Match 16 – No. 2 Midwestern State (14-0-1) vs. West Texas A&M (9-7-0)
Friday, Nov. 6 | 7 p.m.
MSU Soccer Field | Wichita Falls, Texas
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Live Video: MSUMustangs.tv
 
Match 17 (Senior Day) – No. 2 Midwestern State (14-0-1) vs. Eastern New Mexico (6-7-2)
Sunday, Nov. 8 | 1 p.m.
MSU Soccer Field | Wichita Falls, Texas
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Live Video: MSUMustangs.tv
 
 
FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State looks to close out the regular season with an undefeated mark for just the third time in program history this weekend when the Mustangs host rivals West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico at MSU Soccer Field.
 
Midwestern will first take on West Texas A&M in a Highway 287 Challenge contest Friday at 7 p.m. before facing Eastern New Mexico on Sunday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.
 
The Mustangs improved to 14-0-1 on the season Monday following a 2-0 victory over UT-Permian Basin at MSU Soccer Field. Midwestern received contributions on the offensive side from junior forward Christian Okeke and junior midfielder Kyle Baccus while recording its seventh shutout of the season.
 
SENIOR DAY
– Prior to Sunday's match against Eastern New Mexico, the MSU men's soccer program will recognize five seniors who will play their final regular season match at MSU Soccer Field in forward Albert Rodriguez, midfielder Juan Farres and defenders Javan Toledo, Call Casarez and Ben Clarvis
 
HIGHWAY 287 CHALLENGE
– The Highway 287 Challenge is a competitive series between the Midwestern State and West Texas A&M athletic programs
– The competition is in its third season with WT claiming the first two challenge cups by a one-point margin each season
– The Challenge tracks head-to-head matchups and conference championship results in 10 sports with each school accumulating points toward the overall series championship
– Midwestern State currently leads the 2015-16 challenge, 6.5-2.5
 
MUSTANGS REMAIN AT NO. 2 IN NATIONAL POLL
– Midwestern State made its fifth appearance at No. 2 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Top 25 Poll this week, remaining at No. 2 for the second-straight week
– 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 BUFFS
– West Texas A&M comes in with a 9-7-0 record, having dropped its last three matches including a 2-0 loss to the Mustangs on Oct. 29 in Canyon
– Junior forward Christian Suthers and senior midfielder Conrod Goulbourne pace the WT offense with five goals apiece, helping the Buffs rank 48th nationally with 2.0 goals per game
– Junior goalkeeper Patrick Satorie has started all contests in goal for WT this season, holding a 1.54 goals against average and .684 save percentage with five shutouts
– Head coach Butch Lauffer is in his 25th season with a 291-134-32 record to rank in the top 15 in career victories among active NCAA Division II coaches
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State is 30-17-3 against West Texas A&M dating back to 1975
– The Mustangs recorded a 2-0 victory over the Buffs in Canyon on Oct. 29 with seniors Juan Farres and Albert Rodriguez netting second half goals
– The Mustangs enter Thursday's match winners of the last six between the two teams dating back to the 2012 season
– Six of the last seven matches have been one-point contests
 
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
– Eastern New Mexico is 6-7-2 on the season after road wins over Oklahoma Christian and Southern Nazarene (Okla.) last weekend
– Senior midfielder Roberto Zatarain leads the Greyhounds with nine goals and 19 points while junior forward Ryan McManus has added six goals and a team-best three assists
– Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper James Gutierrez is 32nd nationally with 5.13 saves per game while ranking 37th with 77 total saves
– Head coach Paul Tate is in his first season with the Greyhounds
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State is 19-2-3 against Eastern New Mexico in a series that dates back to 2004
– The Mustangs earned a 1-0 overtime win over the Greyhounds on Oct. 11 with Juan Farres recording the golden goal in the 95th minute
– The Mustangs split with the Greyhounds in 2014 with a 2-1 loss in Wichita Falls before closing out the regular season with a 1-0 victory in Portales
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
– Midwestern State has been dominant on both sides of the ball this season, outscoring the opposition 52-10 and leading 331-123 in total shots and 149-47 in shots on goal
– Midwestern State is holding opponents to 0.67 goals per game while limiting teams to just 8.2 shots per game
– In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, the Mustangs rank in the top 20 in nine of 13 categories
– Individually, senior forward Albert Rodriguez ranks in the top 15 in seven offensive categories – 5th in shots per game (4.73), 6th in points per game (2.33), 7th in goals per game (1.0) and shots on goal per game (2.4), 11th in game-winning goals (5), 13th in total points (35) and 14th total goals (15)   – 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 233-51-29 (.791)
– Elder's career winning percentage of .791 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 618-205-63 (.733)
– Current head coach Doug Elder has seen a winning season in each of his 15 campaigns at Midwestern
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State will learn its postseason fate Monday at 5 p.m. when the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Selection Show airs online at NCAA.com