FINAL SCORE
No. 25 Midwestern State 1 (16-4)
UC San Diego 0 (14-6)
 
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Carlos Flores opened the scoring with a fifth minute strike, and Taylor Lampe made eight saves, including a penalty kick stop in the 48th minute to help the 10th seeded Midwestern State Mustangs to a 1-0 win over the seventh seeded UC San Diego Tritons on Thursday night at Jesse Owens Stadium in the First Round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championships.
 
Flores, who has scored in each of the last two games, finished a pass from Sebastian Venegas inside the box to give the Mustangs the early lead.  
 
"I think it's always good to score first," Head Coach Michael Meachum said. "We were fortunate enough to get an opportunity early, and an experienced player in Carlos Flores was able to finish that chance."
 
UC San Diego nearly tied it nine minutes later, but Lampe stopped a Brett Jones shot from outside the 18-yard box and Jonathan Sabouri's follow went high.
 
Still leading 1-0 in the opening minutes of the second half, the Tritons had a chance to even the score when MSU was called for a hand ball in the box. But Lampe made a sprawling save to his right to rob Jon Veigar Kristjansson and keep the Tritons off the board.
 
"Lampe has been through so much when it comes to penalty kicks in the National Tournament over the last several years," said Meachum. "And then tonight, he makes a save on a penalty kick you are not supposed to stop in the National Tournament. He deserves all the recognition and accolades that he receives."
 
After allowing UC San Diego three shots in the 12 minutes that immediately followed the penalty kick, the Mustangs clamped down defensively, holding the Tritons to two shots over the final 15 minutes of play.

"UC San Diego is the best team in the country when it comes to making adjustments," Meachum said. "I knew in that second half our guys were going to be in the biggest fight of their lives."

Remi Emeriau had a golden chance in the 85th minute to give MSU a two-goal cushion, but his left foot shot missed wide right. 
 
MATCH NOTES
- Carlos Flores pushed his point streak to four games with the opening goal and has scored the first goal for MSU in each of the last two games
- The assist for Sebastian Venegas broke a streak of seven straight games without a point
- The eight saves by Taylor Lampe set a new season-high, surpassing the seven stops he made against West Texas A&M on October 31
- MSU outshot UC San Diego, 12-10
- The Mustangs have won five straight following a season-high three game losing streak
- MSU improved to 1-1 all-time against UC San Diego, with both meetings occurring in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships 

UP NEXT
The Mustangs will take on second seeded Cal State, Los Angeles on Saturday night in the Second Round. Ranked No. 3 in the country, the Golden Eagles are 16-0-2. Match time is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central Time.