CANYON, Texas – Midwestern State turned a bit of good fortune into a 4-0 rout of Northeastern State in the first of the Lone Star Conference Championships Thursday afternoon at The Pitch in Canyon.

"They were all over us and outplaying us in the first half," MSU coach Jeff Trimble said. "It was very physical and we had a hard time adjusting. I thought we were caught off guard."

The teams appeared to be heading to a scoreless first half when a bit of good fortune gave the Mustangs a spark.

MSU sophomore Jordan Smith drove a corner kick through the middle of the box which fell untouched to open freshman defender Hanna Staley, who was wide open at the far post.

Staley tapped the ball an empty net to give MSU a 1-0 lead just 38 seconds before intermission.

"That goal was a gift," Trimble said. "Not so much that it was given to us, but we were comfortable going into halftime tied and looking to make corrections."

Trimble instructed his outside midfielders to pinch inside to help on 50-50 balls to combat a physical RiverHawks squad.

The plan forced the Mustangs into a more aggressive stance and created opportunities on the offensive end of the field.

Freshman forward Kelsey Hill ran on to a perfectly struck corner kick from junior midfielder Kari Bristow in the 49th minute to push the MSU advantage to 2-0.

The Mustangs weren't finished as Brittany Subia played a through ball to Brandy O'Neal for a breakaway goal in the 67th minute and freshman forward Lindsey Pritchard collected a loose ball in the Northeastern State third in the 88th minute and tucked the 25-yard shot just under the crossbar to give MSU a four-goal lead.

Midwestern State, which has now won eight-straight matches to improve to 14-6, battles Texas A&M-Commerce in the opening match of the semifinal round Friday at noon. West Texas A&M will face Central Oklahoma, a 3-1 winner over Abilene Chrsitian on Thursday.

The semifinal winners play for the Lone Star Conference championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II postseason Sunday at noon.

Notables

* Junior forward Brittany O'Neal sustained a leg injury while colliding with Northeastern State goalkeeper Patricia Nardy 3:38 into Thursday's first-round match against the RiverHawks. She is doubtful for Friday's semifinal against Texas A&M-Commerce.
* Midwestern's eight-match win streak is the longest since MSU won 15-straight in 1998.
* The Mustangs' four-goal outburst was the most the program has scored in a Lone Star Conference Championship tournament match since notching a 6-1 win over Northeastern State on Nov. 8, 1997 – also in Canyon.
* MSU is now 11-10-1 all time in the LSC Championship Tournament. The Mustangs are 8-4-1 in first-round games dating back to 1996. Midwestern State and West Texas A&M are the lone schools to make the tournament in each of the 13 years it has been played.
* MSU freshman Kelsey Hill matched Nicole Shook (1998) and April Lasater (1996) for the fourth-most goals in a single season. The freshman from Wichita Falls now has 16.

Lone Star Conference Championship

Nov. 6-9, 2008

Canyon, Texas

First Round

Thursday, Nov. 6

Midwestern State 4, Northeastern State 0

Central Oklahoma 3, Abilene Christian 1

Semifinals

Friday, Nov. 7

Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, Noon

Central Oklahoma vs. West Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 9

Championship Game, Noon
  

-- MSUMustangs.com --