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SALT LAKE CITY – After starting the season by going 3-0-1 at the Westminster Kickoff Classic last weekend, the Westminster men's soccer team returns to Dumke Field this weekend as they host the Westminster Labor Day Classic.

The Griffins will open the event on Friday with a 4:30 p.m. MT contest against Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.). Westminster will then play College of Idaho in the final game of the Classic on Monday at 11 a.m.

Dakota Wesleyan and College of Idaho will face each other at Dumke Field on Sunday at 11 a.m.

All three games of the Labor Day Classic will be carried live on Griffins TV and they will have live stats available.

Griffins Notebook
Westminster went 3-0-1 last weekend and outscored the opposition 7-1 in the four games. The Griffins averaged 11.8 shots per game in the opening weekend and they were able to get 40.4 percent of those attempts on goal. They also recorded an assist on all seven goals scored.

On the defensive end, Westminster went the final 369 minutes of game action without allowing a goal. While they allowed the opposition an average of 12 shots per game, only 33.3 percent of those shots were on goal.

Michael Porter scored a team-high three goals during the weekend – all coming in the season-opener against Carroll. His six points are also a team high with Andrew Clayton right behind with five points after notching one goal and a team-leading three assists.

Connor Thompson leads the team with 11 shots attempts and Clayton has a team-best five shots on goal.

Taylor Ruff, Sean Lyne, and Logan Butzier each made starts in goal and each posted one shutout. Butzier made two starts and picked up two wins. All three have made five saves so far this season with Butzier allowing the only goal.

About Dakota Wesleyan
Dakota Wesleyan will be making its season debut on Friday when they face the Griffins. The Tigers finished 9-8-2 last season and they were sixth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference with a 4-5-1 mark.

About College of Idaho
College of Idaho will also open its 2014 season with this trip to Salt Lake City. The Coyotes were picked to finish fifth out of eight teams in the 2014 CCC preseason coaches' poll after recording a 6-13 overall record last season.

What's Returning
The 13 players returning in 2014 combined to score six goals and tally eight assists a year ago. The group attempted 74 shots and managed 40 of them on goal. The returning goalies combined to make 86 saves while allowing 27 goals.
 

Inside the Numbers
Category	2013 Total	2014 Returners	% Returning
Goals	29	8	27.6%
Assists	16	10	62.5%
Points	74	26	35.1%
Shots	205	89	43.4%
SOG	107	47	43.9%
Saves	90	86	95.6%

Climbing the NAIA Wins Chart
With three wins this season, head coach Chris Dorich now has 277 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.
 

NAIA Winningest Active Coaches
Rank	Coach, Institution	Yrs	Wins
1.	Steve Burke, Judson (Ill.)	30	520
2.	Ray Wells, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	26	474
3.	Scott Morrissey, Rio Grande (Ohio)	25	388
4.	Brian Harvey, Oklahoma City	28	382
5.	Blair Reid, Grand View (Iowa)	30	361
6.	Dan Birkey, Concordia (Ore.)	26	350
7.	Dave Wolf, Westmont (Calif.)	23	280
8.	Chris Dorich, Westminster (Utah)	30	277
9.	Jim Rickard, The Master's (Calif.)	23	271
10.	Chris Kranjc, Hastings (Neb.)	15	266

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 58-20-5 on the home turf.

On the Defensive
After allowing a goal to Carroll (Mont.) at the 10:31 mark of the season opener, Westminster closed out the weekend without surrendering another goal. The current span of 369:29 minutes without conceding a goal is the longest such streak since records are available starting in the 2006 season.

Fast Start
Sophomore Michael Porter got his Westminster career off to a fast start. Playing in his first game, Porter scored the first goal of the season just 1:15 into action against Carroll last Thursday. It was the first of his three goals on the day as he notched just the fifth hat-trick by a Griffin since 2005.

Sharing the Rock
Fellow sophomore Andrew Clayton also made an impression in that first game of the season when he recorded an assist on each of the team's first three goals. Clayton then scored the game-winning goal in the Griffins 1-0 win over Bethesda (Calif.) on Sunday.

Manny in the Midfield
Senior Manuel Duenas scored a goal and added two assists during Westminster first four games of the season. The 5-foot-2 midfielder has played in 53 games as a Griffin with four goals and 12 assists.

Alcox Top Returning Scorer
Anthony Alcox is the top returning scorer from last season as he finished 2013 with three goals and eight points. The senior notched the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over The Master's (Calif.) for his only points of 2014.

Connor Thompson Also Returns
Sophomore Connor Thompson is also back in 2014 after totaling five points last season with two goals and one assist. The 5-foot-7 forward has recorded one assist while attempting a team-best 11 shots in 2014.

Three-Headed Monster
The goalkeeper combination of Logan Butzier, Sean Lyne, and Taylor Ruff combined to make 15 saves with a .938 save percentage last weekend. The group posted a 0.24 goals-against-average with three shutouts. Butzier picked up two wins with Ruff claiming the other victory.

Looking Ahead
Next week the Griffins will take to the road for this first time this season as they travel to Calif. to play three games. They begin the trip against Westmont (Calif.) on Sept. 5 before a rematch against The Master's on Sept. 6. The trip comes to a close on Sept. 7 with a match-up with Soka.