(MATCH NOTES)

Dixie State (5-1-1/1-0-1 PacWest) will look to remain unbeaten in PacWest play and stay atop the conference standings as the Storm returns home this week for a pair of matches at Hansen Stadium. DSU opens the homestand with a league match against BYU-Hawai'i (3-5-0/1-2-0 PacWest) this Thursday, October 8, followed by a date vs. Hawai'i Hilo (1-6-0/0-3-0 PacWest) on Saturday, Oct. 10. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. (MT), and live stats and streaming video links can be found at www.dixieathletics.com.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State owns a 5-3-1 series lead vs. BYU-H, though the Seasiders have won the past two meetings between the two teams, including a 5-0 results last season in Laie and a 2-1 decision the last time the two sides met at Hansen Stadium in 2013. DSU trails in its overall series with UHH, 2-5-2, including a 1-0 loss to the Vulcans in Hilo last year. The Storm is 1-0-1 against the Vulcans in the previous two matches played in St. George, which includes a 1-0 (2OT) win in 2012 and a 3-3 (2OT) draw in 2013.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Josh Pittman (5-1-1 at DSU/East Stroudsburg, 1999) is in his first season at the helm of the Storm men's soccer program. Prior to his arrival to St. George, Pittman spent seven seasons as head coach at Colorado Mesa, where he led the Mavericks to the 2013 RMAC tournament title and league tournament appearances (2010, 2012-13). He also served on the coaching staffs at Metro State and Adams State, and spent a year with the MLS Colorado Rapids as a development academy coach. Pittman is joined on the DSU sideline by first-year assistant Joe Hickman.

STORM PICKED 12TH IN PACWEST: Dixie State was picked to finish 12th in the Pacific West Conference preseason coaches' poll. Azusa Pacific was tabbed as the favorite and repeat as PacWest champions. The Cougars received 12 of the possible 14 first-place votes, while Fresno Pacific and Notre Dame de Namur also received a first-place vote. FPU claimed the second spot, followed closely by California Baptist and NDNU. BYU-Hawai'i and Point Loma rounded out the top-half of the poll.

STORM OFF TO A BLAZING START: Dixie State is off to its best start in program history this season as the Storm has played to a 5-1-1 overall record through seven matches. DSU's win total this season is tied for the fourth-most in program history (2008/2012), and this year's Storm team is on pace to break the record of eight wins set consecutive seasons in 2010 and 2011.

DSU has done a lot of this on the defensive side of the pitch as the Storm back field, anchored by senior defender Jorge Echavarria (Oakley, Calif./Alhambra HS), is currently riding an impressive scoreless streak that has reached 320:50, which is a span of just over 3.5 matches since DSU has surrendered a goal. The Storm posted its school-record third-straight shut out victory last Sunday at Holy Names, 1-0, which is also the third-consecutive 1-0 result overall. The previous school record for consecutive shutout victories was two set in 2010 and matched in 2011.

Dixie State enters this week ranked 10th-nationally in Division II in Goals Against Average (GAA) at 0.55, having allowed just four total goals in seven matches this season, which is t-fifth best in the nation. Junior goalkeeper Bradley Trella (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS), who has played every minute in goal for the Storm this season, is ranked 13th-nationally in GAA and is t-7th in goals allowed. Trella, who was named PacWest Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 28, has made 31 saves and has four shutout victories to his credit in 2015.

QUICK KICKS: Senior Santiago Alejandro (Oakley, Calif./Alhambra HS) padded his team lead in points with his GW goal at Dominican last Friday ... Alejandro scored the goal on a PK following a handball inside the Penguin penalty area ... Alejandro has seven points on two goals and a team-leading three assists ... Alejandro also leads the team in shots (18) and SOG (9), and is tied for third-place on the Storm's career assist list with six ... senior Alex Galvan (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Reagan HS) tallied his second goal and his first GW score of the year at Holy Names, which was set up by a feed from junior Kris Evans (Draper, Utah/Alta HS), who recorded his first point of the season with his second-career assist ... sophomore forward Frankie Mallek (Yuma, Ariz./Kofa HS) tallied Dixie State's 400th-point in school history with his goal vs. APU Sept. 24 ... senior Bryan Baugh (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley HS) has assisted on three of DSU's 10 goals this season ... Baugh currently stands alone in second place on DSU's career assists list with eight and he needs just three more to pass former DSU player Tyler Albretsen (10) to become DSU's all-time assists leader ... DSU is averaging 10 shots per game through its first seven matches, including 4.6 shots on goal.

UP NEXT: Dixie State opens a four-match road swing next week as the Storm returns to the Bay Area to face Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday, Oct. 15, followed by a match at Academy of Art on Saturday, Oct. 17.