Box Score (PDF)
THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – A goal by senior forward
Christian Okeke with 1:18 to play in regulation propelled No. 11 Midwestern State to a thrilling 1-0 victory over No. 15 Colorado Mesa to advance the Mustangs to their second-straight NCAA South Central Regional final Sunday afternoon at MSU Soccer Field.
Midwestern State (17-3-1) was held to just two shots on goal before Okeke found the back of the net with his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 89th minute. Following a shot by Colorado Mesa's Luis Schraidt, the Mustangs countered with senior midfielder
Leon Taylor sending a through ball into the box to Okeke to break the scoreless contest.
The Mustangs move on to face No. 1 seed St. Edward's in the South Central Region final Friday at 6 p.m. at UC San Diego's Triton Soccer Stadium in La Jolla, Calif. The second-seeded Tritons will play host to the No. 5 seed Cal Poly Pomona in the West Region final. The two regional winners will then square off in the national quarterfinals for a berth to the Final Four in Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 1-3.
Colorado Mesa (14-2-5) led 14-8 in shots, placing half of its attempts on goal. Senior goalkeeper
Noah Fazekas concluded his career at Stang Park making six saves while the MSU back line added a team save to keep the Mavericks off the board.
The Mustangs were held without a shot in the second half until sophomore forward
Jorge DeLeon fired off an attempt in the 83rd minute leading up to Okeke's strike a few minutes later.
NOTES
- Midwestern State will make its second-straight NCAA South Central Regional final appearance and its 11th in program history
- MSU and St. Edward's will meet for the third time this season in Friday's regional final with the two teams splitting the previous meetings
- The Mustangs eliminated Colorado Mesa from the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season after a 4-2 win in the regional semifinals last season in Wichita Falls
- Midwestern State and Colorado Mesa opened up postseason play against each other for the third year in a row with CMU winning the first NCAA Tournament meeting in 2014
STAT OF THE GAME
46:19 – Midwestern State was held without a shot on goal for 46:19 until
Christian Okeke's game-winning strike in the 89th minute
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"We just didn't do what we usually do today. In the first 10 minutes, we were all over them and passing and moving the ball. We're just giving the ball away too much. The guys grinded though and we never let up and never quit. We had a feeling we were going to get a chance or two whether it was in regulation or in overtime because they were getting tired. We subbed a lot. It wasn't our best performance but we won and we're going to the next round." – Head coach
Doug Elder
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