SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster women's soccer team will return to Dumke Field this Sunday for the first of two straight home games to close the 2014 regular season. This week's opponent is a rematch of last Sunday's game against Carroll (Mont.) with the action set to begin at noon MT.
 
Sunday's game will be broadcast live on Griffins TV which is available online and on your mobile device and Roku players through the Livestream app. There will also be live stats available for the game.
 
Griffin Notebook
Westminster returns home for the first time in nearly a month at 11-3-2 overall on the season. They have posted a 2-2 mark in Frontier Conference games on the year. The Griffins are 5-0-2 at home this season and they are coming off a 1-0 overtime victory at Carroll last Sunday to snap a two-game losing skid.
 
The Griffins enter the week 48th in the NAIA with 34 goals scored and they are averaging 2.12 goals per game to lead the Frontier Conference. Westminster has tallied 22 assists on the year and they are taking 16.1 shots per contest. The team averages 8.94 shots on goal per game to rank 47th in the country. They also have taken 82 corner kicks and been called offside 42 times.
 
Westminster is limiting the opposition to just 0.50 goals per game which places them eighth in the country. Griffin opponents have only scored eight goals all season with Westminster recording 10 shutouts. They are third in the NAIA in total shutouts and 13th at 0.63 shutouts per game. The Griffins allow just 6.8 shots per game and a goal on every 13.5 shots allowed.
 
Rylei North leads the team and ranks second in the conference with 10 goals and it is the fourth time in school history a player has recorded at least 10 goals in a season. Her 21 points also rank second in the conference and are fifth-most in school history. Lexi Tucker has scored seven goals with three assists for 17 points while Nicole Carter leads the team with five assists.
 
Abi Yanke has tallied 11 wins and eight shutouts on the season. The junior has a 0.50 goals-against-average with 43 saves and a save percentage of .843. Breanna Empey has made two appearances without allowing a goal and making four saves.
 
About Carroll
Carroll travels to Salt Lake City at 11-2-3 overall and they are 2-1-1 in Frontier Conference action. They had been unbeaten in eight straight outings before falling to Westminster last Sunday. The Saints average 2.06 goals per game while taking 16.25 shots per contest. They limit the opposition to 0.56 goals per game and place 14th in the country with eight shutouts. Kristyn Bohlander leads the team with five goals and Michaela Kueffler has four goals and three assists for a team-leading 11 points. James Carter is 21st in the country with a 0.67 goals-against-average while also posting a .888 save percentage.
 
Modified RPI
The NAIA released the second edition of the Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI) on Wednesday and it placed Westminster at No. 22. The Griffins are the highest rated team that doesn't appear in this week's Coaches' Top 25. They did slip six positions from the No. 16 ranking they held when the initial poll was released on Oct. 1. The MRPI consists of the team's modified winning percentage, their opponents' winning percentage and the cumulative ratings points from the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
 
School Record Ranking
The NAIA released its first regular season edition of the coaches' top 25 poll on Sept. 23 and it had the Griffins ranked at No. 16 with 266 points. That is the highest ranking in school history, surpassing the No. 19 ranking the team held on Dec. 6, 2011. It was also the first top 25 poll featuring the Griffins since Oct. 16, 2012 which was a span of 18 polls. This week, Westminster sits just outside the top 25 in 26th after receiving 99 points in the poll.
 
Record Unbeaten Streak
By opening the season going unbeaten in their first nine games, the Griffins established a new school record unbeaten span of 14 games dating back to last season. The 2-1 loss at then-No. 14 Spring Arbor (Mich.) was the team's first loss since a 2-1 loss to Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Oct. 20, 2013. During the 14-game stretch, Westminster outscored the opposition 29-4 with 11 shutouts and a 12-0-2 record.
 
Scoring Streak
The Griffins 1-0 loss at Rocky Mountain on Oct. 11 snapped the teams streak of consecutive games with at least one goal at 22-straight. That was the longest such streak in school history and it began in a 1-1 draw at Rocky on Oct. 6, 2013. During the streak, Westminster went 15-2-5 while outscoring the opposition 54-11.
 
Second Half Success
Westminster has been dominate in the second half of games this season. They have outscored the opposition 19-5 after intermission while holding a 137-59 advantage in shots. The Griffins have found four game-winners after the 75th minute of play, including twice from Abby Holbrook and an overtime strike by Heidi Lorschider.
 
Record Within Reach
Junior Rylei North leads the team with 10 goals this season and she now has 20 goals in her career. She is currently tied with Heather Hillam for the most goals by a player in school history. North ranks fourth in program history with 42 career points which is three off the record held by Hillam and Margo Hickman. North currently holds the school record for points per game (1.35) and goals per game (0.65). Her 10 goals this season match the total she had during the 2012 campaign and rank as the third-most in team history, three behind the 13 scored by Jennifer Pirente during the 2007 season.
 
Model of Consistency
Since coming to Westminster for the 2011 season, Miranda Olsen has appeared in all 76 games the team has played. The senior currently ranks seventh in school history in games played and fourth in minutes played with 5,612. Her 76 consecutive games played in the third-longest span in school history and she also sits third all-time by starting the past 58 games.
 
Climbing the Charts
Abi Yanke has been stellar in goal for the Griffins this season and she is currently ninth in the country with a 0.50 goals-against-average. The junior is the Westminster all-time leader with her career 0.58 GAA and .818 save percentage. Yanke ranks second all-time at Westminster with 19 victories and 16 shutouts, including eight this season.
 
Double Figure Wins
Westminster has been consistent in the past five seasons where they have notched at least 11 wins and finished with a winning record in each of those seasons. The Griffins are 60-30-9 (.652) since the start of the 2010 season and they have made two trips to the NAIA National Championships. Through Tuesday, only nine teams across the NAIA have had double-digit victories every season since the start of the 2010 campaign. This season, Westminster was the first team in the country to reach 10 victories.
 
Home Cooking
The Griffins have been stellar at Dumke Field since the inception of the program in 2007. They have a 47-13-6 all-time record on the home turf and they are 5-0-2 at home this season. Westminster won a school-record nine-straight home games during the 2011 campaign and extended it to 16-straight unbeaten when carried into the 2012 season. The Griffins enter the week unbeaten in eight straight home games dating back to last season.
 
Looking Ahead
Westminster will close out the 2014 regular season against Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Nov. 2 at Dumke Field. The game has been moved back to 11 a.m. MT from the previously scheduled time and there will be a senior presentation prior to the start.