Match 1 – Midwestern State (0-0-0) vs. Fort Lewis (0-0-0)                                                           
Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015 | 7 p.m.
MSU Soccer Field | Wichita Falls, Texas                                                                                                     
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Live Video: MSUMustangs.com
 
Match 2 – Midwestern State (0-0-0) vs. Colorado Mesa (0-0-0)                                                    
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 | 1 p.m.
MSU Soccer Field | Wichita Falls, Texas                                                                                                            
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com
Live Video: MSUMustangs.com
 

MSU Classic                                                                                                                        
Midwestern opens the 2015 season this weekend by hosting Colorado Mesa, Fort Lewis and Texas Woman's for the MSU Classic at MSU Soccer Field. The Mustangs will take on Fort Lewis on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first match of the weekend. Texas Woman's battles the Skyhawks in an 11 a.m. contest Saturday before MSU closes out the tournament with a 1 p.m. match against Colorado Mesa.

Scouting the Skyhawks                                                                                                                             
- Fort Lewis was picked to finish fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) this season after going 6-8-5 with a 5-5-4 conference record to finish fifth in the league standings
- The Skyhawks return nine starters for the upcoming season including junior midfielder Jordan Hix, a RMAC preseason selection and All-RMAC Second Team pick in 2014        
- Head coach Jimmy Hall is in his second season guiding the Skyhawks after serving as an interim head coach in 2014
 
Inside the Series
- The Mustangs are 3-3-2 all-time and 1-1 at home against Fort Lewis
- Midwestern battled the 24th-ranked Skyhawks to a scoreless draw last season in Durango
- The last win for the Mustangs over Fort Lewis came back in 2003 when they recorded a 1-0 victory at home
           
Scouting the Mavericks
- Colorado Mesa managed just a 1-13-4 overall record and 1-10-3 conference slate to finish 10th in the RMAC in 2014
- CMU returns eight starters from last season, seven of which are upperclassmen
- The Mavericks are under the direction of second-year head coach Jason Clare

Inside the Series
- Midwestern carries a 5-2-1 all-time record against Colorado Mesa with a 2-1 mark against the Mavericks at home
- MSU and CMU played to a 2-2 draw last season in a neutral site match in Durango
- In 2013, the Mustangs opened the season with a 1-0 road victory over the Mavericks in Grand Junction

Season Openers
- Midwestern enters its 21st season of competition in 2015, sporting a 12-7-1 all-time record in season openers
- The Mustangs will be opening a season at home for the eighth time in program history, and are 5-2 all-time in those contests
- MSU sports a 4-1-1 record in season openers during the last six seasons
 
Clarke Begins Year No. 2
- Second-year head coach Damian Clarke will lead the Mustangs against his former team when the Mustangs square off against the Skyhawks in Thursday's season opener
- In seven seasons at FLC, Clarke recorded a 106-31-17 record with three NCAA Tournament appearances
- In his first season at Midwestern, Clarke led the Mustangs to an 8-6-5 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Lone Star Conference
- Entering his ninth season as a head coach, Clarke holds a career record of 114-37-22 with a winning percentage of .723 that currently ranks 12th in NCAA Division II
 
Mustangs Picked Third in the LSC
- MSU totaled 48 points for third in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll
- The Mustangs return eight starters off last year's 8-6-5 squad that finished fourth with a 3-5-2 mark in the LSC
 
Burnette Has Breakout Season in 2014
- After seeing no action for the Mustangs in 2013, goalie Courtney Burnette spent every minute in goal for MSU last season
- Burnette was a First Team All-LSC selection while also earning LSC Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2014. As a freshman, Burnette allowed just 17 goals for a 0.84 goals against average. Last season, she ranked 22nd in Division II with 107 saves and 26th with a .863 save percentage
- For her efforts in 2014, Burnette was selected as the LSC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year in August
 
Key Returners
- The Mustangs enter the 2015 season with eight returning starters, six being upperclassmen
- With Burnette back in goal, the Mustangs also return several players on the backline that combine to create a strong defensive core group
- Defensively, senior Alex Edwards and juniors Haley Britton and Katie Huff return, having each started in all 19 matches for the Mustangs in 2014. The trio helped MSU rank 59th nationally in holding opponents to a 0.842 goals against average
- In the midfield, First Team All-LSC and all-region selection Morgan Hannon joins junior Liz Navarette in leading the Mustangs midfielders. Both Hannon and Navarette made 17 appearances with 16 starts in 2014
- The Mustangs also bring back several threats at forward with reigning LSC Freshman of the Year and all-region pick Destinee Williamson along with 2013 LSC Offensive Player of the Year Ashley Cottrell. Williamson led the Mustangs and was fifth in the LSC with 22 points and nine goals last season while Cottrell tied for second on the squad with nine points
 
Looking Ahead
- ­Following opening weekend, Midwestern will begin a six-match road trip for the remainder of September
- The Mustangs will travel to the Rocky Mountains next week to face UC-Colorado Springs and Western State in Colorado. They will then face Southern Nazarene (Okla.) the following weekend before returning to Texas to take on Lubbock Christian in a mid-week contest. The Mustangs close out their road swing against LSC foes Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce