PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico men's soccer team will look to continue its week one momentum as they travel to St. George, Utah as they face Dixie State and Westminster (Utah).
 
The Hounds (2-0-0) start the weekend against host Dixie State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and finish the road trip the following day with a neutral site game against Westminster (Utah) at 11 a.m. with both matches taking place inside Trailblazer Stadium.
 
LAST WEEK

The 2019 men's soccer team became the first squad in program history to defeat two nationally ranked opponents in the same season following back-to-back 2-0 victories over previously ranked No. 17 Colorado Mesa and No. 3 Fort Hays State.
 
The Hounds were out-shot 15-9 in their season opener by CMU but, where able to use terrific ball movement and unselfish play to capitalize on their scoring opportunities. Lucas Vaz led the squad offensively as he assisted on the first goal and scored the second himself. Vaz sent a through ball to Julian Trapp who fired a rocket towards goal in the 11th minute. The Mavericks defenders initially blocked the ball but the power of Trapp's shot was enough to leak into the goal despite the good defense. At the 63:26 mark, Vaz took care of things himself as he scored an unassisted goal from 30-yards out off a stellar rainbow shot that he chipped over the outstretched fingertips of the Mavericks goalie.
 
In the match against Fort Hays State it was Joquin Borruel who scored the game's first goal off a beautiful header, as the junior out-jumped the defenders and netted the ball off a perfectly placed corner kick from Charlie Hackshall. The second goal came of a set piece from 20 yards out as Gabriel Peres sent a highlight-reel shot on goal that he bent into the top left corner.
 
The Greyhounds will look to maintain their momentum as they eye the best start since 2012, when the team started the year 3-0-0.
 
SCOUTING THE TRAILBLAZERS
 
The Trailblazers enter the week after mixed results to begin the season. DSU dropped its first contest
after being shut-out 2-0 by No. 11 Midwestern State and were able to salvage their weekend with a
1-0 victory over Dallas Baptist.
 
Freshman midfielder Guglielmo Bianchi scored Dixie State's lone goal so far and ranks third in the
RMAC with nine shots.
 
Goalkeeper Zach Nielson returns to man the net for his senior season and currently leads the
conference with 22 saves.
 
The Trailblazers frontline returns a key contributor from last year's squad in Moises Medina. The
senior forward was an All-RMAC Second Team selection in 2018.
 
Head Coach Jonny Broadhead begins his second season at the helm of the Dixie State men's soccer
program after leading the Trailblazers to a 7-9-2 overall record and an eighth-place finish in the
conference standings. Prior to DSU Broadhead spent three years as an assistant at Utah Valley and
helped the Wolverines to a 38-17-5 record and an at-large bid into the 2014 NCAA Division I
Tournament.
 
This will be the second meeting between these two teams and the first since a neutral site game in
2017. The Trailblazers edged out a defensive battle and handed the Hounds a heartbreaking 1-0
defeat after scoring in the 86th minute.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS
 
The Griffins kicked off their schedule with a pair of shutout wins over Hawaii Pacific and Cal State East Bay.
 
Bridger Hansen was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week and anchored a defensive unit that
kept two clean sheets and only allowed 11 shots on goal and four corner kicks. Will Desantis earned
RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week stopping all 11 shots he faced.
 
The Griffins return three All-RMAC selections from 2018 including Hansen who was a First Team
selection as well as First Team forward Danny Darelli and Second Team midfielder Kaden Amano.
 
Head Coach Josh Pittman enters his fourth season with the Griffins after being honored as the 2018
RMAC Coach of the Year. Pittman lead his squad to a 14-4-1 record and a second-place finish in the
conference in the program's first season as an official NCAA Division II member. The Griffins finished
as the No. 5 ranked team in the South Central Region and had six players make the All-RMAC teams
including RMAC Player of the Year Amit Hefer
 
This will be the first matchup between the two schools since Westminster transitioned to the DII level
and first since 2016 when the Hounds handed the Griffins a 3-1 defeat.
 
 
2019 STORY LINES
 
Eastern is returning 18 players from last season, headlined by D2CCA All-South Region honoree
Gabriel Peres and All-Heartland Conference Third Team selection Julian Trapp. Joining them is
midfielder Lucas Vaz who was tied for second on the squad with six goals to go along with a pair of
assists.
 
ENMU men's soccer returns to the Lone Star Conference for the first time since 2012 with the top six
teams receiving bids to the conference tournament in November.
 
LSC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
 
Following ENMU's historic start to the season a pair of Greyhound players were selected as Lone
Star Conference Men's Soccer Players of the Week.
 
Joaquin Borruel scored the game-winner against Fort Hays State and anchored a backline that
only allowed 11 shots last week against two teams that made NCAA Tournament appearances a
season ago. The Spanish native was named LSC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
 
Ross Dalton earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors after becoming the only goalie in the
conference to not allow a goal. Dalton leads the conference in complete game shut-outs (2), goals
against average (.00), save percentage (1.000) and ranks second with 11 saves.
 
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
 
Besides Borruel and Dalton taking home POTW honors, the United Soccer Coaches organization also took notice to the ENMU men's soccer team. The Greyhounds currently occupy the No. 17 spot on the USC Weekly Poll released Tuesday afternoon. The undefeated Hounds are the first squad in program history to receive a national ranking.
 
NEW LOOK HOUNDS
 
On top of a strong core of returners, second year head coach Jon Fridal also brought in 16 newcomers to join the team during the 2019 campaign, including six high school signees and 10 transfers.
 
Eight players made their Greyhounds debut last weekend including defenders Robbie Jenkinson
and Alcides Duarte who each finished tied for the team lead with 180 minutes played. Another
impactful newcomer is midfielder Charlie Hackshall who is one of only two Hounds players to
record an assist in 122 minutes of action.
 
SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
 
Eastern wraps-up its non-conference schedule with a road game against the University of Mary
on Sept. 19 and another neutral site game versus Montana State-Billings Sept. 21.
 
The Green and Silver open their conference schedule on the road, Sept. 26 as they face rival No. 6 West Texas A&M on The Pitch in Canyon, Texas.
 
CONFERENCE LEADERS
 
The Greyhounds boast a well-balanced squad, and rank in the top five of most major offensive
and defensive categories across the conference. Offensively, ENMU ranks third in shots (14), third
in goals (4), and fifth in points (10). On the defensive side of the ball the Hounds lead the LSC in
goals allowed (0), shutouts (2) and sit with the second most saves (11).
 
PRESEASON POLLS
 
The Eastern New Mexico men's soccer team has been selected to finish fifth in the 2019 Lone Star
Conference Preseason Poll. The Greyhounds received 156 votes, two ahead of Lubbock Christian
and 19 more than Texas A&M International.
 
HOUNDS ON THE ROAD
 
In true road games last season, the Hounds finished with a 2-5-2 mark. Eastern New Mexico
defeated UT Permian Basin 3-1 and Oklahoma Christian 2-1. The Greyhounds also posted a 1-1
draw against Lubbock Christian and a 2-2 come-from-behind draw against No. 23 West Texas
A&M.