DURANGO, Colo. - No. 3 West Texas A&M peppered No. 8 Midwestern State with a pair of early goals to roll to a 3-0 win the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs Friday afternoon at Dirks Field.

"They took care of their chances and put it away early," MSU coach Doug Elder said. "This was a horrible, horrible game. It's just the worst we've played all season and I can't really explain why. It got ugly pretty early."

The Mustangs, who closed the season with a 13-2-3 mark, were playing without Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year Raul Herrera, who led all NCAA Division II goalkeepers with a 0.30 goals against average.

And the Buffs took full advantage as Ben Everson put away a cross in the ninth minute to give WT a 1-0 lead before MSU defender Jake Landon took a player down along the touch line and whistled for a foul in the box in the 15th minute.

Nicki Nielsen converted the penalty kick to give West Texas A&M a commanding 2-0 advantage.

That goal allowed the Buffs to cram the defensive zone and counter. The Mustangs just couldn't recover.

"We didn't handle adversity well at all today," Elder said as MSU was also without starting midfielder Tyler Murphy and experienced forward Kyle Kmiec. "That's just the breaks of the game."

The Buffs added a third goal in the 61st minute when Dominic Furness got behind the defense after the Mustangs began to move players forward.

The teams had played to a pair of draws earlier this season including a scoreless result on Sep. 18 at the MSU Soccer Field before playing to a 1-1 tie last month in Canyon.

The loss was the first for the Mustangs in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs in now its sixth appearance.

"It's very disappointing," Elder said. "Nothing went our way. West Texas was the better team today."

The Mustangs made their fourth-straight postseason appearance despite losing a total of 15 players over the past two seasons after making a Final Four appearance in 2007.

"A lot of people didn't even give us a chance to make the playoffs," Elder said. "A lot of our guys picked it up and did what they are supposed to do. It's just tough to end a good season on this note. I'm disappointed for the seniors and just that no one played well."

West Texas A&M (15-1-2), which is unbeaten in its last 14 matches, battles No. 1 Fort Lewis in the regional finals Sunday afternoon at Dirks Field. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (Central Time).