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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's soccer team returns to action after 10 days off with two games in Arizona this weekend. The Griffins will face Embry-Riddle on October 15 in Prescott. The next day, Westminster will face Southwestern College in Phoenix. Both games are scheduled to start at noon.

Westminster heads south with a 7-5-1 overall record and 2-1 in the Frontier Conference after splitting two home conference games. The Griffins suffered a 2-0 loss to Rocky Mountain on October 3. They followed that with a 2-1 win over 23rd-ranked Carroll College on October 5. The loss to Rocky snapped a school-record five-game winning streak.

As a team, Westminster has scored 13 goals this season and ranks third in the Frontier in that category. The Griffins have attempted 137 shots and rank third in the Frontier at 10.62 shots per game. They have put 69 shots on goal while attempting 50 corner kicks. Defensively they allow 0.85 goals per game and the opposition has posted just 127 shots. The team is third nationally with seven shutouts.

With four goals and two assists, Heather Hillam leads the team in both categories. Her 10 points rank fourth in the Frontier Conference and she is seventh in the Frontier at 1.85 shots per game. Sarah Swenson and Nicole Taylor are tied for ninth in the conference with five points. Lindsay Bekken has posted a 0.81 GAA to rank second in the Frontier and 31st nationally. Bekken has made 50 saves and averages 3.85 per game.

Griffins TV
The Westminster Athletics Department recently partnered with Penn Atlantic to provide fans the opportunity to watch home athletic events live on the internet. Griffins TV will broadcast select Westminster events for FREE for fans to watch on their computers. For a complete schedule visit WestminsterGriffins.com/GriffinsTV.

Live Stats
All home games this season will feature Live Stats. The feed goes live shortly before kickoff so fans can get all the action directly on their computer or mobile device. Visit www.WestminsterGriffins.com to access the Live Stats.

Scouting Embry-Riddle
Embry-Riddle enters the week with a 5-7-1 record and has split the last six games they have played. They lost at Carroll 4-1 on October 8 and then defeated great Falls 2-1 on October 10. They suffered a 1-0 overtime loss against Westminster in Salt Lake City on September 12. Brittany Murillo leads the Eagles with 12 points behind a team-best six goals. Whitney Desmarias has nine points with three goals and three assists. Ciarra Pederson has a 2.29 GAA with 57 saves in 13 games between the pipes.

Series Record: Westminster leads, 4-0-0
Last Meeting: Westminster def. Embry-Riddle 1-0 (ot) (9/12/10)

Scouting Southwestern
Southwestern begins the week with a 2-7 record while suffering seven consecutive losses. They dropped a 3-0 decision against Soka University on October 1. The Eagles rank sixth nationally with an average of 12.78 saves per game while allowing 2.89 goals per contest. Macey McGovert leads the team with four goals and eight points with Krista Ryker adding two goals. Michelle McFarland has posted 115 saves with a 3.72 GAA and ranks fifth nationally in total saves and saves per game.

Series Record: First meeting

Receiving Votes
On September 28, Westminster received one points in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll. It was the first time in school history the team had received any points in the weekly poll. After receiving no votes in the October 5 poll, Westminster again received one point in the poll released on October 12. They sit 27th among the other teams receiving votes in the current poll.

Getting Defensive
Westminster has been solid defensively all season while allowing just 11 goals in13 games hits season. The 0.85 goals allowed per game is tied for 40th in the NAIA. They rank third in the nation with seven total shutouts and are eighth in shutout per game at 0.54. Lindsay Bekken has posted a 0.81 GAA and is 31st nationally in that category. After allowing three goals against Utah Valley in the season opener, only Rocky Mountain College has scored more than one goal against the Griffins this season.

Conference Recognition
Bekken has three times been named the Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Week this season. She won the award in three consecutive weeks from September 13 through September 27. She guided the team to a 5-1 record during that stretch and allowed just one goal in the six games. She has now been received the honor four times in her career.

National Recognition
Lindsay Bekken was named the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week for the week of September 5-11. Bekken became the first Griffin women's soccer player to win the national honor, and the first from the Frontier Conference. For the week, Bekken recorded back-to-back shutouts last week as Westminster defeated No. 10 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) on Sept. 10 and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) on Sept. 12 both by scores of 1-0. She had four saves against Point Loma and a trio of blocks against Embry-Riddle. In 300 minutes played in the box, the sophomore goalie had 12 saves and allowed just one goal in a 1-0 loss to Saint Thomas (Fla.).

Unaffiliated Information
The Dakota Athletic Conference, Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference, and Frontier Conference will combine to offer one automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships in 2010. The top-4 teams in this group will advance to the Unaffiliated Conference Tournament with the winner receiving the automatic berth.

Looking Ahead
Westminster will conclude the regular season with three Frontier Conference road games. The trip begins at Rocky Mountain College on October 21. After one day off, Westminster will face Great Falls on October 23 and then Carroll on October 24.