MSU Athletics

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Midwestern State's forward combination of Kelsey Hill and Lindsay Pritchard could be the best 1-2 punch in the Lone Star Conference.

But West Texas A&M found a way to limit the duo to two shots on goal Sunday afternoon at the MSU Soccer Field.

That just meant a pair of unspoken leaders could take center stage as Hanna Staley and Jordan Smith powered the Mustangs to a 2-1 win over the rival Lady Buffs to improve to 10-1 on the season and to 5-0 in LSC play.

"Hanna has been playing so well in the back and she is really our leader back there," MSU coach Jeff Trimble said. "She has been outstanding for us and just keeps getting better and better."

The sophomore from Austin, who set out last season due to injury, headed in a corner kick for her first goal of the season in the 51st minute to allow Midwestern to draw first blood.

"(Brittany) Subia served a brilliant ball into the box and Hanna timed her run nicely," Trimble said. "She was due."

The Mustangs controlled play throughout outshooting West Texas A&M by a 22-6 margin and seemed certain to take a two-goal lead in the 59th minute as Pritchard and Maddie Fraser rattled the crossbar on consecutive kicks.

But the Lady Buffs found itself right back in the match after Lindsay McHorse converted a penalty kick in the 71st minute when she was taken down in the box to knot the match at 1-1.

That's when Jordan delivered.

The senior midfielder from Plano drilled a 30-yard bullet into the upper right portion of the net in the 76th minute to put the Mustangs back up for good.

"She does that all the time in practice," Trimble said. "She really stepped up and uncorked that one. It definitely gives us an added dimension."

The game winner was a result of the growth in composure for his jelling squad, Trimble said.

"It like this (last week) at Northeastern," he said. "To see us with how well we were playing to all of the sudden be tied and recover like we did shows a great deal of maturity for this team."

Senior midfielder Kendra Clemons also showed up big in the central midfield.

"I've never seen her win so many balls in the air," Trimble said.

Midwestern State closes out the home portion of its regular season slate with a pair of conference contests next weekend at the MSU Soccer Field. The Mustangs host Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday and Central Oklahoma on Sunday.

Game Notes
- MSU improved to 5-0 in conference play for the third time in program history and for the first time since the 1998 LSC title squad rolled to a perfect 8-0 mark. Midwestern also won its first five league matches in 1997 before falling 2-0 against West Texas A&M in Canyon.
- MSU matched its best start in school history in terms of winning percentage by improving to 10-1 Sunday against West Texas A&M. The Mustangs opened last season with a 9-0-2 mark for identical .909 winning percentages.
- The Mustangs extended their current winning streak to seven matches which is the most since winning seven straight from Oct. 17-Nov. 6, 2008