(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (2-0-0/0-0-0 PacWest) continues its current road swing to open the 2017 season this weekend as the Trailblazers head Colorado Springs for a pair of non-conference matches. DSU opens the trip on Saturday with a neutral-site match against Eastern New Mexico (1-1-1) at 4 p.m. (MT), and will play at Colorado-Colorado Springs (0-3-0) on Monday, Sept. 11, beginning at 10 a.m. (MT).
    Both matches will be played at Mountain Lion Stadium on the UCCS campus. Live stats and video information for both matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: This weekend's matches against both Eastern New Mexico and UC-Colorado Springs will be the first time the Trailblazers have faced either program on the pitch.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Jonny Broadhead (Colorado State-Pueblo, 2004) is in his first season at the helm of the Trailblazer men's soccer program. Broadhead came to DSU from Utah Valley University, where he served as a volunteer assistant coach for two years before being elevated to a full-time assistant position before to the start of the 2016 season. Prior to his time at UVU, Broadhead served a two-year stint as assistant coach at Colorado Mesa with former DSU head coach Josh Pittman. The Mavericks went a combined 20-12-8 during his two seasons in Grand Junction, including a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament championship in 2013.
    Broadhead is joined on the sideline by former DSU standout netminder Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS), who will serve as a student assistant coach and work with the goalkeepers.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED THIRD IN PACWEST: Defending PacWest champion Dixie State was picked to finish third in the league's 2017 preseason coaches' poll released Aug. 16. The Trailblazers, who are in their final season of PacWest play, received five of 14 possible first place vote and landed four players on the preseason all-PacWest team.
    California Baptist was tabbed as the 2017 preseason favorite as the Lancers also collected five first place votes to finish with 173 points, while Concordia-Irvine garnered two first place votes to finish second in the poll with 166 points. DSU came in third with 156 points, followed by Point Loma (148 points) in fourth, Notre Dame de Namur (132) and Azusa Pacific (one first place vote; 132 points) tied for fifth, and Fresno Pacific (130 points) rounded out the top-half of the 14-team poll.
    In addition, senior defender Bryan Baugh (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) was named PacWest Preseason Defender of the Year, while he and sophomore forward Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS), junior midfielder Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS), and sophomore defender Angel Estrada (Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena HS) were voted onto the preseason all-conference team.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State began its 10th-year of NCAA competition on a winning note as the Trailblazers picked up a pair of victories last weekend in Salt Lake City. The brother combination of Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) and Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) each tallied first half goals to help lead the Trailblazers to a 2-1 result over Northwest Nazarene on Aug. 31. Then two days later, DSU rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit with two second half goals from sophomore midfielder Gustavo Ortega (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS), including the game's "golden goal" just over two minutes into the first overtime period, to claim a 2-1 triumph over Montana State Billings.

QUICK KICKS: Dixie State ran its regular-season winning streak to 17 matches (15-straight to close 2016) with its two victories last week in SLC ... Ortega's two goals vs. MSUB were the first two of his collegiate career ... Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) and Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) picked up right where they left off in 2016 as the duo each collected goals in the season opener vs. NNU ... Gabby's goal came on a first half penalty kick, his first PK conversion of his collegiate career, while Moises' tally came off a ball played in by sophomores Blake Damato (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge HS) and Jandir Porta (West Valley City, Utah/Hunter HS) ... Moises (team-high 6G) and Gabby (4G) combined for 10 of DSU's 38 goals scored in a well-balanced offensive attack in 2016 ... senior forward Ather Dawood (Tucson, Ariz./Palo Verde HS) and Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) were each credited with assists on Ortega's two goals in the MSUB win.
    Dixie State's defense third combined to hold NNU and MSUB to 14 total shots and eight shots on goal, which included just three shots attempted (all on frame) by MSUB ... sophomore GK Zach Nielson (West Point, Utah/Northridge HS) earned the victory in goal in both matches to move to 7-0-0 for his career ... Nielson (1GA; 0.66 GAA) played all 90 minutes vs. NNU (4 saves) and came on to start the second half in the MSUB match (2 saves) ... freshman GK Levi Lord (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde HS) got his first collegiate start vs. MSUB and played the first half.
    Gabby Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS)'s PK conversion was the first for DSU in a span of 21 matches, with the last coming off the boot of former DSU all-conference performer Santiago Alejandro vs. Hawai'i Pacific late in the 2015 season (10/29) ... Alejandro converted both of DSU's PK attempts that season ... Overall, Dixie State is 13-for-18 all-time in PK attempts in the program's NCAA era and has had at least two PK goals in five of its nine-plus seasons of four-year competition.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will enjoy a 10-day break before kicking off its 2017 home slate with a four-match PacWest homestand, beginning with the conference-opener vs. Chaminade at Legend Solar Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m.