(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING TOUCH: Dixie State (1-2-1/0-0-0 RMAC) continues its homestand and begins its final season of RMAC play this weekend as the Blazers welcome in-state rival Westminster College (2-2-0/0-0-0 RMAC) and MSU Denver (2-2-0/0-0-0 RMAC) to Trailblazer Stadium. DSU and Westminster will square off on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., and the DSU/MSUD match will be played on Sunday at 11 a.m. Live stats and video information for both matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State enters Friday's match vs. Westminster looking for its first win in the series after the Griffins have claimed two of the first three matches played between the two sides. Back in the 2013 season, the Griffins posted a 1-0 result on DSU's home pitch (11/3/13), while the Blazers collected their first point in the series with a 1-1 road draw (9/14/18) in the first of two RMAC matches played last season. DSU also came out on the wrong end of a 2-0 result in its home finale (10/25/18) vs. WC last October in Trailblazer Stadium. Westminster is led by Head Coach Josh Pittman, who served as Dixie State head coach during the 2015 season.
    DSU will head into Sunday's match vs. MSUD hoping to halt a two-match losing skid to the Roadrunners, which includes a 4-1 setback in RMAC play last season in Denver (9/16/18). The two sides split their first two meetings, with Dixie State claiming a 5-2 result during the 2015 campaign (9/4/15), while MSUD returned the favor exactly one year later in Denver with a 2-1 win (9/4/16).

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Jonny Broadhead (Colorado State-Pueblo, 2004; 20-16-3 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 opened its four-match homestand on a sour note as the Trailblazers went 0-1-1 in a pair of overtime games last weekend. DSU suffered a bit of bad luck on Friday the 13th in a hard-fought 2-1 OT loss to current #13 Eastern New Mexico in a match that ended with an unlucky own goal just 51 into the first OT period. The Blazers followed that up with a tough 1-1 draw with Texas A&M-International in their final non-conference match this past Sunday afternoon.

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 the win at DBU (9/7) ... senior forward Moises Medina collected his first assist of the season and 17th of his career (#1 all-time in DSU history) in the second half against ENMU when he found fellow senior Enrique Bucio for his first collegiate, and the game-tying, goal early in the second half ... Medina's dime also pushed his career record point total to 63 (23G/17A) points heading into play this weekend ... sophomore defender Matt Lockwood netted his first collegiate goal in Sunday's draw vs. TAMIU thanks to feed from freshman Carson Ecalono, who picked up his first career point on the play.
    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 1-0 shutout at DBU (9/7) ... Nielson moved past former DSU GK Tyler Walters (21, 2010-13) for the top spot on the program's NCAA-era wins list ... Nielson, who leads all RMAC GKs in saves (27, 6.75 spg) through four matches, 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 heads out for a four-match RMAC road swing, which begins next weekend at Regis on Friday, Sept. 27, followed by a match at UCCS on Sunday, Sept. 29.