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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's soccer team hits the road for the first time of the 2013 season this weekend as they travel to Illinois for two games. The first of those contests comes on Saturday at Saint Xavier (Ill.) in Chicago at 10:30 a.m. The Griffins complete the trip on Monday at Saint Francis (Ill.) in Joliet, Ill. at 10 a.m.

There will be live stats available for the game at Saint Francis on Monday with the link available in the calendar section of WestminsterGriffins.com.

GRIFFIN NOTEBOOK
Westminster takes to the road after splitting two games to open the season. They began the year with a 6-0 shutout of Jamestown (N.D.) on August 20. The Griffins would then drop a 1-0 decision to The Master's (Calif.) on August 24 to sit at 1-1 on the season.

The six goals in the opener matched the school record for goals scored in a home game and ranks fourth in school history overall. With an average of 3.0 goals per game, Westminster is currently ranked 27th in the NAIA. They also sit 46th in the country by averaging 1.0 assist per outing. The Griffins are averaging 14 shots per game and putting six of those on goal.

Westminster sits atop the conference by allowing 0.50 goals per game and with one shutout. Griffin opponents average 7.5 shots per game through two games and they have put 11 of the 15 total attempts on goal. Westminster has taken 10 corner kicks while not allowing any corners to the opposition.

AGAINST THE OPPOSITION
Westminster has never played either team on this week's schedule. The Griffins will be making their first-ever trip to Illinois as well.

TWICE FOR HARRIS
Senior Jessica Harris scored two goals in the team's 6-0 win over Jamestown for the first multi-goal game of her career. The defender tallied both of her goals off of corner kicks. The first one she found at her feet after a scrum and tapped it in before getting her head on a well struck corner from Lexi Tucker for her second goal. After scoring two goals during her freshman season, Harris has only scored once over the past two seasons before last week's action.

MINER ANCHORS THE BACK
Junior Miranda Miner is the anchor of the Griffin back line. After leading the team with 1,640 minutes played in 2012, Miner has played a team-high 170 minutes through the first two games this season. She has yet to miss a game during her three seasons as a Griffin, appearing in all 40 games the team has played with 36 starts.

IN NET WITH WILKINSON
Jamie Wilkinson opened 2013 by recording her third career shutout in the win over Jamestown. While she didn't make any saves in that contest, Wilkinson came back to make a career-best 10 stops in the loss to The Master's. Those 10 saves rank tied for sixth in team history for saves in a game and she currently sits 35th in the NAIA by making 5.0 saves per game.

OFFENSIVE FRESHMEN
With five different players in the 6-0 win over Jamestown, three of those goals were scored by freshmen. Madison Roemer scored her first career goal in the game's 19th minute when she fired a shot from the top of the box. Abigail Black got her name on the sheet in the 56th minute with a brilliant strike from 35 yards away that sailed just over the reach of the keeper. Not to be outdone, Nikaila Nicholls scored her first career goal on a blast from 30 yards away that was just inside the upper 90 at the far post.

ALL-CONFERENCE CARTER
Junior Nicole Carter returns to the Griffins back line after being named All-Frontier Conference a season ago. A versatile defender, Carter also scored a pair of goals in 2012 and played a total of 967 minutes. She took six shots on the season and managed four of them on goal.

KEEPING UP WITH COOPER
Carissa Cooper is back after a 2012 season that saw her scored five goals in just 613 minutes of action. She closed out the year with a hat trick in the Griffins 7-1 win over Houston-Victoria (Texas). Her hat trick was just the fourth in school history and the first by a sophomore.

FOLLOWING THE GRIFFINS
To keep up with all of the latest news and information about the Westminster women's volleyball team, fans are encouraged to "Like" the Griffins on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. And as always, make sure to visit WestminsterGriffins.com for all things Griffins during the 2013 season.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Griffins return home for a pair of home games next weekend. They welcome Oregon Tech to Dumke Field on Sept. 6 at 4:30 p.m. The weekend wraps up against Midland (Neb.) at 11 a.m. on Sept. 8.