SALT LAKE CITY – The 2014 season saw the Westminster men's soccer team finish with a 9-8-2 overall record. It was the seventh winning season in the past nine years. They went 3-3 in Frontier Conference games and finished tied for second in the league.

The Griffins qualified for the Unaffiliated Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed. This was the team's 18 postseason appearance all-time and their second straight trip to the postseason.

Westminster started the season on a tear, going unbeaten in their first six outings. After defeating Carroll (Mont.), 4-1, in the season opener, they played to a scoreless draw against Embry-Riddle (Ariz.). That was followed with the Griffins winning four straight home games and posting a shutout in each of the wins.

They began a six-game road swing with losses to Westmont (Calif.) and The Master's (Calif.). That slide was snapped with a 3-0 win at Soka (Calif.) and then followed with a 3-1 win at then-No. 19 Midland (Neb.). The Griffins then suffered their longest skid of the season, dropping four straight outings before a 4-1 win against Carroll on the road.

The regular season came to a close with back-to-back losses at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Great Falls (Mont.) before defeating Rocky Mountain, 1-0, in overtime on Senior Day at Dumke Field. In the conference tournament, Westminster surrendered a late goal to Presentation (S.D.) and was eventually knocked out in penalties after playing to a 1-1 draw.

Offense Notebook
As a team, Westminster finished the 2014 campaign with 28 goals scored for an average of 1.47 goals per game. They totaled seven games during the season with multiple goals and they were shutout in seven outings. The team recorded 18 assists during the year and they assisted on 64.3 percent of the team's goals. The Griffins were credited with 212 shots and they managed 44.8 percent of those on goal. For the season, Westminster scored a goal on every 7.57 shots they attempted.

Defense Notebook
Griffin opponents only scored 20 goals on the season and they only had multiple goals in a game four times. Westminster ranked 34th in the NAIA by allowing just 1.05 goals per game. The opposition took 260 shots in the 19 games with 41.2 percent of them being on goal. The Griffins allowed a goal on every 13 shots the opposition attempted.

Individual Leaders
Connor Thompson was the team's leading scorer with 2014 with five goals and 14 points. Three of his five goals were game-winning tallies and his four assists placed tied for second-most on the squad. Andrew Clayton was second on the team with 13 after scoring four goals and notching a team-best five assists. Clayton also led the team with 36 shots and 16 shots on goal. Jonnathan Rodriguez scored four goals during the season while Manuel Duenas recorded four assists.

Goalkeeper Notebook
Three Griffins saw time in goal during the season with Logan Butzier leading the way with nine appearances. The senior recorded a 0.81 goals-against-average with a .854 save percentage. He was 6-3 on the year with four shutouts. Sean Lyne played in seven games with a 0.94 GAA. His .825 save percentage led to a 2-3-2 record and two shutouts. Taylor Ruff went 1-2 with a 1.65 GAA and .647 save percentage in four appearances.

In the NAIA Rankings
Westminster finished the 2014 season ranked 31st in the NAIA with seven shutouts. They also placed 37th in the country by averaging 0.37 shutouts per game. The Griffins recorded five of those shutouts during the first six games of the season. They were 34th in the country by allowing 1.05 goals per game.

Into the Career Record Books
Anthony Alcox and Thompson sit tied for sixth in school history with three career game-winning goals. Duenas moved into a tie for eighth with 14 career assists and Clayton places 10th with an average of 0.23 assists per game. Thompson moved into sixth-place with 31 shots on goal and fifth with his average of 0.79 per game.

Butzier finishes his career with 117 saves to place eighth in school history and he is third all-time by posting 4.33 saves per game and a .791 save percentage. He is also second in team history with a 1.20 goals-against-average and third with 10 shutouts.

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.

Climbing the Wins Chart
With nine wins this season, head coach Chris Dorich now has 283 wins in his Westminster career. He currently ranks tied for eighth in the NAIA among active coaches in that category. Dorich completed his 31st season at the helm of the Westminster program in 2014 and is one of three NAIA coaches across the country with 30 years at one school.

Home Field Advantage
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.

Award Winners
The Frontier Conference named Butzier, Clayton, Duenas, and Liam Harry to the all-conference team following the season. It was the first all-conference selection for Butzier, Clayton, and Harry while Duenas earned his second straight selection. Duneas would also be named to the Unaffiliated Conference All-Star team for a second time.

Academic Awards
The NAIA then named five Griffins to the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete list. The group included Duenas and Harry who became the first players in school history be make the list four times. Collin Hintze and Jace Schaecher were each named for a second time while Jared DeHart received his first Scholar-Athlete honor. Westminster has now had 52 student-athletes named a Scholar-Athlete all-time with the group being honored 93 times.