SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster men's soccer team heads to Billings, Mont. for the Frontier/North Star Conference Tournament this week. Westminster is the No. 3-seed at the six-team event and they will open with a quarterfinal game against sixth-seeded Presentation (S.D.) on Thursday at 2 p.m. MT at COT Field.
 
Should the Griffins advance past the quarterfinals they would face No. 2-seed Jamestown (N.D.) on Friday at 2 p.m. at COT Field in the semifinals. The championships game will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Wendy's Field.
 
The title game on Sunday will be streamed live on the web and have live stats available.
 
Griffins Notebook
Westminster enters the postseason after going 9-8-1 during the regular season. They tied for second in the Frontier Conference with a 3-3 mark after a 1-0 overtime victory over Rocky Mountain (Mont.) last Sunday at Dumke Field. The Griffins are 3-5 on the road this season and 0-1 at neutral sites.
 
The Griffins finished the regular season with 27 goals scored for an average of 1.5 goals per game. They are taking 10.4 shots per game and putting 46.8 percent of them on goal. Westminster scores on every 6.96 shots they take while recording 17 assists and taking 77 corner kicks.
 
Westminster opponents have scored 19 goals during the season and the Griffins are 38th in the NAIA by allowing 1.06 goals per game. The opposition is taking 14.2 shots per contest and scoring a goal on every 13.42 shots they attempt. They put 40.8 percent of their shots on goal while notching 16 assists and taking 76 corner kicks.
 
Connor Thompson leads all Griffins with five goals this season. He has also scored a team-leading three game-winning goals. Thompson is tied with Andrew Clayton for the team lead with 13 points. Clayton leads the Griffins with five assists and 33 shot attempts. He has scored four goals to tie with Jonnathan Rodriguez for second on the team.
 
Three different Griffins have appeared in goal this season with Logan Butzier posting a team-best 0.81 goals-against-average. He has made 41 saves with six wins, four shutouts and a .854 save percentage. Sean Lyne has recorded 31 saves with a 0.96 GAA and Taylor Ruff has a 1.65 GAA with 11 saves.
 
About Presentation
Presentation enters the postseason at 3-12-1 overall this season. They have gone just 1-5-1 over the past seven outings after a 2-2 tie with Central Christian (Kan.) in the regular season finale on Oct. 24. The Saints average 1.06 goals per game while taking 11.56 shots per contest. They are giving up 2.56 goals per game and making 9.06 saves per game. Terry Kampa and Andrew Bravo are tied for the team lead with four goals apiece.
 
About Jamestown
Jamestown is the tournament's No. 2 seed after going 14-2-2 during the regular season. The Jimmies are 2-0-2 in the past four outings and coming off a 3-0 win over Waldorf (Iowa) on Nov. 1. They are scoring 3.22 goals per game to rank 12th in the NAIA while placing sixth in the country with 10 shutouts. Steve Harris is 16th in the nation with a 0.77 goals-against-average and Jade Johnson leads the team with 10 goals.
 
Postseason History
Westminster will be making its 18th appearance in the postseason since the program began in 1984. The Griffins have gone 7-16-1 all-time in the postseason and just 1-4 under the current unaffiliated grouping format used by the NAIA since 2008. They finished 1-1 last season after defeating Walla Walla (Wash.), 6-1, in the quarterfinals before falling to Rocky Mountain, 4-3, in the semifinals.
 
Record Streak
After allowing a goal to Carroll (Mont.) at the 10:31 mark of the season opener, Westminster didn't surrender a goal for the next 558:36 minutes of action. They established new school records for consecutive shutout minutes and also for consecutive shutouts at five. They currently place 21st in the NAIA with seven shutouts on the season while also placing 38th in the national by giving up 1.06 goals per game.
 
Spreading the Wealth
The 27 goals scored by the Griffins this season have come from 12 different players with 14 players recording at least one point during the year. The Griffins nine game-winning goals have come from six different players with only Andrew Clayton (three) and Connor Thompson (two) notching multiple winners. A total of 23 players have attempted at least one shot during the year with 22 getting an attempt on goal.
 
Sharing the Rock
Westminster has been playing more of a possession game in 2014 and it has translated to 17 assists on the team's 27 goals scored this season. Three players have accounted for 12 of those assists with Clayton leading the way with five assists. Manuel Duenas has tallied four assists and Thompson getting three helpers.
 
Three-Headed Monster
The goalkeeper combination of Logan Butzier, Sean Lyne, and Taylor Ruff has combined to make 85 saves with a .817 save percentage this season. The group has posted a 1.03 goals-against-average with seven shutouts. Butzier leads the team with his 0.81 GAA and six wins. Lyne has posted two shutouts and 31 saves for a 0.96 GAA while Ruff has 11 saves and a 1.65 GAA.
 
Second Half Success
Westminster has been stellar in the second half of games this season. The Griffins have scored 20 goals after intermission which accounts for 74.1 percent of their total goals scored.  Despite the scoring totals, the Griffins have been outshot 133-105 after the first 45 minutes. The Griffins are 8-0 on the year when they hold the lead at the 75-minute mark.
 
Climbing the NAIA Wins Chart
With nine wins this season, head coach Chris Dorich now has 283 wins in his Westminster career. He currently ranks eighth in the NAIA among active coaches in that category. Dorich is in his 31st season at the helm of the Westminster program and is one of three NAIA coaches across the country with 30 years at one school.
 
Home Cooking
Over the years, Westminster has been tough to beat at home. The Griffins have compiled a winning record at home every year since 2001 and only had a losing record at home four times in 30 seasons. Since Dumke Field opened in 2005, Westminster has gone 61-22-5 on the home turf. This season, Westminster finished 6-2-1 at home and they outscored the opposition 32-3 in those games.