(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (1-1-0/0-0-0 RMAC) opens a four-match homestand at Trailblazer Stadium this weekend, beginning with a date vs. No. 17 Eastern New Mexico on Friday at 7:30 p.m. DSU will then square off against Texas A&M-International on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.  
    In addition to the two DSU matches, TAMU-I will face Westminster College at Trailblazer Stadium on Friday at 5 p.m., and ENMU will play Westminster prior to the DSU/TAMU-I match on Sunday at 11 a.m. Live stats and video information for all four matches can be found at HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State and ENMU have met just one other time on the pitch, that came in the 2017 season when the Trailblazers posted a 1-0 result in a match played in Colorado Springs, Colo.
    DSU and TAMU-I played each other for the first time on the field last season in Salt Lake City in a match that resulted in a 3-1 Trailblazer loss to the Dustdevils.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Jonny Broadhead (Colorado State-Pueblo, 2004; 20-15-2 overall) is in his third season on the Trailblazer sideline after guiding DSU to a 7-9-2 mark last season, which included an eighth-place 5-7-2 mark (17 pts) in their RMAC debut.
    Broadhead came to DSU from Utah Valley University, where he served as a volunteer assistant coach for two years before being elevated to a full-time assistant position prior to the start of the 2016 season. Before his time at UVU, Broadhead served a two-year stint as assistant coach at Colorado Mesa, where he helped lead the Mavericks to an RMAC Tournament championship in 2013.
    Broadhead is joined on the sideline again this season by former DSU standout netminder Bradley Trella, who is in his third season as an assistant coach and will work with the goalkeepers.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED SEVENTH IN THE RMAC IN 2019: Dixie State was picked to finish seventh in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll released on August 13.
    Defending RMAC champion Colorado School of Mines was the overwhelming choice to defend its title as the Orediggers received 10 out of a possible 12 first-place votes to top the poll with 120 points. Westminster College collected one first-place nod to finish second in the preseason rankings with 104 points, followed closely by Colorado Mesa (103 pts) in third, Regis (one first place vote, 96 pts) in fourth, UCCS in fifth (72 pts) and Fort Lewis in sixth (67 pts) just one point ahead of Dixie State (66 pts).

LAST SEASON IN THE RMAC: After joining the RMAC in 2018, the 2019 season will mark the second and final season the Trailblazers will be a competing member of the conference. In 2020, Dixie State will begin its transition to NCAA Division I status and will become a new member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). 

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State came away with a split of its season-opening road trip to Texas last weekend. The Trailblazers began the trip with a hard-fought 2-0 loss at then-No. 14 Midwestern State in Wichita Falls last Thursday, and bounced back with a 1-0 result at Dallas Baptist this past Saturday night.

2019 TEAM NOTES: Sophomore midfielder Raul Ruiz and freshman MF Guglielmo Bianchi teamed up for Dixie State's first goal of the 2019 campaign in last Saturday's win at DBU ... Ruiz picked up the assist on Bianchi's first collegiate tally, which came at the 25:17 mark of the first half vs. the Patriots ... Bianchi was credited with a team-high five shot attempts in the two Texas matches, two of which were on frame, while Ruiz co-leads the team with Bianchi with two SOG ... senior forward Moises Medina was credited with a SOG vs. DBU, his 78th of his collegiate career, which moved him into a tie for first place on DSU's career SOG list with Jordan Roylance (78, 2009-12).
    Senior netminder Zach Nielson continued his move up the charts as he vaulted into sole possession of first place on Dixie State's career wins list with win No. 22 in the DBU result last Saturday ... Nielson moved past former DSU GK Tyler Walters (21, 2010-13) for the top spot on the program's NCAA-era wins list ... Nielson also posted his eighth-career clean sheet in the process, which pulled him to within three shutouts away from tying Walters (11, 2010-13) for second place all-time on that list.

UP NEXT: Dixie State continues its homestand and begins its final season of RMAC play next weekend as the Blazers welcome Westminster College and MSU Denver to Trailblazer Stadium. DSU and Westminster will square off on Friday night, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m., before facing MSUD on Sunday at 11 a.m.