No. 21 Midwestern State hits the road for a pair of critical Lone Star Conference matches against Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M this weekend.
 

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MSU FAST FIVE

Midwestern moves up one in the NSCAA D2 Poll: The Mustangs own a current six-match unbeaten streak and moved up two spots in this week's National Soccer Coaches' Association of America Division II Poll to No. 21. MSU has appeared in 73 of the last 74 NSCAA national polls in which it was eligible dating bck to the 2006 season.

MSU out of South Central Region Rankings: Midwestern State was just outside of the first NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings released earlier this week. The Mustangs have advanced to the playoffs in each of the last six seasons, but will have a chance to make up ground down the stretch. MSU plays three matches (two against West Texas A&M, one at Incarnate Word) against teams currently occupying the rankings. Currently, West Texas A&M tops the ranking followed by Regis (Colo.), Colorado Mines, Fort Lewis (Colo.) and Incarnate Word (Texas).

Mustangs in Lone Star Conference Play: Midwestern State plays just its second league game this season and first since taking a 3-2 overtime defeat to Incarnate Word on Sep. 21 at the MSU Soccer Field. If MSU can win its remaining five LSC matches, it will clinching its ninth league title as a member of the Lone Star or Southwest Soccer Conference since joining the leagues in 1999. The Mustangs own a 75-18-6 (.787) league during that time and will be playing their 100th conference game Friday afternoon in Portales.

Lenny's Landing: Sophomore forward Len Smith garnered Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors this week after tallying goals in wins over Houston-Victoria and Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) last weekend. The transfer from Tulsa has now scored goals in each of his last five outings and has seven goals over his last seven games. Smith leads the Mustangs with eight goals while dishing out two assists this season.

VcMor Scores, too: Junior forward VcMor Eligwe joins Len Smith giving the Mustangs a formidable one-two punch up front. The McKinney High product has found the net in each of his last four outings and six times in the last six games. Eligwe has produced a team-best 17 total points this season with seven goals and three assists.
   

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SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION


EASTERN NEW MEXICO
// Friday, 10.19.2012 // 4 p.m. // ENMU Soccer Field // Portales, N.M.
Live Stats  |  Video Streaming

The defending Lone Star Conference champion Greyhounds (9-4-0, 0-1-0) have been hot of late outscoring the opposition 13-1 during their current three-match winning streak which includes a 2-0 blanking of No. 18 Fort Hays State two weeks ago on the road. ENMU features a dynamic attack which produces 2.77 goals per game paced by senior forward Diego Santos with seven goals and three assists. Sophomore midfielder Carlos Viveros adds six goals while junior midfielder Cantu Palombo, sophomore forward Abayneh Crosby and senior defender Michael Stewart have notched five goals each. Primary goalkeeper Ferdrik Widfeldt allows a 0.84 goals against average over 12 matches while posting three clean sheets.
All-Time Series: Midwestern State leads 16-1.   
  

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WEST TEXAS A&M
// Sunday, 10.28.2012 // 1 p.m. // The Pitch in Canyon // Canyon, Texas 
Live Stats  |  No Streaming Video

No. 17 West Texas A&M (10-1-2, 1-1-0) is unbeaten in its last seven matches and currently stands atop the first release of the NCAA II South Central Region rankings. The Buffs are paced by a dymanic scorer in  senior midfielder Dominic Furness with 18 goals and five assists while senior defender Colin Bjostad and sophomore forward Wayne Bruton add three and two goals respectively. WTAMU averages 3.08 goals per game while outshooting the opposition 17.2-9.9.  Primary goalkeeper William Cooper allows a 1.29 goals against average and has posted three shutouts.
All-Time Series: Midwestern State leads 24-15-3.
  

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NOTEWORTHY
 

• The Mustangs have scored multiple goals in seven consecutive matches to bring their scoring average up to 2.42 goals per game which ranks 24th in NCAA Division II.
• The MSU defense has let in goals in four consecutive matches after shutting out the opposition in six of its first eight matches this season.
• The Mustangs rank 16th nationally with a 0.71 goals against average and 18th with a .500 shutout percentage.
• Sophomore forward Len Smith has tallied goals in each of his five matches and has scored seven times in his last seven games.
• Junior forward VcMor Eligwe has scored a goal in each of his last five outings and six goals over last six games.
• Smith (8 goals, 2 assists) and Eligwe (7 goals, 3 assists) have accounted for just over half of MSU's 29 goals this season.
• Senior midfielder Aaron Douthit has accounted for a goal or an assist in five of his last six games in which he has delivered four goals and two assists.
• Senior forward/midfielder David Freeland reamains two points away from joining Eligwe in the MSU 50-point Club. The Midland native has accounted for 19 goals and 10 assists for 48 points during his three-year career at MSU.
• Freshman midfielder Andrew Power capped off a productive four-match stretch with two assists against Houston-Victoria Friday night. The Waterford, Ireland product accounted for a goal and five assists during the run.