Dixie State opened its 2018 home slate on a sour note as the Trailblazers suffered a 2-0 loss to Ottawa University Saturday night at Trailblazer Stadium.

Ottawa (4-0-0) ambushed the Trailblazers (1-1-0) in the opening moments as Spirit forward Samuel George scored from the left wing on a Giovanni Ruelas feed just 31 seconds into the match. George then tacked on an insurance goal in the 57^th-minute when he chipped a ball into the frame from 20-yards out.

DSU was credited with 15 shots for the match, three of which were on goal, but OU keeper Yuri Nascimento turned away all three Blazer shots on frame to preserve the shutout. Freshman Hudson Ashcraft (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical HS) accounted for two of DSU's three shots on goal and tallied three shots overall.

Dixie State will head north on Interstate-15 next weekend for the first two of three-straight matches played at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. DSU will renew its rivalry with former PacWest foe Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday, Sept. 6, followed by a match-up against Texas A&M-International on Saturday, Sept. 8.