(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (6-3-0/4-0-0 PacWest) embarks on its final road trip of the 2016 regular season this week as the Trailblazers head out for an eight-day, four-match swing through the Hawaiian Islands. DSU will open the trip with its final match ever vs. BYU-Hawaii this Saturday, Oct. 8, followed by games at Hawai'i Pacific (Oct. 10), Hawai'i Hilo (Oct. 13) and Chaminade (Oct. 15).  

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 6-3-1 all-time vs. BYU-Hawai'i, 1-9-1 vs. Hawai'i Pacific, 3-5-2 vs. Hawai'i Hilo, and 11-0-0 against Chaminade.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Tim Busen (Spring Arbor, 1994, 6-3-0 at DSU) is in his first season at the helm of the Trailblazer men's soccer program. Prior to his arrival to St. George, Busen served as head coach at Adams State for six seasons from 2010-15. He coached several All-RMAC selections and numerous RMAC All-Academic honorees during his tenure.
    Busen is joined on the sideline by assistant coach and former DSU player Nyle Ortiz, who will assist both the men's and women's programs this season.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED SEVENTH IN PACWEST: Dixie State was picked to finish seventh in the Pacific West Conference preseason coaches' poll released on August 17. Defending conference champion Fresno Pacific was tabbed the 2016 preseason favorite as the Sunbirds collected eight first-place votes and 188 points to headline the poll, while Point Loma (163 points) was selected to finish second, Hawai'i Pacific (154) received two first-place nods in placing third and Notre Dame de Namur (146) got one first-place vote to claim fourth. Azusa Pacific (131), California Baptist (one first-place vote, 131) and DSU (one first-place vote, 128) rounded out the top-half of the poll.
    The Trailblazers also landed two players on the preseason all-PacWest team. Senior netminder Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS) was named PacWest Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, while he and junior defender Bryan Baugh (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) were voted onto the preseason all-conference team.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State ran its winning streak to six matches and remained perfect in conference play as the Trailblazers posted a 3-2 result over defending PacWest champion Fresno Pacific last Saturday night at Legend Solar Stadium.

MEDINA BROTHERS TAKE HOME PACWEST WEEKLY HONORS: Sophomore midfielder Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) and freshman forward Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) each garnered PacWest men's soccer weekly honors on Monday for their respective performances in leading the Trailblazers to two key league home victories last week.
    Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) was named PacWest co-Player of the Week as he scored one goal and assisted on two other scores in DSU's 3-2 win over defending PacWest champion Fresno Pacific last Saturday night. He found the back of the net just 1:50 into the match and assisted on DSU's second goal three minutes into the second half. Gabby then picked up his second dime of the match (fourth of the season) on the eventual game-winning goal with a pass to his younger brother Moises, who tucked away the deciding score from 5-yards out with 5:46 to play in regulation.
    Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) earned PacWest Freshman of the Week honors after he tallied both game-winning goals for the Trailblazers last week. In addition to his score in the FPU match, he netted his first collegiate goal in the 32nd-minute in DSU's 1-0 result over Holy Names on Sept. 27. For the week, Moises attempted nine total shots, eight of which were on goal, including all five attempts vs. FPU. He also became the third Trailblazer to earn the conference's weekly freshman honors this season, joining fellow forward Christian Hall (Layton, Utah/Northridge HS) (Sept. 26) and midfielder Jandir Porta (West Valley City, Utah/Hunter HS) (Sept. 12).

QUICK KICKS: For the second time in the program's NCAA D-II era, Dixie State has opened its PacWest slate 4-0-0 ... in 2011, DSU won its first six league matches on its way to a 7-5-0 PacWest finish, while last year the Trailblazers posted a tie in their first PacWest game and then followed it up with five-straight wins en route to a program-best 8-1-4 league result ... freshman forward Christian Hall (Layton, Utah/Northridge HS) broke the program's record for quickest goal in school history in DSU's 1-0 win at PLNU (9/24) ... Hall scored his third goal overall on the season (and third GWG) just 37 seconds into the match, which broke the previous school record for quickest goal set back on Oct. 12, 2013, when former DSU player Nadav Elimelich scored just 1:24 into a match at Holy Names ... in all, DSU has tallied five goals in the first two minutes of a match in its D-II era, including Gabby Mendina's first goal vs. FPU last Saturday (1:50) ...  the first instance came on Oct. 30, 2010, when Zac Hales scored a goal at the 1:51 mark of a home match vs. Chaminade, then on Oct. 1, 2011, Alex Lawhun needed just 1:32 to find the back of the net in a home match vs. California Baptist.  
    Junior defender Bryan Baugh (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) scored his second career goal in the 49th-minute vs. FPU last Saturday ... Baugh also collected his ninth-career assist in the Holy Names match (9/27), which moved him to within two dimes of becoming DSU's career assists leader ... senior netminder Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS) earned his second solo shutout result of the season in the HNU match ... the shutout win vs. HNU was also Trella's 11th of his career, which moved him into a tie atop Dixie State's career shutouts list with former DSU GK Tyler Waters (2010-13), who had 11 career shutouts in his four-year career ... Trella has surrendered just three goals over his last 552 minutes of play in goal ... entering this week's matches, Dixie State is averaging 13.5 shots/7.3 SOG per outing.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will close the 2016 regular season with five-straight PacWest home matches, beginning with a date vs. Academy of Art on DSU's Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 22, at 5:30 p.m., at Legend Solar Stadium.