(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (6-3-0/2-3-0 RMAC) returns to the road this weekend as the Trailblazers head back to Colorado for a pair key RMAC matches. DSU opens the trip in Lakewood for a Friday afternoon date at Colorado Christian (4-4-2/3-3-0 RMAC) at 12 noon, before heading over to Golden on Sunday to square off against RMAC leader No. 5 Colorado School of Mines (9-1-1/6-0-0 RMAC) at 1:30 p.m.
    Live stats and streaming video information for both matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Friday's match at CCU will be just the second meeting between the Trailblazers and Cougars on the soccer pitch. In 2011, DSU posted a 3-0 result over CCU in a neutral-site match played in Grand Junction, Colo.
    Sunday's match at Mines will be the first-ever meeting between the Blazers and Orediggers.

COACHING STAFF: Gerry Lucey (LIU Post, 1994; 6-3-0 at Dixie State; 159-52-21 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). 

NKOTB: After 11 years as a member of the Pacific West Conference, Dixie State embarks on its first season as full members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2018.
    The Trailblazers won one PacWest soccer title (2009) over their conference membership and posted a 92-44-5 overall record (.670) in 141 league games. DSU won nine or more PacWest matches in six of those 11 campaigns, including a program-best 13 matches (13-1-0) during its championship run in 2009.

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: After a seven-match road odyssey to open the 2018 season, the Trailblazers finally got to play on their home pitch at Trailblazer Stadium this past weekend. Dixie State began its home slate with a 1-0 upset victory over previous No. 13 MSU Denver last Friday night. However the Blazers came up just short of a home sweep as DSU fell to current No. 24 Colorado-Colorado Springs by a 2-1 count on Sunday afternoon.

CLEAN SHEETS: Dixie State pushed its season-opening shutout streak to a school-record eight matches with its 1-0 result over MSUD last Friday. However that streak came to an on Sunday when both DSU and UCCS tallied goals in a 2-1 Blazer loss.
    All six Trailblazer wins this season have come via shutout, including four ShO wins to open the campaign. Prior to this year's eight-match stretch, Dixie State posted a pair of seven-game ShO streaks in 2013 (3-3-1) and 2014 (5-2-0).
    Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 77-45-3 (.628) record in 125 total shutout results in their NCAA era, including a program-best 7-1-0 mark in 2009 and a 7-2-0 record last season. DSU also won a program-best eight matches via shutout (8-3-0) in 2007.

2018 TEAM NOTES: Freshman Victoria Bravo (Las Vegas, Nev./Silverado HS) made her first collegiate goal a memorable one as she netted the GWG in the MSUD match last Friday ... Bravo headed home a corner kick from junior Kilee Lamb-Allsop (Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS) at the 37:01 mark of the opening half ... Lamb-Allsop had her boot on both DSU's scores over the weekend as she collected her team-high third assist on sophomore Ambree Bennett's (South Jordan, Utah/Herriman HS) goal vs. UCCS last Sunday ... two of Bennett's three goals on year have been game-winners (at CSUSM and at BHSU) ... freshman forward Whitley Johns (Gilbert, Ariz./Campo Verde HS) continues to lead the team in goals scored (4) and points (9), including becoming the first player in the program's NCAA era to score in the first three games of a season, and she is just the eighth player to score at least one goal in at least three-straight matches overall.
    Sophomore Kelsey Cook (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) posted her first career two-goal match in the win at BHSU (9/23) ... Cook, who has three goals and one assist on the year, scored the final two DSU goals (25', 52') in the win ... 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 four goals and 22 SOG (64 total shot attempts) through nine matches this season.
    Junior netminder Felicity Tarr (Tucson, Ariz./Mountain View Marana HS) moved into tie atop DSU's career shutouts list with her ninth clean sheet in DSU's win over MSUD last Friday ... Tarr, who is DSU's career GAA leader (0.82), also collected her 18th-career win in goal (#2 all-time at DSU) and now stands five wins shy of becoming DSU's career leader in GK victories ... junior GK Nicole Rahman (Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) earned three victories in goal in her first three career starts as netminder, including ShO wins at CSU San Bernardino, at CSU San Marcos (combined ShO) and at CSULA (combined ShO).
    Overall, Dixie State's defense is second in the RMAC and is ranked t-16th nationally in GAA at 0.44.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will play four of its final six regulars season matches at home, beginning next weekend against Adams State on Friday, Oct. 12, followed by a date vs. Fort Lewis on Sunday, Oct. 14.