(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (8-5-0/4-5-0 RMAC) looks to remain in the hunt for a 2018 RMAC tournament berth as the Trailblazers close the road portion of its 2018 regular season schedule this weekend. DSU opens the trip with a match at New Mexico Highlands (1-10-1/1-7-1 RMAC) on Friday, Oct. 19, followed by the road finale at Colorado State-Pueblo (7-4-/4-4-1 RMAC) on Sunday, Oct. 21.
    Live stats and streaming video information for both matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Friday's match at New Mexico Highlands will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Cowgirls on the soccer pitch.  
    Dixie State and CSU-Pueblo have met on just one other occasion, with neither team claiming no joy, as the two sides battled to a 2-2 draw in a neutral site match played in Phoenix, Ariz., during the 2012 season. (9/8/12)

COACHING STAFF: Gerry Lucey (LIU Post, 1994; 8-5-0 at Dixie State; 161-54-21 overall record) is in his first season as Dixie State head coach. Prior to his arrival at DSU, Lucey collected 153 victories over 10 seasons as a head coach at three NCAA Division II women's soccer programs, which included eight NCAA tournament appearances, three NCAA regional championships, and one NCAA Division II national championship won during his tenure at the University of Tampa in 2007.  
    Lucey is joined on the Trailblazer sideline by first year assistant coaches Freddy Delgado (Regis, 1997), and former Dixie State soccer standouts Laura Evans (Dixie State, 2007) and Juli Nield (Dixie State, 2006). 

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.
    Colorado-Colorado Springs collected 11 of a possible 14 first-place votes to claim the top spot in the poll with 163 points, while 2017 league runner-up Colorado School of Mines tallied two first-place nods and 153 points to squeak past defending champion Regis, which secured one first place vote and 152 points.
    MSU Denver claimed the fourth spot with 118 points, followed closely by DSU (117 pts) in fifth, Colorado State-Pueblo (115) in sixth, and Colorado Mesa (91 pts) claimed the seventh spot to round out the top-half of the 14-team poll.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State ran its home record to 3-1-0 on the season after posting consecutive shutout wins last weekend at Trailblazer Stadium. DSU rolled past Adams State, 4-0,  to open the brief homestand in a match that saw the Blazers limit the Grizzlies to one total shot attempt. The Trailblazers maintained that momentum this past Sunday afternoon as DSU blanked Fort Lewis by a 3-0 count.

JOHNS EARNS RMAC OFFENSIVE POW HONORS: Freshman forward Whitley Johns (Gilbert, Ariz./Campo Verde HS) was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday for her performances in the Trailblazers' home conference sweep last weekend.
    Johns tallied three goals, including two game-winning scores, and collected two assists in DSU's home victories of Adams State and Fort Lewis. She scored one goal and assisted on two other scores in the Trailblazers' 4-0 win over ASU on Friday, then found the back of the net twice in DSU's 3-0 result vs. FLC on Sunday. The freshman is currently tied for third in the RMAC in goals scored (7), while she leads the Trailblazers in points (17, t-4th in the RMAC) and is tied for second in assists (3).

CLEAN SHEETS: Dixie State has posted 12 shutout results in its 13 matches to this point of the 2018 season, including a program-best eight-consecutive matches to begin the year after a 1-0 victory over then No. 13 MSU Denver on Sept. 28. The lone match that saw both teams find the back of the net came in a 2-1 DSU home loss to current No. 16 UCCS on Sept. 30.
    DSU's 12 total shutout results this year is the second-highest total in the program's NCAA era. In 2016, Dixie State posted 13 shutout results and played to an 8-5-0 overall record in those matches.
    Dixie State has tied an NCAA-era program record with eight shutout wins this season (8-4-0), including four ShO victories to open the campaign. Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 79-47-3 (.627) record in 129 total shutout results in their NCAA era, which includes eight wins via shutout (8-3-0) in 2007.
    Entering play this weekend, Dixie State is ranked t-16th nationally in shutout percentage (.615; #2 in the RMAC) and 18th in NCAA DII in GAA (0.54; #2 in the RMAC).

2018 TEAM NOTES: DSU tied a season-high with its four-goal outburst in the over ASU last Friday ... The Trailblazers also posted a 4-0 result at Black Hills State (9/23) ... along with Johns' game-winner vs. ASU, sophomores Ambree Bennett (South Jordan, Utah/Herriman HS) (4), Kelsey Cook (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) and Tori Page (Centerville, Utah/Viewmont HS) (1) found the back of the net in the win ... freshman Lauren Buxton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) collected her second collegiate assist on the Johns' GWG, while junior GK Nicole Rahman (Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) became the first DSU netminder in the program's NCAA era to record an assist as she picked up her first career point on the Cook insurance goal in the 65th-minute of play.
    Cook tallied her fifth goal of the year in the FLC match on Sunday, which came in early in the 49th-minute on a center ball played in by senior Taylor Claiborne (Peoria, Ariz./Raymond S. Kellis HS), who assisted on two of DSU's three goals on the day ... junior Kilee Lamb-Allsop (Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS) was credited with her team-leading fourth assist of the year on Johns' final goal (69') vs. FLC.
     Lamb-Allsop, along with a stout Blazer defensive unit anchored by senior Nichole Mertz (Springville, Utah/Springville HS) and juniors Alexa Ashton (St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) and Kamie Hunter (Hooper, Utah/Fremont HS), have combined to limit DSU opponents to just seven goals and 40 SOG (102 total shot attempts) through 13 matches this season ... Mertz enters this weekend two matches shy of becoming DSU's career leader in matches played ... Mertz has played in 73 matches over her near four-year career and has got the starting nod in 54 of those appearances, including all 13 matches this season ... Mertz should also move into the top-10 on DSU's career starts list after this weekend's road trip.
    Rahman picked up both shutout wins between the pipes last weekend and all five of her wins in goal overall this season have come via shutout, including ShO results at CSU San Bernardino, at CSU San Marcos (combined ShO) and at CSULA (combined ShO) ... Rahman's three solo ShO wins this season is the tied for second on DSU's single-season list and placed her sixth on DSU's career list ... Rahman is also one win shy of cracking season top-10 all-time wins list.

UP NEXT: Dixie State wraps up the 2018 regular season at home with two crucial RMAC matches played at two different venues. DSU opens the homestand vs. Colorado Mesa on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m., on what will be "Senior Day" at Trailblazer Stadium for two DSU seniors Nichole Mertz (Springville, Utah/Springville HS) and Taylor Claiborne (Peoria, Ariz./Raymond S. Kellis HS). DSU will then host Western Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 27, in a match played at Dixie High School beginning at 12 noon.