The Dixie State University women’s soccer team swept away the final two games in Hawaii, going 4-0 and extending its winning streak to six games.
After beating BYU-Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific University, the Trailblazers took on the University of Hawaii at Hilo Thursday and Chaminade University Saturday in the final games of the road trip.
DSU won both games in shut-out fashion and became the first team since 2009 to do so in school history.
“We are all super pumped to come home from Hawaii after going 4-0,” senior midfielder Alexis Torres said, a criminal justice major from Tucson, Arizona. “Our focus going into this road trip was to win all four games, and we knew it was possible, we just had to play our game.”
The Trailblazers cruised past Hilo, winning 2-0 and dominating both offensively and defensively.
“We played calm and we did a good job of really stopping what [UHH] wanted to do,” head coach Kacey Bingham said. “Our goal was to score on a cross and get a shut out win.”
DSU did both of those against the Vulcans, the first of which came in the form a goal by Torres in the 42nd minute thanks to a crossed pass from freshman forward Capri Goldsmith.
“I was able to find myself in an open position,” said Torres. “I got the pass, relaxed, and connected on frame.”
DSU added to its lead in the 79th minute when junior defender Montana Hadley connected on a penalty kick, cementing a 2-0 victory for the Trailblazers.
The final game of the trip was at CU looking to finish strong, DSU wanted 90 minutes of Trailblazer soccer to send them home with four consecutive victories.
“We had extra focus against [CU] Torres said. “We stepped it up, played the whole 90 minutes, and had an overall great team effort.”
DSU struck early with a goal from senior midfielder Megan Spencer off an assist from redshirt freshman defender Kilee Lamb. Spencer then scored her second goal of the half in the 33rd minute off a rebound.
Following an impressive first half, DSU was far from done scoring goals. Torres scored eight minutes into the second half thanks to a throw in from a cartwheeling sophomore defender Nichole Mertz.
Junior forward Darian McCloy pushed the lead to 4-0 with her 10th goal of the season from 15 yards out.
The Trailblazers then set a new season high in goals in the 88th minute off of junior defender Shelby Christensen’s first goal of the season.
“We came out flying with determination to put the ball in the back of the net,” said Mertz, a nursing major from Springville. “Our possessions were the best they’ve been [this season], and we worked really well as a unit in all areas of the field.”
Overall, DSU outscored its opponents 11-1 en route to winning all four games.
“We definitely had up and down moments on this trip, but to come away with a four game sweep against these Hawaii teams was no small feat,” Mertz said. “We are excited moving into these next games to come out with the momentum we have built.”
At 8-5 overall and 6-2 in Pacific West Conference play, DSU plays the Academy of Art at Legend Solar Stadium Saturday at 8 p.m.
