(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (0-0-0/0-0-0 RMAC) officially kicks off its 2018 season this weekend with the first three of seven-straight regular season road games as the Trailblazers head to southern California to square off against three members of the CCAA.
    DSU opens the trip Thursday with a match at Cal State San Bernardino beginning at 1 p.m. (PT), followed by a date at Cal State San Marcos on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (PT). The Blazers then close the trip with a Labor Day (Sept. 3) matinée at Cal State Los Angeles starting at 12 noon (PT).
    Live stats information for all three matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State enters Thursday's match at CSUSB trailing in the overall series by a 2-3-0 mark, though the Trailblazers won the last meeting between the two sides in 2015 (1-0; 9/8/15) in San Bernardino. DSU's lone other win in the series came at home during the 2009 season (1-0; 8/27/09).
    Saturday's DSU/CSUSM match will be the first time in more than 10 years that the Trailblazers and Cougars have met on the pitch, with DSU claiming the only meeting with a 1-0 result in 2007 (9/25). Monday's match in Los Angeles will be the third meeting between DSU and CSULA, with the two sides playing to a 2-2 draw in St. George in 2012 (8/30), followed by a 4-0 Golden Eagles win on their home pitch in 2014 (9/11).

COACHING STAFF: Gerry Lucey (LIU Post, 1994; 0-0-0 at Dixie State; 153-49-21 overall record) begins 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.

2018 PREVIEW: It is a season of firsts for the Dixie State women's soccer program in 2018 as the Trailblazers prepare for their first season in the RMAC with a brand new coaching staff. DSU returns five starters and 11 letter winners from last season's 12-6-0 squad, which finished t-sixth in its final season of PacWest play. Sophomore forward Tori Page (Centerville, Utah/Viewmont HS) is the Trailblazers' top-returning goal scorer as she tallied eight goals and two assists as a true freshman last season en route to third team all-PacWest honors.
    On the defensive side, senior Nichole Mertz (Springville, Utah/Springville HS) and junior Kilee Lamb-Allsop (Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS) return to anchor a stout Trailblazer defense that posted seven shutout wins, surrendered just 19 goals in 18 matches (1.04 GAA), and limited opponents to 5.1 shots on goal per game.
    Dixie State also returns junior goalkeeper Felicity Tarr (Tucson, Ariz./Mountain View Marana HS), who started in all 18 matches and played in 1,509 of a possible 1,644 minutes in goal last season. Tarr finished the year with an 11-6-0 overall record (8-5-0 in PacWest play) with a DSU single-season record six shutout victories, while her 11 victories were the second-most in a season in program history. In addition, the junior posted the third-lowest single-season GAA in program history (0.95) and stopped 69 shots, which is the second-highest single season saves total in DSU history.

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns home for an exhibition friendly vs. Snow College inside Trailblazer Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 11 a.m. DSU will then continue its season-opening road swing with another trip to SoCal for a match at former PacWest rival Azusa Pacific on Thursday, Sept. 13.