WACO, Texas – Midwestern State men's soccer begins its inaugural season in the Heartland Conference as the league's preseason favorite after receiving 19 of 24 first-place votes as voted on by the conference's 12 head coaches and sports information directors the league announced Wednesday morning.
The Mustangs, ranked No. 7 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Preseason Poll, earned 282 points to edge out St. Edward's who received 266 points and four first-place votes. The Hilltoppers also appeared in the NSCAA preseason rankings at No. 14 after claiming the Heartland title and advancing to the NCAA Second Round in 2015.
West Texas A&M came in third in the conference poll with 216 points and one first-place vote, coming in front of Newman (199) and Rogers State (177) to round out the top five.
Texas A&M International (171), St. Mary's (145), Eastern New Mexico (124), Lubbock Christian (108), Oklahoma Christian (74), Dallas Baptist (70) and UT Permian Basin (40) made up the 12-team poll.
After three seasons competing as an independent, Midwestern State joins fellow Lone Star Conference schools West Texas A&M, Eastern New Mexico and UT Permian Basin as Heartland affiliate members in 2016.
With the addition of four affiliate men's soccer programs, the Heartland Conference has moved to a divisional format with three four-team divisions. The winner of each division will earn an automatic bid to the revamped Heartland Conference Men's Soccer Tournament which will feature six teams for the first time. The final three teams to make the tournament will be the three next highest teams in conference points.
Midwestern State enters the 2016 season following a trip to the NCAA South Central Region final and a 17-1-1 overall record a season ago. The Mustangs finished with their best winning percentage in program history (.921) while posting just the third undefeated regular season (2002, 2010) in the program's 44 seasons with a 16-0-1 mark.
Senior midfielder
Flavio Guzman headlines a group of 12 returners for the Mustangs after totaling 10 goals and four assists to earn NSCAA Second Team All-American honors in 2015. Senior defender
Antonio Hernandez also returns for Midwestern after capturing D2CCA All-South Central Region Second Team accolades in his first season suiting up for the Mustangs.
Midwestern State returns offensive threats in senior midfielders
Christian Okeke and
Leon Taylor, who ranked third and fourth, respectively, for the Mustangs in scoring in 2015. Sophomore defender
Alex Mullet also returns off last season's starting lineup after appearing in all 19 contests while senior goalkeepers
Noah Fazekas and
Brice Gardner are back following eight starts apiece in goal last season.
The Mustangs travel to Colorado for their 2016 season opener Friday, Sept. 2 to face off against regional foe Fort Lewis with a 4 p.m. (CT) kickoff at Dirks Field in Durango. Midwestern begins its home slate Monday, Sept. 12 with a 7 p.m. match against former conference rival Northeastern State (Okla.) at MSU Soccer Field.
2016 Heartland Conference Preseason Poll
| Place |
Team (1st votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Midwestern State (19) |
282 |
| 2 |
St. Edward's (4) |
266 |
| 3 |
West Texas A&M (1) |
216 |
| 4 |
Newman |
199 |
| 5 |
Rogers State |
177 |
| 6 |
Texas A&M International |
171 |
| 7 |
St. Mary's |
145 |
| 8 |
Eastern New Mexico |
124 |
| 9 |
Lubbock Christian |
108 |
| 10 |
Oklahoma Christian |
74 |
| 11 |
Dallas Baptist |
70 |
| 12 |
UT Permian Basin |
40 |
– MSUMustangs.com –
