#11 Midwestern State vs. #7 St. Edward's
NCAA II South Central Region Final
Friday, Nov. 18, 2016 | 6 p.m. (CST)
Triton Soccer Stadium | La Jolla, Calif.
Records: No. 2 seed Midwestern State (17-3-1); No. 1 seed St. Edward's (18-2-1)
Live Stats: UCSDTritons.com
Live Video: UCSDTritons.tv
TICKETS
General Admission - $8
Students (with ID), Seniors (65+) & Children (7+) - $5
Children under 7 - Free
PARKING
Fans attending Friday's South Central Regional final will need to purchase parking permits. Parking for Sunday's NCAA quarterfinal is free of charge.
THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Midwestern State makes its second-straight showing and 11th overall appearance in the South Central Regional final as the 11th-ranked Mustangs face conference foe No. 7 St. Edward's (Texas) in a showdown of the region's top two teams for a berth to the NCAA quarterfinals Friday at UC San Diego's Triton Soccer Stadium in La Jolla, Calif. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (CST).
The winner of the South Central Region will move on to face the champion out of the West Region, which features the No. 2 seed UCSD and No. 5 and reigning regional champion Cal Poly Pomona. The West Region final is slated for a 9 p.m. (CST) kickoff Friday. The national quarterfinal matchup will also take place at Triton Soccer Stadium Sunday with a 2 p.m. (CST) start time.
The NCAA Final Four will be held Dec. 1-3 at Children's Mercy Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo.
MIDWESTERN LEADS REGION WITH SIX ALL-REGION HONOREES
- Midwestern State placed a region-best six players on the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-South Central Region teams
-
Gabriel Cavalcante,
Christian Okeke and
Jordan Speed were named to the all-region first team while
Flavio Guzman,
Antonio Hernandez and
Noah Fazekas rounded out the postseason accolades with second team nods
LAST TIME ON THE PITCH
- The Mustangs posted a thrilling 1-0 victory over No. 15 Colorado Mesa in their NCAA Tournament opener Sunday at MSU Soccer Field with
Christian Okeke coming through with the game winner in the 89th minute to advance the Mustangs past the Mavericks for the second-straight season
MUSTANGS APPEAR 11TH IN FINAL REGULAR SEASON RANKINGS
- Midwestern State closed out the NSCAA regular season rankings at No. 11, making its third-straight appearance inside the top 15 in the nation
- Midwestern State earned its highest ranking of the season at No. 7 in the preseason poll and ranked inside the top 10 at No. 8 on Nov. 1 and No. 9 on Sept. 6
| Mustangs in the Polls |
| Poll |
Ranking |
| Preseason |
7 |
| Week 1 (Sept. 6) |
9 |
| Week 2 (Sept. 13) |
17 |
| Week 3 (Sept. 20) |
23 |
| Week 4 (Sept. 27) |
25 |
| Week 5 (Oct. 4) |
18 |
| Week 6 (Oct. 11) |
15 |
| Week 7 (Oct. 18) |
19 |
| Week 8 (Oct. 25) |
11 |
| Week 9 (Nov. 1) |
8 |
| Week 10 (Nov. 8) |
11 |
SIX MUSTANGS NAMED ALL-HEARTLAND; ELDER TABBED COACH OF THE YEAR
- Midwestern State matched a league-high six All-Heartland Conference selections while picking up three individual honors with senior midfielder
Gabriel Cavalcante being named the Heartland Conference Player of the Year, senior forward
Christian Okeke earning Heartland Offensive Player of the Year accolades and
Doug Elder being tabbed the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year
- Joining Cavalcante and Okeke on the All-Heartland Conference First Team was senior midfielder
Flavio Guzman and junior defender
Jordan Speed
- Senior defender
Antonio Hernandez and junior midfielder
Pierre Bocquet rounded out the MSU all-conference selections with second team honors
- Elder collected his eighth conference coach of the year honor since taking over the MSU men's soccer program in 2000
- Elder was named coach of the year in the Southwest Soccer Conference from 2005-08 and in the Lone Star Conference in 2002 and 2010-11
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
- Midwestern State comes in with a 17-3-1 season record, claiming the Heartland Conference regular season crown and earning a runner-up finish in the conference tournament
- The Mustangs rank in the top 20 nationally in 10 statistical categories, averaging 2.3 goals per game (19th) while carrying a 0.52 goals against average (5th) this season
- Midwestern has recorded 12 clean sheets on the season to tie for the fifth most in the country and good enough for third in the program record books
- Senior midfielder
Gabriel Cavalcante leads the Mustangs with 21 points this season with seven goals and a team-best seven assists
- Cavalcante ranks 17th nationally with five game-winning goals on the year
- Senior forward
Christian Okeke ranks second for the Mustangs in scoring this season with 20 points, leading the Mustangs with eight goals while adding four assists
- Senior
Noah Fazekas tied the MSU single-season shutout record Sunday with his 11th shutout of 2016, joining Raul Herrera (2009) and Kevin Payne (1986) at the top of the list
- Fazekas currently ranks sixth in the country with a 0.53 goals against average and 13th with a .841 save percentage
| NCAA Statistical Rankings |
| Ranking |
Category |
Total |
| 19 |
Scoring Offense |
2.3 |
| 11 |
Total Goals |
49 |
| 5 |
Team Goals Against Average |
0.52 |
| 7 |
Shutout Percentage |
0.57 |
| 6 |
Assists Per Game |
2.5 |
| 194 |
Saves Per Game |
2.95 |
| 13 |
Points Per Game |
7.2 |
| 9 |
Save Percentage |
.849 |
| 65 |
Fouls Per Game |
11.7 |
| 5 |
Total Assists |
53 |
| 8 |
Total Points |
151 |
| 3 |
Shots Per Game |
19.5 |
| 21 |
Shots On Goal Per Game |
7.6 |
NO GOAL ZONE
- Midwestern State's 12 shutouts this season are the most for the program since the Mustangs also totaled 12 clean sheets in 2010
- MSU's 12 shutouts tie for the third most in a single season, coming in behind the program record of 14 set in 1990 and 13 recorded in 1991
- The Mustangs defense has held opponents to three or fewer shots on goal in 14 of their 21 games this season
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
- St. Edward's carries an 18-2-1 record into Friday's regional final following a 1-0 win over Regis (Colo.) in the NCAA Second Round last weekend
- The Hilltoppers also relied on a late goal to advance with Steve Aoudou's strike in the 86th minute propelling SEU to a regional final berth
- The St. Edward's defense ranks first in the nation with a 0.33 goals against average and .714 shutout percentage with 15 clean sheets this season
- Senior keeper Kevin Leib has allowed just seven goals this season in 21 starts
- The Hilltoppers have allowed just one goal in the last six outings including a 2-0 shutout against Midwestern State in the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship on Nov. 6
- Offensively, junior midfielder Grant Mobley and sophomore forward Dylan Armstrong have each tallied seven goals and five assists for a team-high 19 points on the year
INSIDE THE SERIES
- The two teams split the series this season with Midwestern State earning a 1-0 win in Austin in the regular season meeting before St. Edward's claimed the conference championship with a 2-0 result
- Friday's meeting will mark the first time the programs have met in the NCAA Tournament and just the fourth time in the postseason with matchups in the NAIA Playoffs from 1992-94
- Midwestern State owns a commanding 28-6-5 edge in the all-time series dating back to 1987
- St. Edward's has claimed back-to-back wins in the series just once with victories in 1998 and 1999
ELDER REACHES 250 CAREER WINS
- Head coach
Doug Elder recorded his 250th career win at the helm of the MSU men's soccer program in the win over Newman on Oct. 27 at MSU Soccer Field
- The five-time region coach of the year carries a career mark of 253-55-30 and sits as the winningest NCAA Division II men's soccer coach with at least 10 seasons of coaching with a .793 winning percentage
- Elder became MSU's all-time winningest men's soccer coach last season in an 8-1 win over Southern Nazarene (Okla.), surpassing his former coach Howard Patterson with his 222nd career win
WINNING SEASONS
- Midwestern State extended its winning season streak to 19 in 2016, the longest active streak in NCAA Division II and tied for eighth in the history of Division II men's soccer
- The Mustangs have posted an impressive 42 winning seasons in the program's 45 years of existence and just one losing season since the 1973 season (1997)
- MSU carries an all-time record of 638-209-64 (.735)
-
Doug Elder has led Midwestern to double-digit wins in each of his 17 seasons with eight 15-plus win campaigns
– MSUMustangs.com –
