Match 7 – No. 2 Midwestern State (6-0-0) at No. 9 St. Edward's (4-0-2)
Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 | 4 p.m.
Lewis-Chen Family Field | Austin, Texas
Live Stats: GoHilltoppers.com
Live Video: GoHilltoppers.com
 
Match 8 – No. 2 Midwestern State (6-0-0) at St. Mary's (3-3-0)
Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015 | 1 p.m.
Sigma Beta Chi Field | San Antonio, Texas
Live Stats: RattlerAthletics.com
Live Video: RattlerAthletics.com
 
 
FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State will take on its first true road contests of the season this weekend with a trip south to face two future conference foes in No. 9 St. Edward's and St. Mary's.
 
Midwestern starts off against the nationally-ranked Hilltoppers in the first top-10 matchup between the two programs in 37 meetings Friday at 4 p.m. at Lewis-Chen Family Field in Austin. The Mustangs will conclude the weekend against St. Mary's at 1 p.m. Sunday at Sigma Beta Chi Field in San Antonio.
 
Midwestern State pushed its winning streak to six matches last week following a 1-0 win over Texas A&M International and a 4-1 victory over Newman (Kan.) at the MSU Soccer Field. Junior forward Christian Okeke (TAMIU) and junior midfielder Leon Taylor (NU) delivered the game winners for MSU as five different Mustangs recorded goals on the weekend.
 
MUSTANGS JUMP TO NO. 2 IN NATION
– Midwestern State moved up three spots to No. 2 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Top 25 Poll released Tuesday
– The No. 2 ranking is the highest for the Mustangs since also appearing at No. 2 in the final poll of the 2010 season when Midwestern advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
– St. Edward's comes in with a 4-0-2 record
– The Hilltoppers sport one of the nation's top defenses having allowed just one goal on the season
– The squad ranks second in the nation with a .160 goals against average and a .830 shutout percentage
– Senior goalkeeper Kevin Leib is second nationally with a .164 goals against average and third with a .944 save percentage
– St. Edward's also has a potent offense with a top-25 national ranking in assists per game (2.5), points per game (8.17) and goals per game (2.83)
– The Hilltoppers entered last weekend with just three goals on the season but recorded 14 in two games following an 8-0 win over Huston-Tillotson College (Texas) and a 6-0 victory over Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
– Freshman forward Dylan Armstrong is the top offensive producer for the Hilltoppers with a team-high four goals and nine points this season
– Head coach Brian Young is in his 12th season leading the Hilltoppers with a 107-77-25 record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State holds a 26-5-5 record in a series that dates back to 1987 with St. Edward's
– The Mustangs went 0-1-1 against the Hilltoppers last season, battling to a 1-1 draw in Wichita Falls before falling 3-1 in Austin
– Midwestern State last picked up a win over St. Edward's in 2013 with a 2-1 victory over the No. 4 Hilltoppers in Austin
– Head coach Doug Elder carries an 18-3-4 mark against St. Edward's over 15 seasons
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
– St. Mary's enters the weekend with a 3-3-0 record following wins over Ouachita Baptist and Texas A&M International last week
– The Rattlers will face Eastern New Mexico at home Friday before hosting the Mustangs
– Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Mitchell Kilmer is 25th in the country with a .840 save percentage and 36th with 5.25 saves per game
– Senior forward Victor Luna and senior defender Aaron Dunks lead the Rattlers offense with two goals apiece
– Head coach Michael Bonelli is in his second season with the Rattlers, carrying an 11-10-2 record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State is a perfect 26-0 against St. Mary's in a series that began in 1977
– The Mustangs defeated the Rattlers 4-2 last season in Wichita Falls
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
– Through three weeks of competition, the Mustangs have dominated their opponents on both sides of the ball
– The Mustangs are outscoring the opposition 25-4 and lead 169-43 in total shots and 77-16 in shots on goal
– Midwestern State is holding opponents to 0.67 goals per game
– In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, the Mustangs rank in the top 20 in 10 of 13 categories
 

– Individually, senior forward Albert Rodriguez ranks in the top 25 in seven offensive categories - 8th in shots per game (5.00), 13th in game-winning goals (2), 16th in total goals (6), 17th in goals per game (1.00), 21st in total points (14) and 22nd in points per game (2.33) and shots on goal per game (2.17)
– Okeke has also netted two game winners this season to join Rodriguez at 13th in the national rankings
– Junior goalkeeper Noah Fazekas is 21st nationally with a .667 goals against average, allowing four goals in 540 minutes between the posts
– Junior forward Garvin Samaroo also appears near the top of the national rankings, coming in at 42nd with a team-best three assists on 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 225-51-28 (.786)
– Elder's career winning percentage of .786 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 610-205-62 (.731)
– Current head coach Doug Elder has seen a winning season in each of his 15 campaigns at Midwestern
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– The Mustangs next face Lubbock Christian in a 4 p.m. matchup Monday, Oct. 5 at the LCU Soccer Field