(MATCH NOTES)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State's men's soccer team opens Pacific West Conference play this week as the Trailblazers head to southern California for a pair of league matches. DSU (2-3-0/0-0-0) will open the trip on Thursday with a match at Azusa Pacific (0-2-2/0-0-0 PacWest) on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 5 p.m. (PT), followed by a date at Point Loma (1-1-3/0-0-0) on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 11:30 a.m. (PT), in San Diego. 

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State enters Thursday's match at APU in search its first win in six tries vs. the Cougars as Azusa Pacific has won four of the first five meetings between the two programs, including a 2-1 overtime result (2014) the last time the two teams met in Azusa, Calif. Last season in St. George, DSU and APU played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw.
    DSU is 2-2-0 in four previous matches vs. Point Loma, with all four matches in the series won by the home side. Dixie State defeated the Sea Lions by a 1-0 count last year at Legend Solar Stadium, while the Trailblazers will look to break through with their first road result in the series on Saturday.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Tim Busen (Spring Arbor, 1994, 2-3-0 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: After four-straight matches away from home to open the 2016 season, Dixie State finally got to play in front of its fans last Saturday night, and the Trailblazers did not disappoint as they came away with a 3-1 victory over Northwest Nazarene at Legend Solar Stadium.
    Sophomore midfielder Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) netted a pair of second-half goals to help lead DSU to the victory. The Trailblazers led 1-0 after the first 45 minutes thanks to a rocket blast from 35-yards out off the boot of junior forward Ather Dawood (Tucson, Ariz.) early in the 32nd-minute. NNU tied the score at 1-1 on a PK three minutes into the second half, but Medina gave DSU the lead right back as he headed on shot at point-blank range thanks to a free kick from sophomore Dominic Damato (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge HS) and a one-touch ball from freshman Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) at the 58:51 mark. Then after NNU missed another PK attempt with 8:54 to play, G. Medina corralled a through-ball from junior Alexiz Beiza (Salt Lake City, Utah/West Jordan HS) and beat the Crusader keeper 1-v-1 just 12 seconds later to put the match on ice. DSU's defense held NNU to four shots on goal and senior keeper Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS) made three save to earn the win in goal.

QUICK KICKS: Damato collected two assists in the win vs. NNU, including his first of the season on the Dawood goal in the first half ... G. Medina became the second Trailblazer to score two goals in a match this season, joining freshman Jandir Porta (West Valley City, Utah/Hunter HS), who found the back of the net twice in DSU's win vs. the University of Mary Sept. 11.
    In fact, all five goals scored vs. UOM were scored by freshmen ... including Porta's two goals, forward Christian Hall (Layton, Utah/Northridge HS) netted his first collegiate goal, as did midfielder Angel Estrada (Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena HS) and forward Michael Cardenas (St. George, Utah/Pine View HS).
    Junior midfielder Sean Jenne (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS) picked up his third point of the year with an assist on Hall's GWG vs. UOM ... the junior scored his sixth-career goal at Metropolitan State-Denver (Sept. 4), which moved him into a three-way tie for sixth on DSU's career goals scored list ... Jenne's assist also vaulted him into solo seventh on the program's career points list with 15 (6G/3A).
    Dixie State's five goals vs. UOM tied a school-record for most goals in a match, but it was the first time the Trailblazers scored five goals away from home ... DSU also scored five goals last season vs. Metro State-Denver, and vs. Chaminade in 2013 ... entering this week's matches, Dixie State is averaging 14.6 shots/7.2 SOG per outing ... DSU is 37-56-12 (.409) all-time in PacWest play dating back to the program's inception in 2008.

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns home to Legend Solar Stadium for two PacWest matches next week as the Trailblazers host Holy Names on Tuesday, Sept. 27, and Fresno Pacific on Saturday, Oct. 1.