(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (13-3-0/11-0-0 PacWest) will put a wrap on the 2016 regular season as the Trailblazers host two of the biggest games in the program's brief nine-year history this week at Legend Solar Stadium.
    DSU, which clinched at least a share of its first-ever Pacific West Conference title earlier this week, will face second-place Concordia-Irvine (10-4-2/9-2-0) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., followed by a date vs. California Baptist (11-5-0/7-4-0 PacWest) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
    A Trailblazer victory or tie in either match will give Dixie State the outright PacWest championship. Saturday's match vs. CBU will also serve as "Senior Day" as goalkeeper Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS), forward Bernard Manuel (Ghana, West Africa/Elko (NV) HS), midfielder Kris Evans (Draper, Utah/Alta HS), and defenders Hunter Ketterer (Heber City, Utah/Wasatch HS) and Josh Lockwood (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde HS) will be honored in a pregame ceremony before kickoff.  
    DSU enters the final week riding a school-record 13-game winning streak after taking the first three games of its regular season-ending five-match homestand.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Thursday's match vs. CUI will be the second-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Eagles on the pitch and will be the first match between the two sides in St. George. Last season both teams played to a 1-1 draw (10/24/15) in a match played in Irvine, Calif.
    Dixie State is 1-4-1 all-time vs. CBU and has lost four of its last five to the Lancers overall after winning the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the pitch in 2011 (2-1) in St. George. Last season in Riverside, the two teams played to a 1-1 2OT draw.

COACHING STAFF: Nyle Ortiz (Dixie State, 2011; 3-0-0 at DSU) was named interim head coach of the DSU men's program on October 19 after serving as an assistant for both DSU's men's and women's programs to begin the season. Prior to this current role he had served as an assistant coach under his father then-DSU head men's coach Danny Ortiz in 2012-13, and was an assistant women's coach at Texas-Permian Basin in 2014.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State ran its winning streak to a school-record 13 matches as the Trailblazer posted a pair of one-goal home victories earlier in the week. DSU began the week with a 1-0 triumph over Dominican University last Saturday in a match played at Dixie High School. Then this past Halloween Monday, the Trailblazers rallied for two goals in the final seven-plus minutes of regulation and the first six minutes of overtime en route to a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Notre Dame de Namur at Legend Solar Stadium.

DSU IN THE POLLS: Dixie State received two votes in this week's NSCAA Division II Coaches Top-25 poll, which was released on Tuesday. In addition, the third and final official NCAA West Region rankings were released on Wednesday and the Trailblazers remained in at No. 4, while California Baptist moved up two spots to fifth overall.

TRELLA NAMED PACWEST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: Senior GK Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS) was named PacWest Defender of the Week Monday for his performance in last Saturday's 1-0 home victory over Dominican University. Trella made three saves, including a diving stop on a Penguin penalty kick attempt in the 60th-minute of play, en route to his second-straight shutout victory and fourth shutout win of the season overall.
    Trella, who became DSU's career shutout leader in a win vs. Academy of Art (10/22), now has 13 (9-0-4) shutouts to his credit and currently leads the PacWest and is ranked in the top-50 nationally in goals against average (0.88).

QUICK KICKS: Dixie State played its first overtime match of the season in last Monday's 2-1 win over NDNU ... the OT win broke a five-match overtime draw streak and a seven-match overtime winless streak that dates back to the 2014 season ... prior to Monday's match, DSU's last OT victory came on the road at Chaminade (2-1, 10/6/14).
    Entering play this weekend, freshman forward Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) leads the team in goals (6), GWG (5) and points (17), and is second in assists (5, #3 on DSU's single-season list) ... Meanwhile, his older brother, sophomore midfielder Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) is tied for first place on DSU's single-season assists list with six and is second in points (14) and t-second in goals (4) ... both Medina brothers were credited with assists on the first collegiate goal scored by sophomore Dominic Damato (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge HS) in DSU's 1-0 vs. Dominican (10/29) ... Damato was not the only Trailblazer to collect a first goal on the week as senior Bernard Manuel (Ghana, West Africa/Elko (NV) HS) headed home the game-tying goal, his first collegiate goal, while senior Kris Evans (Draper, Utah/Alta HS) headed home his first career goal, which turned out to be the GWG in OT, in the NDNU win.
    The Manuel goal in the NDNU match was also a landmark goal as junior defender Bryan Baugh (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) was credited with his 11th-career assist, which moved him into first place on DSU's career assists list, passing former DSU player Tyler Albretsen who had 10 dimes in his four-year career (2009-12).
    Junior MF Ather Dawood (Tucson, Ariz.) and freshman F Christian Hall (Layton, Utah/Northridge HS) enter the final weekend of the regular season tied for second on the team with four goals, while three of Hall's four goals have been game-winners.
    Hall broke the program's record for quickest goal in school history in DSU's 1-0 win at Point Loma (9/24) ... Hall scored 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 Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS)'s first goal vs. Fresno Pacific Oct. 1 (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.  
    DSU's defense, anchored by Baugh, senior Hunter Ketterer (Heber City, Utah/Wasatch HS), freshman Angel Estrada (Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena HS), Damato and junior Alexi Beiza, have combined to limit opponents to a 10.9 shots and 5.2 SOG through 16 matches this season, while the unit, including Trella and reserve GKs freshman Zach Nielson (West Point, Utah/Northridge HS) and sophomore Eddie Ortiz (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS), has allowed only 12 goals in nearly 1,446 minutes of game action (0.75 GAA) with eight shutout wins on the year overall.

UP NEXT: The 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Selection announcement will take place on Monday, Nov. 7. For more information, visit www.ncaa.com.