(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (4-8-2/2-6-2 RMAC) returns to Trailblazer Stadium to begin its final homestand of the 2018 season this weekend, starting with a match vs. Colorado State-Pueblo (5-7-2/2-6-2 RMAC) on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. DSU will also host Adams State (0-12-2/0-8-2 RMAC) on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m.
    Live stats and live video information for both matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State enters both matches this weekend looking for its first-ever matches against these two opponents. In fact, all three sides will be looking for first wins in each respective series as DSU is 0-0-1 against both CSU-Pueblo and ASU.
    DSU and CSUP played to a 1-1 draw (9/4/11) in the only meeting between the two teams during the 2011 season in a neutral-site match in Phoenix, Ariz., while the Trailblazers and Grizzlies dueled to a 1-1 tie in the lone match-up between these two sides in St. George on Sept. 14, 2009.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Jonny Broadhead (Colorado State-Pueblo, 2004; 16-13-2 overall) is in his second season on the Trailblazer sideline after guiding DSU to a 12-win season last year, which included a fifth-place finish (8-5-0) in its final season of Pacific West Conference play. 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 prior to the start of the 2016 season.
    Before 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 again this season by former DSU standout netminder Bradley Trella, who will serve as a student assistant coach and work with the goalkeepers.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED FIFTH IN THE RMAC IN 2018: Dixie State was voted to finish fifth by the RMAC coaches in the annual preseason poll released by the league on August 15.
    Defending RMAC champion Colorado School of Mines was the overwhelming choice to defend its title as the Orediggers received nine of a possible 12 first-place votes to top the poll with 118 points. Colorado Mesa claimed two first place votes to finish second with 102 points, followed by Fort Lewis (one first-place vote, 96 pts) in third, Regis (81 pts) in fourth, DSU (79 pts) in fifth, and MSU-Denver (78 pts) in sixth to round out the top-half of the 12-team poll.
    In addition, DSU's top-returning goal scorer, junior forward Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS), was the Trailblazers' lone representative on the RMAC's preseason all-conference team.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State concluded its long four-match road trip with a split of two RMAC matches in Colorado. The Trailblazers began the week with a hard-fought 2-1 loss at then No. 12 (now No. T-24) Colorado Mesa last Friday in Grand Junction. DSU rebounded from that setback to post a 2-1 victory of its own two days later at Fort Lewis to collect its first road conference victory of the season.

QUICK KICKS: Junior forward Moises Medina (Mesquite, Nev./Virgin Valley HS) (61 points) became Dixie State's career points leader when he scored his team-high fifth goal of the year midway through the second half at Colorado Mesa last Friday ... Medina passed former DSU standout Jordan Roylance (28 goals/4 assists), who amassed 60 points during his four seasons in a Dixie State kit from 2009-12 ... Medina, who also became DSU's career assist leader (15) earlier this season vs. FLC (9/28) and broke DSU's single-season goals record last year (12), now has 23 career goals to his credit and needs just six more goals to pass Roylance and become DSU's career goals leader.
    Freshman defender Idris Alabi (Vail, Ariz./Cienega HS) scored his third goal of the season in DSU's 2-1 win at Fort Lewis last Sunday ... in fact, all three Alabi tallies have come against the Skyhawks, including his first two collegiate goals in the Blazers' 4-1 home result back on Sept. 28 ... Alabi is one of three Trailblazers who have netted two goals in a match this season ... junior forward Gustavo Ortega (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) recorded DSU's second two-goal match (and his second-career two-goal match) of the year in the Blazers' 3-2 home to Colorado-Colorado Springs (9/21) ... freshman Tony Foulger (Salt Lake City, Utah/Olympus HS), who scored his third goal of the year on Medina's record-breaking assist vs. FLC (9/28), notched the team's first multi-goal game with a pair of goals, including his first collegiate goal resulting as the GWG, earlier this season vs. Notre Dame de Namur (3-1; 9/6).
    Junior defender Ricky Nunez (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) collected his second GWG of the year with a PK conversion at the 50:56 mark of the second half at FLC ... Nunez also netted the game-winning score in DSU's season-opening 2-1 double-OT result at Texas-Permian Basin (8/30) ... senior MF Dominic Damato (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge HS) dished out his team-high fourth assist on the Alabi game-tying goal at FLC last Sunday ... Damato is currently ranked third on DSU's career assist list with 12 and moved into t-ninth place on the program's points list with 20 (4g/12a) ... senior D Ascari Robles (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) collected his second dime of the year (and third of his career) on the Medina goal at CMU last Friday.  
    Speaking of assists, junior goalkeeper Zach Nielson (West Point, Utah/Northridge HS) picked up his first career helper on Alabi's final goal vs. FLC (9/28) when his punt took a high hop over the Skyhawk defense, which set up an Alabi breakaway chance ... Nielson's assist was the first dime recorded by a keeper since former keeper and DSU assistant coach Bradley Trella was credited with an assist in DSU's 2-0 home win over Hawai'i Hilo (10/10/15) during the 2015 season ... Nielson (118 saves) recorded a career-high eight saves in the loss at Colorado School of Mines (10/5) and in the process became the third DSU goalkeeper in program history to collect 100-plus career saves ... Nielson also collected his 18th-career win in goal in DSU's 2-1 result at FLC last Sunday. 

UP NEXT: Dixie State will wrap up the 2018 regular season next weekend with a pair of matches, the first coming at home on Thursday, Oct. 25, with a "Senior Day" showdown vs. in-state rival Westminster College inside Trailblazer Stadium beginning at 5 p.m. DSU will honor its four seniors, including Zach Beckman (Centerville, Utah/Viewmont HS), Dominic Damato (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge HS), Zac McCulloch (Draper, Utah/Alta HS) and Ascari Robles (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS), prior to kick-off.
    DSU will then travel to Lakewood, Colo., for the regular season finale at Colorado Christian on Saturday, Oct. 27.