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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's soccer team returns to the road for two games in Portland this weekend.  Westminster will face Southern Oregon on Friday at 2 p.m.  The Griffins then play Concordia (Ore.) on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster heads to the northwest with a 6-3 overall record and winner of two straight.  The Griffins are 0-2 away from home this year, dropping games to William Carey and Mobile in Alabama earlier this month.  The team averages three goals per game and rank 22nd in the NAIA in that category.

Margo Hickman leads the team in scoring with 22 points.  Hickman has a team-best nine goals along with a team-high four assists.  Heather Hillam and Sarah Swenson have scored four goals apiece while each adding two assists for 10 points.  Other with multiple goals includes Carissa Cooper (3), Alyssa Hill (2) and Justine Jones (2).

Dayna Winter-Nolte has earned six wins with a 1.56 GAA in nine starts this season.  She has made 36 saves with a .720 save percentage.  Jessie Eiting has made one appearance in goal without allowing a goal in 45 minutes.

Game Coverage
Both games this week will feature live stats courtesy of the Concordia sports information department. The live stat feed will be available at WestminsterGriffins.com or gocugo.com and can also be accessed from your mobile device.

Friday's Opponent: Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon enters Friday's game against Westminster at 3-4 overall and has dropped three of the last four they have played.  The Raiders dropped a 2-1 decision to Westmont in their last game on Friday.  They average 1.86 goals per game while allowing 1.29 per contest.

Stephanie Carr leads the team with five goals and 10 points.  Her 1.67 points per game rank fourth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.  Denise Powell has scored four points with one goal and three assists while Jacquie Galvez has scored two goals.  Jessica Kuehlwein has made seven appearances in goal and made 24 saves with a 1.19 GAA.

Sunday's Opponent: No. 5 Concordia (Ore.)
Concordia (Ore.) enters the week at 4-3-1 overall and ranked fifth in the latest NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll.  The Cavaliers are 3-0-1 in their last four games and defeated Westmont 2-1 on Saturday in their last game.  They score 1.13 goals per game and allow the opposition 0.88 goals per contest.

Alex Blalock, Brittany Orr and Alex Thomas have each scored two goals to tie for the team lead this season.  Erin Huisingh has added two assists to her one goal for a total of four points.  Thomas leads the team with 12 shots on goal.  Tori Talbutt has recorded a 0.85 GAA with 25 saves during eight goals in the net.

Looking Back
Westminster claimed two home wins and outscored the opposition 9-2 during those contests.  They started with a 5-1 win over No. 25 Kansas Wesleyan on Friday and then claimed a 4-1 victory over the College of Idaho on Sunday.

Westminster scored four goals in the second half, including two in the final minute, against KWU to claim a fifth straight home win. Hickman scored twice for the Griffins and also had one assist.

The Griffins then got goals from four different players in the win over the College of Idaho. The Griffins held a 16-7 advantage in shots attempted and put 11 of those shots on frame.  Westminster suffered six fouls and took the one corner.

Offensive Explosion
Westminster is having its best offensive season in school history in 2011.  They have already scored 27 goals this season and are five shy of tying the record of 32 set in 2007.  The three goals per game average would be a school record, surpassing the 2007 average of 1.78.

The Griffins are also racking up the assists at a record pace.  Through Sunday, Westminster has recorded 17 assists this season and is four shy of the 21 set in 2009.  They also average 1.89 assists per game which would become a new school record, eclipsing the 1.05 average from 2008 and 2009.

The Hickman Show
Junior forward Margo Hickman has scored nine goals with four assists and leads the team in both categories.  Her 22 points already ranks second in school history for points in a season and sit just six shy of the 28 Jennifer Pirente had in 2007.  Hickman is also four goals away from matching the 13 Pirente scored in 2007.

Hickman has scored at least one goal in seven of the nine games played this season.  She has twice scored two goals in a game and has five goals in the last three games.  Hickman has tallied at least one point in eight games and has two five-point games with one three-point games.

When it Counts
Heather Hillam is scored four goals this season while adding two assists for 10 total points.  After posting just one point in the first four games, Hillam has recorded nine points in the last five contetst.  She has also scored two game-winning goals, including one on Sunday against the College of Idaho.

Hillam ranks second in school history with 41 career points and sit just three short of the 44 scored by Pirente in her career.  She also needs one goal to tie Pirente for the career lead and her nine career game-winning goals rank first in school history.

Freshman Sensation
Carissa Cooper is off to a fast start in her Westminster career.  The freshman midfielder has three goals in nine games including one game-winner.  Cooper also scored a goal in the Griffins 2-1 exhibition win against Iowa Western at Rio Tinto Stadium in August.  She has attempted nine shots and put five on frame.

Dumke Advantage
The Griffins have posted a 25-9-1 all-time record on the fast surface of Dumke Field.  They have never dropped more than two games in a season and have started 6-1 at home this season.  Westminster plays nine games at home this year including the first five on the slate.  They went 5-2 at home in 2010.

Checking the Poll
Westminster is ranked No. 24 in the latest edition of the 2011 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on Tuesday.  They received 122 points and moved into the top 25 for the first time in school history.  The Griffins have received votes in all four polls that have been released this season but, this is the first time they have been inside the top 25.

Massey Ratings
Westminster jumped six places to No. 25 in the latest Massey Ratings that were released on Sunday.  With a rating of .385, Westminster ranks second in the Frontier Conference.  According to the ratings the Griffins have played the 43rd-toughest schedule and have the No. 1 home advantage.

The Massey Ratings are compiled each week with new ranking being released on Mondays.  Kenneth Massey is the creator of the rating formula and all ratings can be found on his web site at www.masseyratings.com.

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
Dumke Field will play host to the Frontier/Cal Pac Conference Tournament on Nov. 11-12.  The top four teams from the two conferences will compete for an automatic invite to the NAIA National Championships.  The semi-finals will be played on Friday with the title games being played on Saturday.  Games times will be announced at a later date.