SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's soccer team will remain at home for two games over Labor Day Weekend. Westminster will play Doane (Neb.) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. before a contest with Frontier Conference rival Great Falls (Mont.) on Monday at noon. Doane and Great Falls will play each other on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with all three games being played at Dumke Field on the Westminster campus.
Griffin Notebook
The Griffins will look to expand on the 2-0 start they have put together to start the season. This is the first time since 2008 that the team has started a season 2-0 and just the 12th time in the 29 years of men's soccer at Westminster. The best start to a season was a 7-0 mark set by the 1990 team.
Westminster outscored the opposition 4-1 during the opening weekend. They also hold a 43-7 advantage in shots attempted and a 17-5 edge in shots on goal. The Griffins currently rank 13th in the NAIA in shots per game (22.0) and 33rd in shots on goal per contest (8.5). The defense is allowing 0.5 goals per game to rank 22nd in the nation and they are tied for ninth with one shutout.
Ryan Smith is leading the team in scoring through the first two games. The junior forward tallied one goal and one assist in the first two games, including his first career game-winner against College of Idaho.
Jace Maxfield and
Bryan Rucklos scored one goal apiece.
Wilson Larson leads the team and is eighth in the NAIA with two assists. Smith and
Manuel Duenas each fired a team-best seven shots with Duenas leading the way with four on goal.
Damir Sabanovic and
Nathan Young split the two games in goal over the weekend. Sabanovic recorded a shutout victory with one save against Avila (Mo.). Young then made three stops to earn the win over College of Idaho.
Scouting Doane
Doane is 0-1 to start the season after suffering a 2-0 loss at Graceland (Iowa) on Tuesday. The Tigers were outshot in the game 35-6. Sean Dougherty and Chris Watson were the only players to record a shot on goal in the game. Casey Clark made four saves in goal with Greg Beall posting six stops. Both goalies allowed one goal.
Scouting Great Falls
Great Falls has started the year with three consecutive wins. The Argonauts have posted two shutouts and outscored the opposition 7-1. Danny Delgadillo leads the team with five goals and is the only player with more than one. Miguel Mendez and Paul Sliwa have tallied the other two goals this season. Andrew Gillen leads the way with two assists. Jose Duron has played the majority of minutes in goal, posting a 3-0 record with five saves.
Against the Opposition
Saturday's game against Doane will be the second meeting all-time between the two schools. The first game was a 2-1 Westminster win at Doane on Oct. 20, 2000.
Westminster and Great Falls will play for the 10th time when they meet on Monday. UGF leads the series 7-2 and has won the last six meetings, including both games last season.
