(OFFICIAL 2018 RMAC TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCEMENT)
(2018 RMAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET - PDF)
(DSU vs. MSUD TICKET INFORMATION)
(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (12-5-0/8-5-0 RMAC) will host its first-ever RMAC postseason tournament match this Tuesday night as the fourth-seeded Trailblazers welcome back No. 5-seed MSU Denver (10-6-1/8-5-0) to Trailblazer Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. The DSU/MSUD winner will then move on to the RMAC Tournament semifinals and finals, which will be played this upcoming weekend (site and times TBA).
    Live stats and streaming video information for Tuesday's match can be found HERE.
    The DSU/MSUD match will be the last of four RMAC Quarterfinal matches to be played on Tuesday, as the three other quarterfinal games will be played earlier in the day. Conference champion and No. 1-seed and Colorado School of Mines will host No. 8 seed Colorado Christian, while No. 2 seed Colorado-Colorado Springs will play host to No. 7 seed Colorado State-Pueblo, and No. 3 seed Westminster College will take on No. 6 seed Regis in Salt Lake City.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: Dixie State claimed the first-ever meeting against MSU Denver last month in St. George (9/28) in match that saw the Trailblazers upend the then No. 13th-ranked Roadrunners, 1-0.

COACHING STAFF: Gerry Lucey (LIU Post, 1994; 12-5-0 at Dixie State; 165-54-21 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), along with former Dixie State soccer standouts Laura Evans (Dixie State, 2007) and Juli Nield (Dixie State, 2006), and Alan Berrios (Dover Business College).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State wrapped up the 2018 regular season with two more shutout victories last weekend in St. George. The Blazers began the week with a 3-0 victory over Colorado Mesa on Senior Night Thursday inside Trailblazer Stadium, then posted a 4-0 result against Western Colorado last Saturday afternoon at Dixie High School's Flyer Field.

CLEAN SHEETS: Dixie State padded its NCAA-era school record with its 10th and 11th shutuots of the season last weekend vs. both CMU and Western. The 11 ShO wins eclipsed the previous record of eight set during the 2007 season.
    In fact, DSU has posted 15 shutout results in its 17 regular season matches (11-4-0) overall, while the 15 ShO results also set a new program record for most shutouts in a single season (2016; 8-5-0), which includes a program-best eight-consecutive matches to begin the year. The two matches that saw both teams find the back of the net came in a 2-1 DSU home loss to current No. 17 UCCS on Sept. 30, and DSU's 5-1 win at NMHU (10/19).
    Overall, the Trailblazers have played to an 82-47-3 (.632) record in 132 total shutout results in their NCAA era. Entering this week's RMAC Tournament, As of Oct. 26, Dixie State is ranked t-12th nationally in shutout percentage (.647; #2 in the RMAC) and 14th in NCAA DII in GAA (0.50; #2 in the RMAC).

2018 TEAM NOTES: DSU has scored 21 of its 33 goals on the season over its last six matches, including a season-high five goal at NMHU (10/19) ... DSU is also ranked sixth in the latest United Soccer Coaches South Central Regional poll (10/23) and seventh in last week's NCAA South Central rankings.
    Two-time RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honoree Whitley Johns (Gilbert, Ariz./Campo Verde HS) continued her outstanding work scored in her fifth-consecutive match in the win over CMU last Thursday ... the freshman scored just 56 seconds into the second half to break a scoreless tie for her team-leading 12th goal (#3 in the RMAC) and RMAC-best seventh game-winning goal this season ... Johns, who was held without a goal despite five SOGs last Saturday vs. Western, has tallied eight goals and 18 points (with two assists) over her last six matches overall with three two-goal outings, and has found the back of the net in nine of DSU's 17 matches overall.
    Along with Johns' three-straight two-goal matches, sophomore Ambree Bennett (South Jordan, Utah/Herriman HS) netted two goals at NMHU (10/19) and collected an assist on Johns' GWG at CSU-P (10/21) ... sophomore Tori Page (Centerville, Utah/Viewmont HS) also got into the two-goal act with her second and third goals of the year vs. Western last Saturday, the first of which went for her first-career GWG ... seniors Taylor Claiborne (Peoria, Ariz./Raymond S. Kellis HS) and Nichole Mertz (Springville, Utah/Springville HS) made the most of their collective Senior Weekends as both found the back of the net in DSU's two wins ... Claiborne tallied insurance goals in both victories for her first two scores of the year, while Mertz assisted on the Page GWG vs. Western and capped the scoring vs. the Mountaineers with her first goal of the year with 8:10 remaining in regulation time ... Mertz became DSU's career leader in matches played with her start at CSU-P (10/21) ... Mertz has played in 77 matches over her near four-year career and has got the starting nod in 58 (#10 all-time at DSU) of those appearances, including all 17 matches this season.
    Freshman Lauren Buxton (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) netted her first collegiate goal in the CMU win thanks to an assist from sophomore Kelsey Cook (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS), who collected three dimes on DSU's seven goals scored over the two matches last weekend ... Cook tallied two assists in the CMU win, then recorded her fourth assist of the year on the Mertz goal late in the Western match ... sophomores Ambree Bennett (South Jordan, Utah/Herriman HS) and Jill Bennett (Salt Lake City, Utah/East HS) also picked up helpers over the weekend as Ambree assisted on the Johns GWG vs. CMU, and Jill collected her second point of the season on Page's second goal vs. Western.   
     Mertz, along with juniors Kilee Lamb-Allsop (Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS), Kamie Hunter (Hooper, Utah/Fremont HS) and Alexa Ashton (St. George, Utah/Dixie HS), have combined to limit DSU opponents to just eight goals and 50 SOG (124 total shot attempts) through 17 matches this season ... DSU limited both CMU and Western to a combined four SOG last weekend, while the Trailblazers held the Mountaineers to just two shots, both of which came with under six minutes to play ... Meanwhile, DSU tallied a combined 33 SOG last weekend, including a season-high 20 in the Western win.
    Junior GK Nicole Rahman (Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) picked her fifth and sixth shutout wins of the year at CSU-P last weekend to move to 9-0-0 on the year ... in fact, her clean sheet vs. Western tied the DSU single-season record for ShO wins, which was first set last year by teammate and fellow junior Felicity Tarr (Tucson, Ariz./Mountain View Marana HS) ... eight of Rahman's nine wins in goal overall this season have come via shutout, including combined ShO results at CSU San Marcos and at CSULA ... Rahman's six solo ShO wins this season is also good for third place on DSU's career list ... Rahman has also played in enough minutes in goal (752-plus) to vault atop DSU's single-season GAA list with a minuscule 0.12 GAA.

UP NEXT: The 2018 RMAC Women's Soccer Tournament continues with the two semifinal matches (Friday, Nov. 2) and championship match (Sunday, Nov. 4) on the home pitch of the highest remaining seed. The winner of the tourney will earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA South Central Regionals, which will be held Nov. 9-11.