SALT LAKE CITY – Two early goals by the Medina brothers staked the Trailblazers to an early lead in their match against Northwest Nazarene, good enough to help Dixie State take a 2-1 win vs. NNU.
In the 11th minute, Gabby Medina scored the first goal. NNU tied the score in the 25th minute, but five minutes later, little brother Moises put DSU up one again. The score held to give the Trailblazers the win at Westminster College’s Dumke Field in Salt Lake City.
“I thought overall we outplayed (Northwest Nazarene),” Dixie State head coach Jonny Broadhead said. “We made a couple of mistakes defensively and they scored on one and missed some chances on others. But goalkeeper Zac Nielson had a good game. And Bryan Baugh and Kenny Barajas did a good job clearing and getting us out of some messes.”
The early goal was on a penalty kick. Moises Medina took an outlet pass and dribbled down the center of the field. He found Gabby Medina on the right side. Gabby stopped suddenly in the box causing the defender to overrun him and take him down to draw the penalty.
“Gabby did a great job drawing the contact,” Broadhead said. “He also took the penalty shot and hit it in off the left post.”
Later in the half, with the score tied, Blake Damato took the counter pass and dribbled up the left side. He found Jandir Porta in midfield. Porta dribbled and sucked in the defender before finding Moises Medina on the left side. Moises initially flubbed the pass, but quickly regained possession and sent the ball to the back of the net.
“Both times, the scoring situations were preceded by an extra pass,” Broadhead said. “Porta on the second goal and Moises early on. Both could have taken the shot and they would have been good shots. But that extra pass got us the score both times.
“Our attackers were able to identify holes in their back line. We were good on the counter as well. (Northwest Nazarene) sent a lot of numbers to the box. It was a good first game. Northwest Nazarene played well.”
The Trailblazers (1-0) will play against Montana State-Billings in Salt Lake City on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
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