#2 Midwestern State (1-0-0) vs. #15 Fort Hays State (2-0-0)
Thursday, Sept. 6 | 5 p.m.
OBU Soccer Complex | Shawnee, Okla.
Live Stats: OBUBison.com
Series History: MSU Texas leads 1-0-0 | Last Meeting: 4-1 win on Sept. 9, 2017
Trend: Tigers coming off 4-2 upset of third-ranked Rockhurst
Player to Watch: Jr., D, Sergio Villalaba – hat trick against Rockhurst
 
#2 Midwestern State (1-0-0) at Oklahoma Baptist (1-1-0)
Saturday, Sept. 8 | 7 p.m.
OBU Soccer Complex | Shawnee, Okla.
Live Stats: OBUBison.com
Series History: First Meeting | Last Meeting: First Meeting
Trend: Bison coming off 2-1 setback to Eastern New Mexico
Player to Watch: Sr., MF, Jesus Andrade – two goals on the season
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Second-ranked Midwestern State travels north for a top-15 showdown with No. 15 Fort Hays State and Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday and Saturday at the OBU Soccer Complex in Shawnee, Okla. Kickoff in the neutral site affair with the Tigers is tabbed for 5 p.m. while Saturday's showdown with the Bison is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The Mustangs are coming off a 2-0 win in the season-opener over UT Tyler.
 
Storylines
Lampe Named Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Week
Midwestern State sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Lampe was tabbed the Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Week Monday after helping fifth-ranked Mustangs to a season opening shutout against UT Tyler.
 
Lampe made a pair of saves against the Patriots to complete his ninth career shutout. The back line for the Maroon and Gold held UTT in check all evening, limiting the visitors to three shots.
 
Set Piece Magic
The Mustangs had success in getting into their set pieces on Friday against UT Tyler, taking 15 corner kicks in the contest, the most in the last three seasons.
 
Junior Connor Cesar converted Sergio Lara's corner into a goal with an assist from Juan Alvarez.
 
Streaks Alive
The Mustangs put a pair of impressive streaks on the line going into Thursday night's matchup. MSU Texas aims to make it 25-consecutive matches without suffering a loss, the longest such streak in the country. Additionally, the Maroon and Gold are unbeaten in their last nine matches away from Stang Park, dating back to last season.
 
Great Expectations
Midwestern State climbed up to No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches' first regular season national poll released Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Mustangs have remained in the top-5 of the USC rankings dating back to Sept. 19, 2017.
 
Guess Who's Back, Back Again
Senior All-America Patrick Fitzgerald (7 goals, 1 assist) headlines a stingy back line that limited opponents to 0.46 goals against average. The Irishman earned D2CCA second-team All-America honors and leads a group of seven starters and 11 letter winners.
 
Senior Alex Mullet (Preseason All-Conference, 4 assists) and sophomore Koby Sapon-Amoah (3 goals) join Fitzgerald in anchoring the defense.
 
Juniors Ross Fitzpatrick (3 goals, 4 assists) and Sebastian Venegas (Preseason All-Conference, 4 goals, 7 assists) along with all-region sophomore Carlos Flores (Preseason All-Conference, 5 goals, 9 assists) return in the midfield, combining for 12 goals and 20 assists.
 
Sophomore Taylor Lampe is back between the pipes after posting a 0.38 goals against average in 2017. The Mansfield native made 37 saves in 13 starts with eight shutouts.
 
Rounding out the returning letter winners for the Mustangs include seniors Kristian Martinez (1 assist) and Nathan Clark and sophomore Julian Barajas (1 goal).
 
Milestone Watch
Senior forward Patrick Fitzgerald ranks 12^th on MSU Texas' career list with six game winning goals. The Irishman moves into a seven-way tie for sixth with his next game-winner.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Lampe is one shutout away from moving into the top-10 list in MSU Texas history with his 10^th-career clean sheet.
 
Up Next
MSU Texas begins Heartland Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 13, against Rogers State at Stang Park. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.