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This Week...
This week has two games on tap against teams from the NCAA ranks for the Westminster women's soccer team. They host Northwest Nazarene in an exhibition contest on Thursday, August 20 at 10:00 a.m. on Dumke Field. The week concludes with a trip to Ogden, Utah, for a battle with in-state and NCAA DI foe Weber State. That game will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the P.E. Playfield on the Weber State campus.

The Griffins enter the week with an 0-1-0 record after a 2-0 loss at Utah Valley last week. Westminster is now 0-3-0 all-time against teams from the state of Utah.

Ticket Information
There will be no charge for the game at Dumke Field on Thursday. The game is an exhibition and is free to everyone.

The game at Weber State on Friday evening is also free to the public.

Live Stats
If you aren't able to make it to the game Thursday on Dumke Field, you can follow along with the live stats available at westminstergriffins.com. Live stats will be available for all Westminster home games in 2009 and can be accessed from the women's soccer page at the web site.

At this time there will be no live stats available for the game at Weber State on Friday. Should something change you will be able to access the live stats from the link provided on westminstergriffins.com.

First Kick
• The Griffins are 10-4-1 all-time in games played at Dumke Field.

• Westminster has never started 0-2 in the brief history of the program. They went 2-0 in 2007 and 1-1 last season.

• With the loss to Utah Valley, Westminster is now 0-3 all-time against teams from the state of Utah.

Scouting Northwest Nazarene
Northwest Nazarene begins 2009 looking to turn things around from a 1-18-1 record during 2008. They return nine players from that team, including the top two goal scorers in Stacey Beckman and Marie Smith. The Crusaders have two freshman goalkeepers on the roster. This will be the second of two exhibition games on the schedule for the team this year after having previously faced Idaho State.
Series Record: Series tied, 0-0-1
Last Meeting: Northwest Nazarene 1 at Westminster 1. (9/5/07)

Scouting Weber State
Weber State is coming off a 2008 season in which they won the Big Sky Conference championship. They were picked by the conference coaches to repeat that feat in 2009. The Wildcats return seven players that made 10 or more starts in 2008, including goalkeeper Rebecca Ritchie. Ritchie posted a 1.03 goals against average last season with eight shutouts. They also bring back Alyssa Foutz, Ari Wood, and Kiersten Wood who combined for nine goals last year.
Series Record: First meeting
Last Meeting: First meeting

Forward Notebook
The Westminster forwards did their best to keep the team in the game at Utah Valley last week. Megan Maldonado and Sarah Swenson each managed two shots while Tanisia Wilson also got one shot away. Those three forwards accounted for five of the six total shots by the Griffins against Utah Valley.

With the formation used by the team, the forwards should get plenty of opportunities throughout this season. Along with Swenson and Maldonado, Maddie Spere should get some chances in 2009. Spere is second in school history with eight career goals, and is the leading returner in that department from last season.

Midfield Notebook
The midfield was controlled by the Griffins against Utah Valley. No more so than by center-mid Nicole Taylor. Taylor had her way last week setting up scoring opportunities for her teammates and dictating the pace of the action.

Heather Hillam, Lisa Johnson, Vanessa Jordan, Corie Walch, and Rachel Watson will all get some important minutes in the midfield this season. For the team to be successful in 2009, this group will need to become an important part of the attack. All of these players have played important minutes during their careers at Westminster.

Defense Notebook
The back line did a great job of containing the Utah Valley attack in the opener. Brinna Bennion and Elaina Pappas went the entire 90 minutes and got help from Michelle Erickson and Lindsay Judd. Although Utah Valley managed 14 total shots, they only put six of those on goal.

The back line should become the strength of the team this season. They return four players that played big minutes for the team in 2008.

“It's a great back line for us,” an excited LeBlanc said. “They will all be sophomores and we are definitely excited about our defenders. They are strong, physical, and fast so I think we should be pretty solid in the back.”

Goalkeeper Notebook
Lindsay Bekken made the start against Utah Valley, marking the third time in as many years that freshman had started the season opener for the Griffins. Bekken came through with four saves and a .667 save percentage in her first collegiate action.

Dayna Winter-Nolte played every minute in net for the Griffins last season. During that time she posted a 1.56 goals against average and a .697 save percentage. She also recorded two shutouts while recording seven victories.

Unaffiliated Information
The Dakota Athletic Conference, Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference, and Frontier Conference will combine to offer one automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships in 2009. The top-4 teams in this group will advance to the Unaffiliated Conference Tournament with the winner receiving the automatic berth.

Next Week
It's off to Hawaii for three games in four days for Westminster. They begin on Thursday, August 27, against Hawaii Pacific. Then after an off day, the Griffins will face BYU-Hawaii on Saturday, August 29, and Chaminade on Sunday, August 30.