Add Comment    Aug 06, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY The Westminster mens soccer team released the schedule for 2010 this afternoon and head coach Chris Dorich has put together a challenging one.  The Griffins will face six teams that qualified for the 2009 NAIA Mens Soccer National Championship, including four that advanced to the final site of the tournament. 

Westminster will open the season on August 26 at Dumke Field against The Masters College.  The Masters is coming off a runner-up finish at the 2009 National Championship.  The two teams split two meetings last season. 

Westminster plays at home for the first seven games of the season.  After the opener, the Griffins face Benedictine College on August 27.  Northwestern, Olivet Nazarene, Point Loma Nazarene, Sterling College and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) complete the season opening seven-game home stand for the Griffins.  Benedictine and Olivet Nazarene each advanced to the national tournament last season. 

The first road game of the year happens on September 17 in Olathe, Kansas against MidAmerica Nazarene.  Westminster will also face Baker University and Kansas Wesleyan during the three-game road trip to Kansas.  Kansas Wesleyan lost in the opening round of the 2009 national tournament. 

After a quick two-game Frontier Conference home slate on September 25 and 26 against Rocky Mountain and Great Falls, the Griffins end the season with six straight on the road.  That stretch begins with games against 2009 national tournament competitors Bellevue and Hastings in Nebraska.  A trip to Montana for games against Rocky and Great Falls prepares the team for a season ending voyage to Arizona to battle Southwestern (Ariz.) and a rematch with Embry-Riddle. 

Westminster will be competing in an unaffiliated conference along with the other Frontier Conference teams and teams from the Dakota Athletic Conference and Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference.  The Unaffiliated Conference Tournament will feature the top six teams from those three conferences and is tentatively scheduled for November 11-13. 

The opening round of the NAIA National Championship is slated for November 20 with the final site being played on November 29-December 4.  The location of the final site has not been announced by the NAIA. 

The 15 teams on the Griffins 2010 schedule went a combined 152-102-27 (.589) last season and won four conference championships.  Two more teams finished in the top-3 of their respective conferences and nine posted winning records.  Westminster finished 2009 with a 10-7-2 record and went 6-1-1 on Dumke Field.  The Griffins lost in the opening round of the 2009 Unaffiliated Conference Tournament, but reached the postseason for the 20th time on school history.

-Utah College Sports News staff and wire reports

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Utah College Sports Wire