Westminster soccer: Griffins welcome Doane and Great Falls to Dumke Field

SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's soccer team will remain at home for two games over Labor Day weekend. Westminster will play Doane (Neb.) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. before a contest with Frontier Conference rival Great Falls (Mont.) Monday at noon. Doane and Great Falls will play each other on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with all three games being played on Dumke Field on the Westminster campus.

The Griffins will look to expand on the 2-0 start they have put together to start the season. This is the first time since 2008 the team has started a season 2-0 and the 12th time in the 29 years of men's soccer at Westminster. The best start to a season was a 7-0 mark set by the 1990 team.

Westminster outscored its opposition 4-1 during the opening weekend. The team also hold a 43-7 advantage in shots attempted and a 17-5 edge in shots on goal. The Griffins currently rank 13th in the NAIA in shots per game (22.0) and 33rd in shots on goal per contest (8.5). The defense is allowing 0.5 goals per game to rank 22nd in the nation, and the team is tied for ninth with one shutout.

Ryan Smith leads the team in scoring through the first two games. The junior forward tallied one goal and one assist in the first two games, including his first career game-winner against College of Idaho. Jace Maxfield and Bryan Rucklos scored one goal apiece. Wilson Larson leads the team and is eighth in the NAIA with two assists. Smith and Manuel Duenas each fired a team-best seven shots with Duenas leading the way with four on goal.

Damir Sabanovic and Nathan Young split the two games in goal over the weekend. Sabanovic recorded a shutout victory with one save against Avila (Mo.). Young then made three stops to earn the win over College of Idaho.