Griffins Open 2010 Campaign against Two NCAA DI Foes Add Comment    Aug 12, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY -- The 2010 Westminster womens soccer team begins the season with two games on the road against NCAA DI teams this week.  The slate begins on Friday, August 13 at 6 p.m. against in-state foe Utah Valley in Orem.  The Griffins then travel to Pocatello, Idaho for a noon contest against Idaho State on Monday, August 16.  This is the second consecutive season that the Griffins have begun the year with consecutive road games against NCAA teams. 

Westminster returns 22 players from a team that went 9-10-1 in 2009 and advanced to the championship game of the Frontier Conference Tournament.  The returning players accounted for all 26 goals and 21 assists last season.  They also attempted each of the 247 shots and the keepers combined for all 86 saves. 

Heather Hillam led the team in 2009 with six goals and 13 points.  She was eighth in the Frontier Conference in points at 0.65 per game and placed seventh in goals at 0.3 per contest.  Tanisia Wilson was second on the team with five goals while making just one start. 

Corie Walch was named All-Frontier Conference from her midfield position after scoring three goals and recording two assists.  Her eight total points ranked fourth on the team.  Megan Maldonado and Nicole Taylor finished second and third on the team with 36 and 34 shots respectively. 

Dayna Winter-Nolte returns to anchor the goalkeeper position.  She was named All-Frontier Conference in 2009 after recording a 1.80 goals against average with 56 saves.  Winter-Nolte posted five shutouts which is the second most in school history.  Lindsay Bekken also returns after posting a 0.94 goals against average in her 10 appearances in 2009.  Bekken posted two wins and one shutout while making four starts during her freshman campaign. 

First Kick

Westminster started 2009 with road losses at Utah Valley and Weber State. 

The Griffins are 0-5 all-time against teams from the state of Utah.

Westminster is 1-2 all-time in season openers and also 1-2 in road openers. 

Scouting Utah Valley

Utah Valley went 9-10-1 in 2009 and claimed the Great West Conference Tournament Championship.  The team starting the season 1-9 and then won eight of the final 10 games they played with one tie.  The Wolverines return their top-two scorers from 2009 in Jaime Lyons and Katey Turner.  Each finished the season with 16 points with Lyons scoring a team-best eight goals.  Turner had seven goals and one assist.  Hailey Brown returns after spending nine games between the pipes with an 0-4 record and a 1.75 goals against average. 

Series Record: Utah Valley leads, 1-0

Last Meeting: Utah Valley def. Westminster 2-0 (8/12/09) 

Scouting Idaho State

The Bengals return 15 players, including Big Sky Newcomer of the Year Ashley Jones and two-time First Team All-Conference selection Karissa Henage-Fisher. Idaho State also welcomes 12 newcomers who look to be as promising as last years lot who scored nine of Idaho States 27 goals. Though the team will be a young one, consisting of 18 underclassmen, the program is not light on experience as the battle tested sophomores propelled Idaho State to its sixth Big Sky Tournament appearance in 2009. 

Series Record: First meeting 

Getting Offensive

The Griffins finished 2009 with 26 goals scored and scored multiple goals in six games throughout the season.  Westminster also recorded an assist on 21 of those goals.  They had a stretch of seven straight games with at least one goal which is a school record. 

All-Conference Performers

Corie Walch and Dayna Winter-Nolte each return for 2010 after being named All-Frontier Conference last season.  They became just the third and fourth players in Westminster history to be named all-conference.  It was also the second consecutive season that the Griffins placed two players on the team.  Walch made the team at midfield while Winter-Nolte was the goalkeeper on the squad. 

Record Chasing

Several players enter the season either in reach of school career records or as the current leader.  Vanessa Jordan, Sarah Swenson, and Maddie Spere are all tied with six career assists which is tops in school history.  Spere holds the record with 44 games started and is second in school history with nine goals scored.  Rachel Watson has appeared in a school-best 57 games.  Winter-Nolte is first all-time with 125 saves, 14 wins, and seven shutouts.

Unaffiliated Information

The Dakota Athletic Conference, Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference, and Frontier Conference will combine to offer one automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships in 2010.  The top-4 teams in this group will advance to the Unaffiliated Conference Tournament with the winner receiving the automatic berth. 

Looking Ahead

Westminster opens the 2010 home campaign against Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday, August 24 at 11 a.m. on Dumke Field.  They also welcome Westmont to Dumke Field on Saturday, August 28 at noon.

-Utah College Sports News staff and wire reports

Article written by

Utah College Sports Wire