(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State's men's soccer team officially opens the 2016 season this weekend as the Trailblazers hit the road for a pair of non-conference matches against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents. DSU will first head to Golden, Colo., for an immediate test against preseason (NSCAA) No. 6-ranked Colorado School of Mines on Friday night at 7 p.m. (MT), followed by a match at Metropolitan State University of Denver on Sunday at 11 a.m. (MT).

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Friday's match at CSM will mark the first time that the Trailblazers and Orediggers will meet on the pitch. Meanwhile Sunday's match at MSUD is the second-ever meeting between the two schools. Last season DSU opened its 2015 campaign with a 5-2 home triumph over the Roadrunners at then-Hansen Stadium (now Legend Solar Stadium).

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Tim Busen (Spring Arbor, 1994) begins 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 and preseason No. 22 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.

2015 RETURNEES: Dixie State returns six starters and 10 letter winners, along with nine redshirts, from last year's record-breaking 10-win club. Junior forward Frankie Mallek (Yuma, Ariz./Kofa HS) (Yuma, Ariz./Kofi HS) is the Trailblazers' top returning goal scorer from a year ago as he tallied four goals, including one game winner, to go with one assist, while sophomore midfielder Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) found the back of the net twice while assisting on another score.
However DSU's calling card from a season ago was defense as the club allowed a program-record low 10 goals in 16 matches last year. Dixie State returns five starters from that defensive backfield, including senior Hunter Ketterer (Heber City, Utah/Wasatch HS) (Heber City, Utah/Wasatch HS), juniors Baugh (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) and Zac McCulloch (Draper, Utah/Alta HS) (Draper, Utah/Alta HS/Southern Virginia), and sophomore Dominic Damato (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge HS) (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge HS).

Meanwhile, Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS/Yavapai CC) established himself as one of the best netminders in the country last fall as he was named PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors, along with NSCAA and Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA) second team all-West Region recognition. He made 76 saves on the season and in the process led the nation at the NCAA Division II level in save percentage (.880) and finished seventh-nationally in goals against average (0.594), both of which were DSU single season records. In addition, Trella posted a 10-2-4 overall record in goal, with eight of his school-record 10 wins in goal coming via shutout, and he recorded nine shutout results overall – another school record. He also posted the ninth-longest individual shutout streak in Division II history earlier in the year when he went 796:09 without allowing a goal, which was the longest such streak recorded nationally since 2005.

HEAD COACH TIM BUSEN ON THE 2016 SQUAD: "We have a solid amount of returners that contributed many minutes last year to help lead us. We also have a talented group of players that redshirted last year that we will look to. Beyond that our incoming recruits include some junior college transfers who should help us. We have a deep roster that brings a lot of leadership, experience and talent. The team set new standards a year ago and the goal is to meet and exceed those this year."

UP NEXT: DSU continues its current road-swing to open the 2016 season next weekend as the Trailblazers head up to Big Sky Country to play in the Montana State Billings-hosted Rimrock Men's Soccer Classic. DSU opens play against MSUB on Friday, Sept. 9, and will play the University of Mary on Sunday, Sept. 11.