ST. GEORGE — Practically every fall sport (cross country being the exception) for the Red Storm was in action this past week. The women’s golf team won the RMAC #2 tournament in Colorado. The men’s golf team took second at the Interwest Wildcat Classic. The women’s tennis team split its first two matches of the season. The men’s soccer team got its first win of the season over Chaminade. The women’s soccer team evened its record with two wins in Hawaii. The football team was unable to overcome costly mistakes in its match-up with Simon Fraser. The volleyball team swept its conference match-ups, including one against Point Loma, to give DSU sole possession of first place in the PacWest. Below is a recap of the past week.

FOOTBALL
The Dixie State defense limited Simon Fraser University to 13 points. However, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, a punt return for a touchdown and a safety added 16 more points to the Clan’s total and cost the Red Storm its best chance at a first win of the season.

On a night where Dixie State outgained Simon Fraser in total yards (330-280), it was the missed opportunities that hurt the Storm the most.

Ben Longshore passed for 315 yards and two touchdowns. Nate Stephens caught nine of Longshore’s passes for a season-high 126 yards. Senior receivers Conor Sklarsky and Brock Johnson each hauled in touchdown receptions.

Defensively Kendall Prescott had nine tackles out of the Storm secondary. Jake Miller and Trevor Oakley contributed eight while Robert Metz and Jordan Curtis added seven.

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Dixie State plays its next two GNAC games on the road starting with a trip to Western Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 11 for a 1 p.m Pacific time kickoff at McArthur Field.

 

VOLLEYBALL
Friday night, the Dixie State women’s volleyball team stayed unbeaten in Pacific West Conference Play with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-22) win over Azusa Pacific.
Maddie Rex and Edithza Urias led the way offensively with 11 an 10 kills respectively.

Saturday afternoon the Dixie State continued its dominance taking down Point Loma 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23).

Urias led with 14 kills, Rex had 13, Nicole Koehler posted 11 and Makenzie Bird added 10 to lead the charge for the Red Storm. DSU hit .215 for the match while Point Loma was right there at .203. Urias added four service aces and a solo block while Rex had 12 digs.
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The Red Storm will have a week off before taking their annual Hawaii trip to play four conference schools, including BYU-Hawaii, last year’s national runner-ups. DSU will start the trip with Chaminade on Monday at 11 p.m. MT/7p.m. HT.

MEN’S SOCCER
When the first shot of the match finds the back of the net, it is hard to erase the thought. BYU-Hawaii posted the first of three goals in the first half in the second minute en route to a 5-0 victory over Dixie State in Pacific West Conference play. The loss drops the Red Storm to 0-5-1 on the season, 0-2 in conference.

Just over 10 minutes before the halftime break, BYUH saw its lead balloon to 3-0 thanks to a 9-to-4 advantage in shots.

Both teams fired 10 shots through the second half, but only two would find the net for the Seasisders. Chris Pineda made 10 saves for BYUH to earn the shutout.

Spencer Anderson stopped five shots between the pipes for DSU.

Coming off the bench, Sean Jenne paced all Storm players with three shots. Two of Jenne’s shots came on goal, matching efforts from Alex Galvan and Nadav Elimelech.

In the span of 64 seconds, Dixie State men’s soccer went from losing its sixth straight match to winning in dramatic fashion.

Junior forward Jorge Echavarria headed in goal in the 90th minute to tie Monday’s match at Chaminade, 1-1, then the speed of freshman forward Frank Mallek earned a breakaway and the game-winning goal as the Storm downed the Silverswords 2-1 in Pacific West Conference play on Saint Louis Field.

Dixie State earned its first win of the 2014 campaign against the same Chaminade team it defeated for its lone league win in 2013.

The match was scoreless until the 78th minute, when a rebounded shot off of DSU goalkeeper Hayden Matthews fell on the foot of Dayton Saito. His first goal of the year put Chaminade in front 1-0 heading into the final minutes of the match.

In the final 90 second of regulation, the Storm got two good looks on goal, including a header from Echavarria. Given a second shot mere seconds later, Echavarria did not miss, Off a Bryan Baugh throw-in, the Vegas native headed in the pass to even the match at the 89:20 mark.

Feeding off the adrenaline high of evening the match, Dixie State wasted little time notching the win. Just 24 seconds into the overtime session, Mallek used his blazing fast speed to earn a breakaway. Chaminade’s goalkeeper came out to defend, but Mallek was able to chip the ball over the charging defending and find the net for the win.

Dixie State outshot the Swords 13-10 for the match, with three shots coming each from Echavarria and Jara Eshete. Matthews earned his first collegiate winning decision making two saves for the Red Storm.

“I am extremely grateful for the guys,” said head coach Danny Ortiz. “They have finally been rewarded for the hard work they have put in this season.”

The Storm’s current trip in Hawaii continues with another PacWest match on Thursday against the Sharks of Hawaii Pacific. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Hawaiian time (4:30 p.m. Mountain).

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Dixie State forward Aubri Detmer and midfielder Kaisa Rogers each scored their first goals of the season, helping the Red Storm to a 2-1 win over BYU-Hawaii on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Pacific West Conference play.

Detmer made the most of her first start of the year in the Red Storm’s second league match. In the seventh minute, after an Emily Fox free kick and passing shot from Rogers, Detmer found the net beating the Seasider goalkeeper to the far post.

BYU-Hawaii tied the match at 1-1 with five minutes left in the opening half. The Seasiders had a 6-4 shot advantage and scored after a DSU defender was stripped of the ball.

The Seasider attack would continue early in the second half, but Dixie State freshman Danica Nusink was up to the challenge. She made two crucial saves over the final 45 minutes, allowing DSU to continue its drive for the go-ahead goal.

That would come in the 79th minute courtesy of a great pass, a falling defender and a nice shot. Erica Gonzalez placed a pass to Rogers, who shook off her defender and beat the BYUH goalkeeper to the top-left corner. The goal was the first game-winner for Rogers this season. Nusink earns her second win of the year for Dixie State.

On Monday Dixie continued to steamroll through the islands with a statement win over Chaminade.

With a large shot discrepancy titled toward the Red Storm and the first collegiate hat trick in the career of senior Jennifer Mason, Dixie State sailed to a 4-0 win over the Silverswords at Saint Louis Field.

DSU outshot Chaminade 28-5, including an 11-0 advantage in shots toward the goal.

Erica Gonzalez scored the final goal for Dixie State, but the day ultimately belonged to Mason. She began her scoring barrage in the 23rd minute, earning a break away off a crisp Gonzalez pass. Mason chipped a shot over the Chaminade goalie for a 1-0 lead that held through halftime.

Goal number two came just shy of the 51st minute mark when Mason took a Jasmine Arollo throw in and placed the ball into the net. She completed the hat trick in the 61st minute scoring off a Mindi Beckstrom corner kick.

In the match, Mason doubled her goal total from three to six on the season. The output ties Mason for the PacWest lead in goals with Massiel Castellanos of NDNU and puts her in the outright lead in points with 15.

Gonzalez added the Storm’s fourth tally in the 63rd minute with a long 25 yards shot off the break with Arollo.

Defensively, Dixie State kept the Silverswords from threatening the goal. Goalkeepers Nusink and Angie Ciucci combined for the shutout.

Match number three of the Storm’s current road trip is Thursday against Hawaii Pacific. The Storm and the Sharks tangle at 3 p.m. Hawaiian (7 p.m. Mountain) time.

WOMEN’S GOLF
After a great start on the first day, the Dixie State women’s golf team finished strong and won it’s first ever tournament as a young program at the RMAC#2 Tournament in Colorado.

“I am very proud of them holding out the last couple holes,” head coach Rachel Harmon said. “It was a battle with Metro State coming in late and the team stayed level headed. This is a great boost of confidence going into the Golf Week event that has a strong field.”

Dixie State shot a 317 in the second round after a first round of 312 to finish with a total of 629 strokes, five ahead of Metro State’s 634. Angelo State finished with a 635 while Western New Mexico and host Colorado Mesa took fourth and fifth, respectively.

Haley Dunn won the individual women’s competition, shooting a 74 in the first round and a 75 on the second day to finish five-over for the event. She finished three strokes ahead of the runner up. It was Dunn’s second individual win with the Red Storm.

Finishing ninth overall, Brittney Bisgrove totaled a 156 with a 79 and 77 over two rounds. Shelby Madden tied for 15th with a 78 an 82.

Fourth finisher for the Red Storm was Cobair Collinsworth in a tie for 26th after first and second rounds of 81 and 83.

Justine Connell tied for 35th with a 167 total, Kellie Busse posted a 169 two-day total for a 40th place tie and Hannah Folks finished in a tie for 54th with rounds of 89 and 84.

Later in the week the Dixie State played its best round of golf yet this season with a 298 in the third and final round of the Golfweek Fall Invitational, finishing eighth overall as a team. Dunn finished sixth overall after shooting a two-under-par 69 in her final round.

“I am really proud of Haley breaking into the 60’s for the first time,” Harmon said. “The whole team did their part and posted some good numbers in an incredible field. To shoot 298 and fall back a spot in the field speaks volumes on the caliber of teams at this invitational. We have our sights now on our home event in eight days and we will be working hard this week.”

The Red Storm improved each round of the three-round tournament, with scores of 306, 304 and 298 for a total of 908 for the weekend. Arkansas Tech won after shooting a combined 873.

Bisgrove scored a 74 in her third round to finish tied for 11th overall. In the third round, three more Red Storm golfers played well. Collinsworth shot her best round of the tournament with a 75 to finish in a tie for 39th. Madden’s third round was an 83 to tie for 49th and Madalynne Fedoruk posted an 80 for 55th overall.

Dixie State will host the Dixie State Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 13-14 in St. George.

MEN’S GOLF
Hayden Christensen and Kenny You tied for sixth overall and the Dixie State men’s golf team finished second at the InterWest Wildcat Classic on Tuesday.

“We played really well this week and learned a lot,” head coach Brad Sutterfield said. “We can build on this for the rest of the season.”

Christensen and You both finished with a total of 217 strokes each. Christensen posted an even-par 72 in his final round and You was one better with a 71.

Dane Nelson had the best final round for the Red Storm, shooting a two-under 70 to move up to a 12th-place tie overall.

Connor Van Gilder finished his final round with a 79 to take 22nd and Donny Hopoi finished tied for 23rd after a final round of 76.

You, Nelson and Hopoi had three birdies on the back nine.

The golfers will head to California for the Cal State Monterey Bay Otter Invitational on Oct. 21 and 22.

WOMEN’S TENNIS
The Dixie State women’s tennis team defeated Metro State in the morning match 5-4 but came up short to Colorado Mesa in the afternoon to split on the day in Colorado.

Dixie State won two out of three doubles matches and then battled in the singles. It came down to the last singles match and Sierra Smith came from behind, down 4-1 in the second set to win it 6-4 after winning the first 6-2 to clinch a 5-4 victory for the Red Storm.

Stormy Dvorak and Laura Hartle won 9-8 (3) and Smith and Zenja Draca won 8-5 to score a second point. Karolin Kukaras and Joy Naigeon dropped their match 9-8 (5).

In singles, DSU got wins from Kukaras (6-1, 6-4) and Naigeon (6-2, 6-2) to get to four points setting up Smith’s exciting match to find a fifth and winning point after Dixie State dropped three singles matches.

Smith won the first set and then battled back from down three to win it 6-4.

Later in the day, Dixie State took on Colorado Mesa and took one singles match with Kukaras and Naigeon winning 8-4. In singles, the Red Storm battled but couldn’t get one more win and fell 5-4.Sweeping all three doubles matches, the Dixie State women’s tennis team rattled off five wins in singles for an 8-1 win over Montana State-Billings on Saturday.

Kukaras and Naigeon took first doubles 8-6. Dvorak and Hartle were victorious in the No. 2 spot with a dominant 8-0 victory and Smith and Draca recorded an 8-5 win in third doubles to make it 3-0 DSU after the doubles were completed.

Dixie State kept things going in singles, with Dvorak picking up a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles.

Hartle and Kukaras won 6-1, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-4, respectively in the two and three positions.

Naigeon fell 6-4, 6-2 but Draca pulled out a 6-2, 6-2 win in fifth singles and Smith picked up another victory 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 6 position to give the Storm eight points on the day

Red Storm Recap is a weekly column following Dixie State athletics and is written by DSU beat writer Darren Cole.

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