SALT LAKE CITY — Westminster College women's soccer (0-0) will officially kickoff its 2021 regular season with a trans-Pacific trip to take on the University of Hawai'i at Hilo (1-0) on Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m. (MDT). Thursday's game will be hosted by Hawai'i Pacific University, which the Griffins will face in their second game of the weekend on Sunday, beginning at 6 p.m. (MDT).
The two matches will be the first non-conference games outside the state for Westminster since 2019 after the COVID-19 pandemic limited last season's team to just 11 games. The Spring 2021 squad did build on the program's recent successes on the field, advancing the first-ever RMAC Tournament Championship in Griffins' history.
Scouting the Griffins:
- Head Coach,
Tony LeBlanc, begins his 15th season at the helm and hopes to lead Westminster to a 12th-consecutive winning record in 2021.
- Westminster's roster includes a trio of All-RMAC returners in its midfield and attacking third. Senior midfielder,
Brynnae Braun (2019 All-RMAC Honorable Mention), was a member of the Spring 2021 RMAC All-Tournament Team and led all non-defensive players in total minutes on the field during the spring campaign.
- Senior forward,
Aimee Kurfurst (2018 Second Team All-RMAC), has grabbed 16 career goals for the Griffins and looks to return to her form from 2018 in which she netted 11 goals with 22 of 49 shots (.592 pct) testing opponents' goalkeepers that year.
- Senior midfielder,
Alexa Maple, earned Second Team All-RMAC honors in the spring and assisted on a pair of goals with one assist in Westminster's two exhibition matches this preseason.
Scouting the Opponents:
University of Hawai'i at Hilo
- Thursday's match vs. Hawai'i at Hilo will be a neutral contest, hosted by Hawai'i Pacific from the Waipahu Peninsula Soccer Park.
- The University of Hawai'i at Hilo, led by Head Coach Gene Okamura, was picked to finish fifth in the Pacific West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
- Defender, Jodi Lillie, was selected to the Preseason All-Pac West Team.
- The Vulcans finished their spring season 0-0-4 and went 6-7-4 (5-4-2 Pac West) in 2019.
Hawai'i Pacific University
- Hawai'i Pacific University began the regular season with a 1-0 win over Tusculum.
- The Sharks also played a limited conference schedule in the spring, going 0-1-3 after a 9-7-1 (6-5 Pac West) season in 2019.
- Hawai'i Pacific will begin the week with a match against South Dakota State on Wednesday afternoon.
Up Next:
The Griffins will stay home in Salt Lake City next weekend as they continue non-conference play beginning with Minot State University on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. Westminster will then play its final match before the RMAC season against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m. (MDT).
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