LONE STAR CONFERENCE POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT

Midwestern State kicks off its quest for a second straight LSC Postseason Tournament Championship. The fourth-seeded Mustangs take on fifth-seeded Abilene Christian in the quarterfinal round of the tournament Thursday afternoon at The Pitch in Canyon on the West Texas A&M campus. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

The winner moves on to face West Texas A&M in the semifinal round Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

The title match is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
 

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MSU FAST FACTS

ABOUT THE LSC POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT:  The six-team single elimination tournament determines the Lone Star Conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division II playoffs. West Texas A&M and Central Oklahoma have claimed five postseason tournament titles followed by Midwestern State with three, Texas A&M-Commerce with two and Abilene Christian with one. The quarterfinal round begins Thursday with the top two seeds receiving byes into Friday's semifinal round. The championship is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be played at The Pitch in Canyon on the West Texas A&M campus.

LSC Postseason Tournament
The Pitch in Canyon
Canyon, Texas
Thurs., Nov. 1
Quarterfinals
Angelo State vs. Texas Woman's, Noon
Midwestern State vs. Abilene Christian, 2:30 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 2
Semifinals
Incarnate Word vs. ASU/TWU winner, 5 p.m.
West Texas A&M vs. MSU/ACU winner, 7:30 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 4
Championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.

LSC POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT ON THE... WEB: Each game of the 2012 Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament is available via Web streaming free of charge on LoneStarConference.org. Veteran broadcaster Chris Needham has the call of each match from The Pitch in Canyon.   VIDEO STREAMING

MSU IN THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT: The Mustangs will make their 17th appearance in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Thursday afternoon when they open against Abilene Christian in Canyon. MSU is the only team to appear in every LSC Postseason Tournament since its inception in 1996. The Mustangs have posted a 15-13-1 mark (.534) in 16 tournament appearance claiming LSC titles in 1996, 1998 and 2012. MSU is 5-1-1 in quarterfinal round play with its lone loss coming by a 1-0 count to West Texas A&M in 2007. MSU is 7-8 (.467) in semifinal round play and is 3-4 (.429) in seven title game appearances.

MUSTANGS TO MEET ACU, AGAIN: Midwestern and Abilene Christian will meet in tournament play for the fourth consecutive season. The Mustangs claimed a 2-1 win in the 2009 quarterfinals as the teams advanced to the championship rounds in each of the last two seasons. ACU defeated the Mustangs 2-0 in the 2010 finals at Wichita Falls before MSU retaliated with a 2-1 victory over the Wildcats last season in Abilene.

MIDWESTERN AGAINST THE FIELD: The Mustangs against the field in LSC Postseason Tournament play: vs. West Texas A&M (5-3), vs. Incarnate Word (0-0), vs. Angelo State (2-0-1), vs. Abilene Christian (2-1), vs. Texas Woman's (0-0).

NOT NEW TERRITORY FOR MSU: Three current Midwestern State players have accounted for goals over the past three postseasons. Senior defender Hanna Staley, junior midfielder Mickey Brown and sophomore forward Payton Fookes have each tallied a goal each in the LSC Postseason Tournament.

COTTRELL LEADING MUSTANGS: Ashley Cottrell has needed just 15 shots to net a team-high seven goals this season. The freshman from Arlington has netted a pair of two-goal performances this season against West Texas A&M and Texas Woman's. She has accounted for seven of MSU's 19 goals scored this season with sophomore midfielder Payton Fookes tallying four goals and junior midfielder Mickey Brown scoring twice. Katy Catney, Maddie Fraser, Emily Saville, Haley Crandall, Kaila Maxey and Megan Barnhart have all scored single goals for the Mustangs this season.

WHITWORTH KEEPS CLEAN SHEETS: Senior goalkeeper Mallory Whitworth became Midwestern State's all-time shutout leader posting her 21st career blanking on Oct. 21 in a 3-0 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Whitworth is also the program's all-time leader in goals against average (0.81) and wins (43).
   

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SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

ABILENE CHRISTIAN
// Thursday, 11.01.2012 // 2:30 p.m. // The Pitch in Canyon // Canyon, Texas 
Live Stats  |  Video Streaming

The Wildcats (8-9-1, 6-7-1) posted wins in each of their last four matches and five of their last six after winning just three of their opening 12 matches of the season. Senior midfielder Julie Coppedge and returning junior All America forward Andrea Carpenter pace the ACU attack with five goals each while senior forward Krysta Grimm and sophomore midfielder Megan Turner have tallied three goals each. ACU generates 13.1 shots and 1.17 goals per game. Arielle Moncure has gone the distance in between the posts for the Wildcats. The senior goalkeeper from Leawood, Kan. lets in a 1.10 goals against average with a .789 save percentage while posting six clean sheets. Four of those shutouts have come in the last six matches.

Previous Meetings: Midwestern State and Abilene Christian battled to a 1-1 draw on Sep. 26 at in Wichita Falls before the Wildcats claimed a 2-0 win over the Mustangs in the regular season finale last week in Abilene.

All-Time Series: Midwestern State leads 6-5-1.