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NCAA Second Round – No. 1 Midwestern State (16-0-1) vs. No. 4 Colorado Mesa (14-4-2)
Sunday, Nov. 15 | 1 p.m.
MSU Soccer Field | Wichita Falls, Texas
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Live Video: MSUMustangs.tv
Tickets: $6 – General admission; $4 – Students, seniors (65+) & active military
*First 250 students receive free admission
 
FOR STARTERS
After wrapping up one of the most successful regular seasons in program history, top-seeded Midwestern State begins NCAA second round play by hosting No. 4 seed Colorado Mesa in a 1 p.m. South Central Region matchup Sunday at MSU Soccer Field.
 
The Mustangs tallied their third undefeated regular season (2002, 2010) and the best regular season winning percentage (.971) in program history last weekend following wins over rivals West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico at MSU Soccer Field.
 
Midwestern State was awarded the No. 1 seed in the South Central Region, joining Colorado Mines, St. Edward's (Texas) and Colorado Mesa in the four-team bracket that will compete for a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals. Colorado Mines (16-0-3) claimed the No. 2 seed in the region and will host No. 3 St. Edward's (15-2-2) after both captured regular season and conference tournament titles in their respective leagues.
 
MUSTANGS NO. 2 IN FINAL NSCAA REGULAR SEASON POLL
– Midwestern State made its sixth appearance at No. 2 this season in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Top 25 regular season poll released Tuesday
– 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 fifth
– MSU earned its first No. 1 ranking since 2008 in the week five poll on Oct. 6  
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
– Colorado Mesa concluded the regular season with a 14-4-2 record and 8-2-0 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, finishing second behind Colorado Mines
– The Mavericks fell 2-1 to Colorado Mines in the RMAC Tournament Championship as the Orediggers overcame a CMU goal in the seventh minute with two second half scores
– Junior forward Roy Abergil leads the Mavericks in scoring this season with 14 goals and 28 points
– Freshman midfielder Moshe Perez has netted five goals and ties for the team high with five assists for 15 points this season
– Freshman midfielder Kevin Del Mazo and freshman forward Oscar Odriozola add depth to the CMU offense with four goals apiece this season with Del Mazo also recording five assists
– Freshman goalkeeper Briley Guarneri has started 17 contests between the posts for the Mavericks this season, tallying 11 shutouts with a 0.57 goals against average and .875 save percentage
– The rookie is third in the country in save percentage and ninth in goals against average, helping the Mavericks rank sixth with a 0.6 shutout percentage
– Head coach Todd Padgett is 32-8-3 in two seasons with the Mavericks, leading the squad to the NCAA Final Four in its first postseason appearance in 2014
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State and Colorado Mesa met for the first time last season, but the series has already developed into quite a heated rivalry
– MSU is 2-1 in the series, winning 4-1 in the second match of the 2015 season back on Sept. 6 at MSU Soccer Field
– The Mustangs pulled out a 2-1 double overtime victory in the first meeting between the two teams before the Mavericks eliminated MSU from postseason play with a 1-0 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season in Grand Junction, Colo.
 
MSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
– Midwestern State makes its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth showing in the last 10 seasons Sunday, sporting a 12-8-3 postseason record
– The Mustangs qualified for their first NCAA Tournament in 2002, advancing to the national quarterfinals in 2002 and 2003
– MSU has also made NCAA quarterfinal appearances in 2007-08 and 2010, moving on to the NCAA Final Four in 2007 and 2010
– The Mustangs have hosted seven NCAA Tournament contests at MSU Soccer Field, boasting a 5-1-1 record
 
UNBEATEN STREAKS
– Midwestern State carries a 17-match unbeaten streak into the NCAA Tournament, finishing as one of just three teams (Pfeiffer, Colorado Mines) in the nation to conclude the regular season without a loss
– The 17-match unbeaten streak is the third longest in school history behind a 21-match streak in the Mustangs' run to the Final Four in 2010 and an 18-match streak from the 2002 NCAA quarterfinalist team  
HOME DOMINANCE
– Dating back to the 1979 season, Midwestern State has won 85 percent of its matches at MSU Soccer Field with a record of 323-48-27
– The Mustangs have recorded eight undefeated seasons with three perfect slates (1991, 2008, 2010) in that span
– MSU posted a program-best 15 home wins in 1995 while hosting the NAIA sectional and regional playoffs
– From Nov. 17, 2007 to Sept. 9, 2012, the Mustangs posted a school record 44-match unbeaten streak at MSU Soccer Field
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
– Midwestern State has been dominant on both sides of the ball this season, outscoring the opposition 57-12 and leading 365-145 in total shots and 165-55 in shots on goal
– Midwestern State is holding opponents to 0.71 goals per game while limiting teams to just 8.5 shots per game
– In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, the Mustangs rank in the top 25 in 11 of 13 categories
– Individually, senior forward Albert Rodriguez ranks in the top 15 in seven offensive categories – 5th in points per game (2.29), 6th in shots per game (4.59), 7th in shots on goal per game (2.35), 8th in total points (39), 10th in goals per game (0.94), 11th in total goals (16) and 13th in game-winning goals (5)   – 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
 
BACK-TO-BACK HAT TRICKS
– Senior forward Albert Rodriguez recorded Midwestern State's first hat trick of the 2015 season in a 7-0 win over Dallas Baptist on Oct. 17, netting the first, second and fifth goals for MSU in the match
– In the next match against Texas A&M International on Oct. 22, junior midfielder Flavio Guzman tallied his first hat trick in a 4-1 win over the Dustdevils
– The duo became the 13th and 14th Mustangs to record a hat trick dating back to 2000
– In that span, Midwestern State has recorded hat tricks in back-to-back matches just once when Jimmy Krueger netted a hat trick in the 2005 season opener against St. Edward's on Aug. 26 before Keegan Hudson recorded the second one against Colorado State-Pueblo on Sept. 2
– Midwestern State has also had two players post hat tricks in the same match when Craig Sutherland and Bryan Sajjadi each tallied one against Missouri Southern on Oct. 31, 2008
 
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 235-51-29 (.792)
– Elder's career winning percentage of .792 currently ranks first among active NCAA Division II coaches
 
WINNING SEASONS
– Midwestern State will record its 18th-straight winning season at the conclusion of the 2015 season
– In the program's 44 years, the Mustangs have posted an impressive 41 winning seasons
– The Mustangs hold an all-time record of 620-205-63 (.734)
– Doug Elder has seen a winning season in each of his 16 campaigns at Midwestern
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– A win over Colorado Mesa will guarantee Midwestern State as the host institution for the South Central and West Region championships in addition to the NCAA quarterfinal next weekend
– The three matches will either take place Thursday, Nov. 19 and Saturday, Nov. 21 or Friday, Nov. 20 and Sunday, Nov. 22