WICHITA FALLS, Texas – A three-goal second period lifted the Midwestern State women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over West Texas A&M in a Highway 287 Challenge matchup Sunday afternoon at MSU Soccer Field.

Midwestern State went into halftime trailing 1-0 after WTAMU (4-6-0, 1-2-0 LSC) netted a goal in the 37th minute with a strike from sophomore defender Sydney Hickerson from inside the box.

"I think we came out slow and struggled to deal with the way West Texas was playing," said head coach Damian Clarke. "I don't think we did well in the first half to deal with their two pivoting players in front of the back four."

After a quiet opening half from the Mustangs offense, Midwestern (5-2-2, 2-1-1 LSC) came out attacking the Lady Buffs in the second period, maintaining possession a majority of the half.

"We had a plan and we reminded them (at halftime) of what we talked about before the game," Clarke said. "The main thing was if we can make them uncomfortable with where they're passing the ball then we'll be able to open things up and pass the ball the way that we know how. Getting the outside backs into the game was critical for us. At the end of the first half we started to do it, and for the entire second half it was our outside backs that were winning balls and keeping them pinned in for long periods of time."

In the 56th minute, junior forward Nicole Coetzer found the net for the first time this season with a shot from the middle of the box off a pass from senior forward Ashley Cottrell to even the match at 1-1.

The Mustangs continued to attack the WTAMU defense as the Maroon and Gold went in front 15 minutes later with freshman midfielder Taylor Robinson finding junior forward Aly Wade, who fired a shot through the hands of redshirt freshman goalie Ashley Avila to give Midwestern a 2-1 advantage in the 71st minute.

With just over seven minutes to play, senior midfielder Morgan Hannon deflated the chances for a Lady Buffs comeback with a rocket from 35 yards out to extend the MSU lead to 3-1.

Midwestern limited WTAMU to just four shots in the final 45 minutes after the Lady Buffs fired nine in the first period. The Mustangs totaled 18 shots on the day, placing half of those on goal. WTAMU was held to three shots on target.

Wade led the Mustangs with five shots while sophomore forward Destinee Williamson added four with a team-best three shots on goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Courtney Burnette (5-2-2) earned the win for the Mustangs, allowing the one goal while collecting two saves.

With the win over WTAMU, Midwestern State evens the Highway 287 Challenge series at 1-1. The series tracks head-to-head matchups and conference championship results in 10 sports between the two schools with each school accumulating points toward the overall series championship.

Midwestern State will take a break from Lone Star Conference play Wednesday with a 7 p.m. contest against Colorado State-Pueblo at MSU Soccer Field. Following Wednesday's match, the Mustangs will host LSC leader Angelo State in a meeting of the top two LSC teams Friday at 7 p.m.