal State Los Angeles (11-3-2) and No. 5 Stanislaus State (12-3-1). Sonoma State (10-6-2) rounds out the rankings in eighth. Dixie State, which debuted for the first time in school history in the regional rankings two weeks ago at No. 6, returned to the top-eight on the strength of its two wins last week. The top-6 teams from will advance to the NCAA West Regionals, which will be held Nov. 12-22, and the NCAA Division II College Cup will be played Dec. 3-5, in Pensacola, Fla. 

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Josh Pittman (10-1-4 at DSU/65-63-19 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.

STORM SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS: Dixie State recorded its school-record ninth win of the season in the Storm's 3-1 result vs. HPU last Thursday night at Hansen Stadium. The victory bested the previous mark of eight wins, which was set in 2010 and first tied in 2011. Dixie State extended its unbeaten streak to 13-straight matches overall, while the Storm's current 10-1-4 record marks the best start in program history. Eight of DSU's 10 wins this season have come via shutout, seven of which by a 1-0 count, including DSU's 1-0 win over Chaminade last Saturday at Dixie HS.

DSU has done a lot of this on the defensive side of the pitch as the Storm back field has allowed just seven goals this season, which included a school-record stretch of 796:09 between goals allowed, a shutout streak that ended at California Baptist on Oct. 22, when the Lancers converted a penalty kick with just under 14 minutes to play in regulation. Dixie State enters this week ranked #1 in the nation in save percentage (.909), second goals against average (0.44) and seventh-overall in shutout percentage (0.60).

QUICK KICKS: Junior netminder Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS) recorded his ninth shutout of the season vs. Chaminade and has allowed only four goals in 12 PacWest matches and seven goals overall in 2015 ... Trella, a two-time PacWest Defensive Player of the Week selection, currently leads the nation in save percentage (.904) and is third in NCAA Division II in GAA (.440) ... his school-record shutout streak of 796:09 ranks as the ninth-longest individual streak in NCAA Division II history, and is the longest such streak recorded nationally since 2005 ... Trella has made 69 saves and has eight shutout victories to his credit ... senior MF Santiago Alejandro (Oakley, Calif./Alhambra HS) made the most of his "Senior Night" as he recorded his second two-goal match of the season vs. HPU last Thursday ... Alejandro converted his second PK of the season in the 55th-minute for what turned out to be his second GWG of the year, and added an insurance goal with four minutes to play ... Alejandro leads the team in goals (6), assists (4) and points (16) ... Alejandro enters his final match in a DSU kit second all-time in career assists (7) and GWG (4), and third in career goals (8) and points (23) ... sophomore forward Frankie Mallek (Yuma, Ariz./Kofa HS) and junior Jason Arollo (Glendale, Ariz./Apollo HS) enter Saturday's regular season finale second on the club with four goals apiece, with a combined five of those eight tallies serving as GWG (Arollo 3, Mallek 2) ... Mallek also scored the 400th-point in the program's history with a goal vs. APU Sept. 24 ... freshman MF Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) also got into the GWG act as he netted his first collegiate gamewinner vs. Chaminade off an assist from junior MF Zach Leon (Oakley, Calif./Independence HS), one of two dimes Leon dished out on the homestand ... Leon's first came on a first-half goal scored by junior MF Michael Ropelato (Roy, Utah/Roy HS) vs. HPU, his first tally of the year ... Dixie State trailed for just the second time all season, and the first time in PacWest play, when Concordia netted a goal at the 20:23 mark of the match held in Irvine Oct. 23 ... the Eagles' goal broke a streak of just over 980 minutes during which DSU has either led or was tied in a match.

UP NEXT: The 2015 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Selection announcement will take place on Monday, Nov. 9. For more information, visit www.ncaa.com.