Match 12 – No. 3 Midwestern State (10-0-1) at Texas A&M International (5-7-1)
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 | 7 p.m.
Dustdevil Soccer Field | Laredo, Texas
Live Stats: GoDustdevils.com

 
FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State looks to push its unbeaten streak to 12 matches Thursday evening when the Mustangs travel to Laredo to face regional foe Texas A&M International in a 7 p.m. contest at Dustdevil Soccer Field.
 
Midwestern State clinched its 17th-straight 10-win season Saturday as the Mustangs put on a show with a 7-0 victory over future conference opponent Dallas Baptist at MSU Soccer Field.
 
Senior forward Albert Rodriguez recorded his first career hat trick and the first for the Mustangs this season while senior defender Ben Clarvis finished with a team-high three assists.
 
MUSTANGS DROP ONE SPOT TO NO. 3 IN NATIONAL POLL
– Midwestern State made an appearance at No. 3 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Top 25 Poll this week, falling one spot from its No. 2 ranking
– The Mustangs have appeared in the top five in the national rankings since the second week of the season when they climbed from ninth to No. 5
– MSU has come in at No. 2 in three of the seven polls this season while earning its first No. 1 ranking since 2008 in the week five poll on Oct. 6  
SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS
– Texas A&M International is 5-7-1 on the season with a 3-1-1 record in the Heartland Conference
– The Dustdevils currently sit in second place in the league standings
– TAMIU is currently on a three-match unbeaten streak, defeating St. Mary's (Texas) and Oklahoma Christian while playing Rogers State (Okla.) to a scoreless draw at Dustdevil Field
– Junior forwards Ryan Hodgson and Tayeb Ahmadi lead the Dustdevils offense as Hodgson has a team-high five goals while Ahmadi adds four goals and a team-best 13 points and five assists
– Junior goalkeeper Miguel Lucio ranks 13th nationally with a .839 save percentage while coming in 36th with 5.2 saves per game
– Claudio Arias is in his 12th season leading the TAMIU men's soccer program with a 110-81-20 career record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern is 11-0-2 against Texas A&M International in the all-time series, defeating the Dustdevils 1-0 on Sept. 18 with a goal coming from junior forward Christian Okeke in the 59th minute
– The Mustangs earned a 5-1 win over the Dustdevils last season in Laredo
– Midwestern has recorded winning results in the last five matches with TAMIU last earning a draw on Sept. 14, 2012 in a 0-0 contest in Laredo
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
– Through seven weeks of competition, Midwestern State has dominated its opponents on both sides of the ball
– The Mustangs are outscoring the opposition 41-9 and lead 257-90 in total shots and 115-35 in shots on goal
– Defensively, Midwestern State is holding opponents to 0.82 goals per game
– In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, the Mustangs rank in the top 20 in 10 of 13 categories    
MUSTANGS MAKE APPEARANCE AT NO. 1
– For just the fifth time in program history, the Midwestern State made an appearance at No. 1 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Top 25 Poll on Oct. 6
– The Mustangs last appeared at the top of the national poll near the end of the 2008 season with three-straight weeks (Oct. 21-Nov. 4) at No. 1
– Midwestern State first took over the No. 1 spot back on Sept. 24, 1984 after opening the season 5-0-0 following a 9-2 win over TCU
 
MSU RALLIES FOR SECOND TOP-10 WIN
– The Mustangs took down their second top-10 opponent of the season on Oct. 8 in Wichita Falls, earning a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over No. 6 St. Edward's
– Midwestern State also recorded a 4-1 win over then-No. 4 Colorado Mesa in the second match of the season on Sept. 6 at MSU Soccer Field
– Facing the nation's top defense, the Mustangs struck early with a goal from senior midfielder Juan Farres in the 16th minute, but the Hilltoppers would eventually go on top with two second half goals for a 2-1 advantage with just over 20 minutes to play
– Midwestern State kept attacking the St. Edward's defense, recording the equalizer in the 78th minute with a score from junior midfielder Gabriel Cavalcante
– With 3:30 remaining in regulation, junior midfielder Flavio Guzman put the Mustangs ahead with a strike from inside the box off a pass from senior forward Albert Rodriguez to hand the Hilltoppers their first defeat of the season
 
ELDER BECOMES ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH IN PROGRAM HISTORY
– Following the win over Southern Nazarene on Sept. 10, Midwestern State head coach Doug Elder became the all-time winningest coach in program history with his 222nd win
– Elder passed his former coach Howard Patterson, who finished with a 221-85-20 record (.709) in 17 seasons (1973-89) at Midwestern
– Now in his 16th season at MSU, Elder holds a career record of 229-51-29 (.788)
– Elder's career winning percentage of .788 currently ranks first among active NCAA Division II coaches
 
WINNING SEASONS
– Entering 2015, the Mustangs have posted 17-straight winning seasons and an impressive 40 winning seasons in the program's 43 years
– The Mustangs hold an all-time record of 614-205-63 (.732)
– Current head coach Doug Elder has seen a winning season in each of his 15 campaigns at Midwestern
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State returns to MSU Soccer Field next week for a Monday matchup against Rogers State at 5 p.m.