LOS ANGELES, California – 10th seeded Midwestern State begins play at the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships on Thursday night with a First Round game against seventh seeded UC San Diego. Match time from University Stadium on the campus of Cal State LA is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central Time.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be just the second all-time meeting between the two programs and first since UC San Diego rallied for two second half goals to edge MSU 2-1 in the 2016 NCAA Quarterfinals.  
 
PLAYOFF PRIMER
Automatic Qualifier Midwestern State received the No. 10 seed after posting a 15-4 record and winning the Lone Star Conference Tournament Title. The Mustangs roll into the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships on a four-game winning streak. UC San Diego (14-5) received an at-large bid. The Tritons fell 1-0 to Cal Poly Pomona in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament Semifinals.
 
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
The Mustangs won the Lone Star Conference Tournament Title with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded and No. 11 St. Mary's, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon. Carlos Flores' 77th minute strike proved to be the difference.
 
LAMPE'S LAYING DOWN THE LAW
Goalkeeper Taylor Lampe improved to 12-4 with his eighth clean sheet of the season in Sunday's 1-0 win over St. Mary's. Lampe yielded just one goal in the LSC Tournament and was named the MVP. The Mansfield, Texas native allowed the fewest goals (14) in the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
SERGIO STRIKES AGAIN
Sergio Lara's three-game goal scoring streak was snapped in Sunday's LSC Tournament Final. Prior to Sunday, the senior had tallied four goals and eight points during the streak. Lara has scored three-game winning goals in his last eight games.

A MINUTE WITH MEACHUM
Michael Meachum kicked off his second year as Head Coach at Midwestern State with a 2-0 win over Dixie State on September 5 at Stang Park. Meachum posted a 16-1-3 mark in his first season at the helm.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego dropped a 1-0 contest to Cal Poly Pomona in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament Semifinals. The 14-5 Tritons are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since defeating Midwestern State 2-1 in the 2016 Quarterfinals. Brett Jones leads UCSD with 12 goals and 26 points while Jonathan Sabouri has tallied 8 goals and handed out four assists. In net, Pedro Enciso has posted a 14-5 record and collected nine shutouts. The redshirt junior has surrendered just 14 goals all season.