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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's soccer team will play the final two regular season games of the season this weekend in Arizona. Westminster will play Arizona Christian on Friday in Phoenix before a Sunday game at Embry-Riddle in Prescott.
Griffin Notebook
Westminster will take a 7-8-1 overall record with them into the final weekend. They have also posted a 3-2-1 mark in the Unaffiliated Frontier Conference. They are coming off back-to-back losses at Rocky Mountain and Great Falls last weekend and they have gone 2-5 in games away from home this season.
As a team, Westminster is averaging 1.44 goals per game while attempting 12.8 shots per outing. The Griffins have put 44.4% of their total shots on goal and have 18 assists. Defensively, the opposition averages 1.62 goals and 11.2 shots per contest.
Dennis Sellis leads the team with 25 points behind a team-best 11 goals. Sellis has fired 63 shots and put 33 on frame. He has scored three game-winning goals along with being a perfect 2-for-2 in penalty kicks.
Gabe Gonzalez is second on the team with two goals and has five points.
Ryan Beck also has six points with one goal and a team-best four helpers.
Damir Sabanovic has gone 4-5 in goal this season with a 1.55 GAA. Sabanovic has recorded 41 saves behind a .759 save percentage.
Nathan Young has made seven appearances and six starts in goal. Young has a 3-3 record with a 1.85 GAA and 25 saves.
Game Coverage
Both games this weekend will have live stats available. The link to access the live stat feed can be found under the calendar at WestminsterGriffins.com or on the Webcasts link at www.dakstats.com/naia.
Friday's Opponent: Arizona Christian
Arizona Christian begins the final week of the year at 0-13-1 and losers of six straight. They have been outscored 13-0 in the previous two games and have just one goal in their last four outings. For the season the Firestorm has been outscored 63-7 and they have yet to score more than one goal in any game.
Sidney Jones leads the team with three goals while also posting one assist for seven points. Mark Sekelsky has scored twice while Alfonso Romero has added a team-best two assists. Jorge Arauz has made the most appearance in goal with 54 saves and a 4.95 GAA. Jones has also played goalie and has 23 saves and a 3.31 GAA.
Saturday's Opponent: Embry-Riddle
Embry-Riddle enters the week at 7-6-3 overall and 2-1-1 in the Unaffiliated Frontier Conference. After starting the year 1-4-2, the Eagles have gone 6-2-1 in the last nine games. They are 2-1 over the last three contests and have outscored the opposition 14-3 during that stretch. The earned a 1-1 tie with Westminster at Dumke Field in September.
Keldon Hatch leads the Eagles with 12 points behind four goals and four assists. Tristan Korras has picked up 11 points on two goals and a team-leading seven helpers. Thiago Xavier has also scored four goals to tie with Hatch for the team lead. Jeremy Meduvsky has made nine appearances in goal with 31 saves and a 1.15 GAA. Alex Elvidge has recorded 25 saves with a 1.28 GAA in eight appearances in goal.
Inside the Series
Westminster is a perfect 3-0 all-time against Arizona Christian, previously known as Southwestern. The Griffins have outscored the Firestorm 13-1 in those three games and picked up a 2-0 win in Phoenix during the last meeting on Oct. 29, 2010.
The Griffins have also never lost a game to Embry-Riddle in 14 games. Over that span, Westminster is 10-0-4 with all four ties coming in the last five meetings. Including the 1-1 tie at Dumke Field in September, Westminster is 1-0-4 in the last five games with the Eagles. The last two meetings in Prescott have ended in 0-0 ties.
On the Offensive
Westminster is having an excellent year when it comes to putting the ball in the net. The Griffins are averaging 1.44 goals per game and rank fifth in the Unaffiliated Frontier Conference in that category. They have scored multiple goals in seven games this year including three games with three tallies.
The Griffins had an 11-game streak of scoring at least one goal snapped when they were shutout by Northwestern on Oct. 1. It was the longest such streak since 2007 when they scored in 16 consecutive games. The record for consecutive games with a goal in one season is 19 set in 1990.
Continuing Where He Left Off
Westminster senior forward
Dennis Sellis has scored 11 goals this season and is the first Griffin to score 10 in a year since Dave Rogers scored 12 in 2007. Sellis has scored 11 goals in 16 games this season and has three times scored two goals in one game.
Sellis has scored 27 goals in his career and ranks seventh in school history in that department. He needs one goal to move into a tie for sixth all-time and three more would move him into fifth in school history. His 0.60 goals per game average are second-best at Westminster while his 1.40 points per game also ranks second.
Dumke Advantage
The Griffins have posted a 42-15-4 all-time record on the fast surface of Dumke Field. Since 2008, Westminster is 23-7-3 at home and this is this first time since 2006 that the team has dropped three home games in one season. The three-game winless streak earlier this year is the longest such streak since Dumke Field opened in 2005. The recent two-game home losing streak is only the third time that has ever happened.
Massey Ratings
Westminster currently sits at No. 71 in the latest Massey Ratings that were released on Sunday. The Griffins moved up three spots from last week and are rated fourth among teams from the Unaffiliated Frontier Conference. The ratings have show the Griffins as having played the 21st-toughest schedule in the nation.
The Massey Ratings are compiled each week with new ranking being released on Sundays. Kenneth Massey is the creator of the rating formula and all ratings can be found on his web site at www.masseyratings.com.
Among the Best
Westminster head coach
Chris Dorich is in his 28th season at the helm of the Westminster men's soccer program. He has totaled 253 wins in his career and ranks 26th in NAIA history in that category. Dorich also ranks 11th in career victories among active NAIA coaches.
Unaffiliated Frontier Conference
The NAIA approved the creation of a second Unaffiliated Conference that included the teams of the Frontier Conference and four teams from the Association of Independent Institutions. The new conference will feature: Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Great Falls (Mont.), Jamestown College (N.D.), Marymount University (Calif.), Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Soka University (Calif.) and Westminster.
The conference tournament will be held at Dumke Field in November. The top four ranked teams will qualify for the tournament with two semi-final games on November 11 and the championship on November 12.