Dixie State University soccer saw different results with women’s third straight shutout victory and men’s third straight game without scoring a goal.
Both teams played host to Notre Dame de Namur University and Holy Names University this weekend. Both teams are entering the middle of the Pacific West Conference season.
Women’s soccer
For the second straight game, DSU scored four goals while keeping its opponent out of the net. DSU beat Holy Names 4-0 with three goals being scored in the first half. HNU could not find its way back after that.
The Pacific West Conference Player of the Week last week was DSU senior forward Jennifer Mason. She led the Storm with four goals in the two games played over the weekend.
Mason has scored 11 goals with 28 shots on goal through 13 games.
Mason’s two-goal performance was joined by junior midfielder Kaisa Rogers and freshman midfielder Tana Singley, who both scored goals Saturday night. It was Singley’s first goal of the season.
DSU shut down Notre Dame de Namur University Thursday, scoring four while keeping the ball out of its own net yet again.
“We have been working on our one-touch play offensively,” said Rogers, a junior communication major. “We also have worked on playing more direct which I think has helped us score more.”
The offense out-shot NDNU 16 to 9 while the defensive effort of junior goalkeeper Stacie Gubler managed five saves. This was Gubler’s second shutout of the season.
DSU was aggressive during the game, committing 14 fouls compared to only four from NDNU. The aggressive mind set proved success for the offense, who scored early and often.
A combination of strong defense and aggressive offense helped DSU improve to 5-2 in the Pacific West Conference and 7-5-1 overall this season.
“We just need to keep the momentum we have right now because we have two huge games next week that we need to win,” Rogers said.
The women head to California to go toe-to-toe against Azusa Pacific University on Thursday at 9 p.m.
Men’s soccer
DSU continued its struggle to find the net with a 3-0 loss Saturday afternoon against Holy Names University.
“We had opportunities to score early, and we didn’t finish them,” head coach Danny Ortiz said. “That again seems like every game it comes back as the same thing. Without finishing opportunities, you aren’t going to win many games.”
DSU out-shot Holy Names 15-12 but gave up two goals in the first half. The first came in the 27th minute.
The Storm were able to keep it 1-0 until right before the half ended when another ball found the DSU net, making it 2-0 at halftime.
“We got to make sure we score goals,” Ortiz said. “That has to be the focus because we can’t put ourselves into chasing games. That’s where we get hurt all the time. We don’t take advantage of early opportunities, we get behind, we end up chasing our opponent and give up more goals.”
The men’s side also was on the opposite end of a 1-0 defeat for the second straight game on Thursday.
The team was defeated by Notre Dame de Namur University with a goal halfway through the second half. DSU matched NDNU in shots but could not put any of them away.
“It is a team thing, ”Ortiz said. “You can’t blame the defender, you can’t blame the keeper. When you score goals, defending gets a lot easier. The defense has played well enough to keep us in games, so as a team, we have to score goals to win games.”
DSU next heads to Azusa, California to take on Azusa Pacific University Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
