WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Midwestern State coach
Doug Elder didn't want to see any letdowns Friday night against winless Texas-Permian Basin at the MSU Soccer Field.
And senior forward
Tex McCullough and the rest of the second-ranked Mustangs gave him his wish as MSU clipped the Falcons 5-0 to improve to 6-0 on the season while extended their home field unbeaten streak to 27 matches.
"(UTPB) knew it was overmatched, but they couldn't handle our attack," Elder said. "We split the seasons into thirds and now we'll be tested on the road."
The Mustangs, who have enjoyed a six-match home stand, take on Texas A&M International Friday night in Laredo before finishing up their first road swing of the season next Sunday at St. Mary's (Texas).
MSU could claim the top spot in the NSCAA Division II Poll for the first time since spending three weeks at No. 1 during the 2008 season after Cal Poly Pomona took down top-ranked Cal State-Los Angeles 2-0 late Friday night in Pomona.
"Of course I'd rather win every game 5-0," McCullough said. "But I am ready to see what we're made of and the challenges will come sooner or later. We'll have to be ready."
It was McCullough who put the Mustangs out front with a pair of first-half tallies as he finished off a cross from
Nathan Fitzgerald from 7 yards out in the 10th minute then hammered a cross from
Dean Lovegrove off of UTPB keeper Chris Benavides before collecting the rebound for his third goal of the season in the 28th minute.
The Mustangs, who enjoyed a 34-3 shot advantage and a 15-0 edge in corners over the Falcons, continued the onslaught in the second half.
"(The Falcons) played hard, but we were able to get the ball out wide tonight better than we have," Elder said.
Senior midfielder
Paulo Teixeira connected for his second tally of the season on a cross from
Casey Hibbs in the 52nd minute and
Landon Fruge' threaded a quick through ball for
Ryan Spence's second goal of 2010 off of a misclear on a corner kick chance in the 58th minute.
Redshirt freshman
Chad Caldwell closed out the scoring when he chipped in a shot from 12 yards out in the box courtesy of a Lovegrove corner offering in the 61st minute.
The Mustangs have now won 11-straight games at the MSU Soccer Field since battling Texas A&M International to a scoreless draw on Sep. 25, 2009 and are 24-0-3 on their home pitch since suffering a 1-0 setback to West Texas A&M in the 2007 regular season finale.
Texas-Permian Basin fell to 0-7.