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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's soccer team returns to action with two games. The Griffins will face fifth-ranked Baker on Friday at 1 p.m. and then open Frontier Conference play on Monday, August 29 against Rocky Mountain at 4 p.m.
Game Coverage
Live Stats will be available for both games on this week's schedule. You can access the live stats by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com.
Monday's game against Rocky Mountain will be available to watch on Griffins TV. Look for Griffins TV at WestminsterGriffins.com and on Live Stream.
Tickets
Tickets for Westminster College home athletic events can be purchased on the day of the game at the event site. Typically, tickets will be on sale one hour before the start of the event and accepted payments include: cash, check and all major credit cards.
Tickets cost $4 for adults and $3 for children, seniors, alumni and non-Westminster students. Current Westminster students receive free admission with a valid student ID.
Dumke Field
Women's soccer home games are played on Dumke Field. Pets are not allowed on Dumke Field. Purchase tickets at NW gate entrance and all seating is general admission. Person's with disabilities can access the field at the northeast gate entrance and proceed to the grandstand area.
Friday's Opponent: Baker
Friday's game is the season opener for Baker. They are ranked fifth in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll after making a run to the semi-finals of the 2010 National Championships. Baker returns four seniors and one junior from the team that made the tournament run last year.
Alix Schiraldi led the Wildcats with 13 goals last season to go along with being named to the all-HAAC second team. Maggie Dupes returns in goal for the Cats' after posting 77 saves with a 1.23 goals against average while junior Jordan Dolbin paced the Wildcats in their run to the NAIA Fab Four with four goals while being named to the 2011 NAIA national championship all-tournament team.
Monday's Opponent: Rocky Mountain
Monday's game with Rocky Mountain is the Frontier Conference opener for each team. Rocky received eight points in the NAIA preseason Top 25 poll after a 12-5 season in 2010.
Lauren Brophy returns after scoring 10 goals and totaling 23 points in 2010. Morgan Bowe and Kirsty Montignani are also back after each posting 15 points last season. Malin Johansson recorded 67 saves with a 1.02 GAA between the pipes for Rocky.
Griffin Notebook
Margo Hickman scored the Griffins lone goal against Utah Valley in last week's season opener. Hickman also fired a team-best three shots and put two on goal.
Heather Hillam and
Jaime Nelson each posted two shots against UVU. The Griffins got goals from
Alyssa Hill and
Camille Cooper in the exhibition game against Iowa Western at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Dayna Winter-Nolte allowed two goals while making six saves against UVU. She posted a 75% save percentage in the game and has a career GAA of 1.66.
Dumke Advantage
The Griffins have posted a 19-9-1 all-time record on the fast surface of Dumke Field. They have never dropped more than two games in a season and went 5-2-0 at home last year. Westminster plays nine games at home this year including the first five on the slate. Westminster opened the year with a 2-1 loss to Utah Valley on Dumke Field.
Checking the Polls
Westminster received one point in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll that was released on August 16 and is listed among the others receiving votes. This is the first time the Griffins have received points in the poll since the October 19, 2010 poll. The next poll will be announced on Tuesday, September 6.
The team is also ranked fifth in the Unaffiliated - Frontier/Cal Pac rankings. Carroll is rated as the top team in this group with Rocky Mountain placing second. The next Unaffiliated ratings will be released on September 5.
Playing the Best
The Westminster women's soccer team is playing maybe the toughest slate of games in school history this season. The Griffins will face five teams that qualified for the 2010 NAIA National Championships and 11 opponents that won at least 10 games last season.
The 15 teams on the 2011 schedule combined to go 153-98-32 (.597) last season. They combined to win eight games at the national tournament with no team that qualified losing an opening round contest. Westminster will also face seven teams that are ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll and two more that received votes in the poll.
Frontier Conference vs. Cal Pac Conference
On Saturday, November 12 the champion of the Frontier Conference and the champion of the Cal Pac Conference will play for an automatic berth into the NAIA National Championships. That game will be played on Dumke Field with a start time yet to be announced.
