Dixie State sophomore goalkeeper Zach Nielson was named Pacific West Conference Men’s Soccer Defender of the Week on Monday for his stellar performance in the Trailblazers’ two league wins last week.
Nielson (6-foot-2; West Point, Utah/Northridge HS) posted two shutout results in goal to help lead DSU to a 2-0-0 start in PacWest play. He faced only one shot on goal in DSU’s 1-0 win vs. Chaminade last Thursday, but it was on a penalty kick chance that he turned away just 3:54 into the match.
He then made four saves in a 1-0 triumph over Biola this past Saturday, three of which came in the game's final 15 minutes after DSU was forced to play a man down after a DSU player received a red card ejection. Nielson (5-0-0, 14 saves) enters play this week second in the country at the NCAA Division II level in both goals against average (0.221 GAA) and save percentage (.933) as he has surrendered only one goal in 407-plus minutes of action.
Dixie State (5-1-0, 2-0-0 PacWest) continues its four-match homestand this Tuesday, Sept. 26, with a PacWest tilt against Hawai'i Pacific inside Legend Solar Stadium at 7 p.m.
Steve Johnson is the Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations and Collegiate Licensing at Dixie State University. For more DSU Athletics news, please visit www.dixieathletics.com and follow Dixie State on Twitter at @DixieAthletics.