Box Score (PDF)

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – No. 17 Midwestern State collected a decisive win in its first-ever Heartland Conference matchup Thursday evening as senior Christian Okeke delivered a hat trick in a 5-0 rout of long-time rival West Texas A&M at MSU Soccer Field.
 
Okeke netted the first three goals for Midwestern State (3-1-1), putting the Mustangs on the board early in the 7th minute with a beautiful strike from the right side of the box into the left corner of the net off a pass from Laurence Chamberlain. He added his second score in the 24th minute off an assist from Patrick Fitzgerald to give MSU a 2-0 advantage at the break.
 
A red card was issued to West Texas A&M's (3-2-0) Luke Smith in the 37th minute, forcing the Buffs to play a man down the final 53:33 of the contest.
 
Okeke recorded his first career hat trick and the first for an MSU player this season in the 52nd minute with a shot from the right side of the box after receiving a pass from Flavio Guzman.
 
Sebastian Venegas and Kyle Baccus posted their first scores of the season in the second half with Venegas sending a shot from inside the box off a cross from Baccus to push the MSU lead to 4-0 in the 70th minute. Just seven minutes later, Baccus headed in a cross from Gabriel Cavalcante from a few yards out to make it a final 5-0 victory for the Mustangs.

NOTES
*Midwestern State defeated West Texas A&M for the eighth-straight time dating back to the 2012 season
*West Texas A&M was handed its second-worst loss in program history behind a 6-0 defeat to Fort Lewis (Colo.) in 2004
*The Mustangs led 15-8 in shots and 6-4 in shots on goal
*Christian Okeke placed all three of his shots on target to lead MSU
*Noah Fazekas collected his first shutout of the season and the second for the Mustangs this season with four saves in 90 minutes of action

STAT OF THE GAME
15 – Christian Okeke became the 15th Mustang to record a hat trick since 2001
 
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"Christian came out aggressive and was using his speed and attacking. We moved him up top and he had a great game. I think he felt real comfortable up there. I'm real happy for him and the team. Any time you beat West Texas A&M is great but to beat them 5-0, that's the first time. It was just one of those days for them. Our guys were on; we were aggressive and were attacking and getting numbers forward. We kept them on their heels." – Head coach Doug Elder

UP NEXT 
Midwestern State continues Heartland Conference action at home Saturday at 1 p.m. when the Mustangs play host to Eastern New Mexico at MSU Soccer Field.